Reviewing the effects of food provisioning on wildlife immunity

While urban expansion increasingly encroaches on natural habitats, many wildlife species capitalize on anthropogenic food resources, which have the potential to both positively and negatively influence their responses to infection. Here we examine how food availability and key nutrients have been reported to shape innate and adaptive immunity in wildlife by drawing from field-based studies, as well as captive and food restriction studies with wildlife species. Examples of food provisioning and key nutrients enhancing immune function were seen across the three study type distinctions, as were cases of trace metals and pharmaceuticals impairing the immunity of wildlife species. More generally, food provisioning in field studies tended to increase innate and adaptive responses to certain immune challenges, whereas patterns were less clear in captive studies. Mild food restriction often enhanced, whereas severe food restriction frequently impaired immunity. However, to enable stronger conclusions we stress a need for further research, especially field studies, and highlight the importance of integrating nutritional manipulation, immune challenge, and functional outcomes. Despite current gaps in research on this topic, modern high throughput molecular approaches are increasingly feasible for wildlife studies and offer great opportunities to better understand human influences on wildlife health.This article is part of the theme issue 'Anthropogenic resource subsidies and host-parasite dynamics in wildlife'

Building the Bridge: Linking Food Banking and Community Food Security

This 24 page document surveys the linkages between food banking and community food security, with case studies and interviews of 10 leading food banks and food bankers. In conjunction with World Hunger Year

The pilot food price subsidy scheme in the Philippines: its impact on income, food consumption, and nutritional status

Food relief Philippines Case studies., Food consumption Philippines Case studies., Nutrition Philippines Case studies.,

French study on Quality and Safety of Organic Food (AFSSA 2003 Evaluation nutritionnelle et sanitaire des aliments issus de l’agriculture biologique)

The presentations summarises the results of a study on organic farming and food quality published 2003 in France. Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments (AFSSA) (2003): Evaluation nutritionnelle et sanitaire des aliments issus de l’agriculture biologique. AFSSA, F-94701 Maisons-Alfort, France These Conclusions of the study are: · Confirmation of most of the findings in other similar studies · Interesting findings with regard to health promoting compounds · More studies are needed (consumption studies) · Several negative prejudgements about safety of organic food have not been confirmed · Regarding food safety issues: in some areas more monitoring might be needed · The system approach of Organic Farming is recognized as a potential model for more sustainable food safety strategie

Investigations of organic food and health

Numerous studies have attempted to elucidate if there is a difference in the effect on human health, between food produced according to the organic standards compared with conventionally produced food. While many studies support a few general trends of differences in food composition, none have provided any conclusive evidence for differences in the effects on human health. Most of the studies have been inadequate in size or focus to allow any definitive conclusions. The major problem is the complexity of the issue, and the general paucity of knowledge about the impact of food on health, which means that it is virtually impossible to tackle all relevant uncertainties in any one study. Instead a whole range of different types of studies are needed to provide a conclusion. Presently, a study is in progress, which attempts to provide some of the missing key information on this issue. This study comprises controlled cultivation of plants in three different models of growing systems for two years, and feeding rats for 3 generations on diets composed of these plants. It will show if food from different growing systems can result in differences in health of rats, and if so, which aspects of health are affected. However, if differences are found, subsequent studies will be necessary to determine the applicability and possible consequences for human health. Still, together with other existing and planned studies it might soon be possible to determine some of the consequences for human health of the methods used for food production. This could result in increased demand for organic food, and it could at the same time lead to changes in the farming methods in either organic or conventional production systems. In any case, this type of research will improve crucial aspects of the knowledge base, which is needed also in other contexts, to support the efforts to improve food safety and quality

Food-specific decentering experiences are associated with reduced food cravings in meditators: a preliminary investigation

This study examined the association of food-specific decentering experiences with food cravings in a sample of meditators. Decentering refers to viewing one’s thoughts as transient mental events and thus experiencing them as less subjectively real. This process has been suggested to be a key mechanism underlying the effects of mindfulness and many contemplative practices. Although most earlier studies have focused on the effects of decentering with regard to negative affect, some studies have shown that brief inductions of decentering among non-meditators reduce food cravings as well as unhealthy food choices. Here, we report a preliminary investigation of whether the food-specific decentering experiences that meditators have in daily life are associated with fewer food cravings. A small sample of meditators (N = 33, female = 15) answered a number of questions about decentering experiences with regard to thoughts about food, and they completed the short version of the Food Cravings Questionnaire–Trait and a measure of meditation experience. Results confirmed that both more meditation experience and more food-specific decentering experiences were associated with fewer food cravings in daily life. In addition, results suggested that when participants had stronger decentering experiences, they experienced fewer food cravings, regardless of their level of meditation experience. Exploratory analyses further revealed that decentering was more strongly associated with reduced cravings in women than in men. These preliminary findings suggest that food-specific decentering experiences indeed help meditators deal with food desires, and thus extend the evidence for decentering effects into the domain of reward. Future research might investigate this in larger samples, validate a food-specific measure of decentering, and consider the broader implications of decentering experiences in daily life