Symposium introduction - ethics and sustainable agri-food governance: appraisal and new directions

© Springer Nature B.V. 2019This Symposium contributes to a theoretical and methodological discussion on the role of ethics and responsibility in the governance of agri-food systems, as drivers for transitions towards sustainability. The papers in the Symposium are the outcomes of a collective reflection that was initiated at the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) 2017 congress, within the Working Group on Ethics and sustainable agri-food governance. The session examined how ethics and ethical values drive change in the agri-food system, and how they increasingly evolve and influence food system governance. Building on the outcomes of the ESRS Working Group, the collection of papers in this Symposium fosters and deepens the discussion on the role of ethics in food systems, ranging across different food system actors, activities and contexts and presents new theoretical and methodological frameworks to understand the construction of more ethical agri-food systems.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Global, Regional and Local food chains: an assessment of sustainability performance of wheat-to-bread chains across Italy and the UK

Peer reviewe

Future transitions for the Bioeconomy towards Sustainable Development and a Climate-Neutral Economy - Knowledge Synthesis Final Report: WP1 - Knowledge synthesis and foresight

The 2018 EU Bioeconomy Strategy aims to develop a circular, sustainable bioeconomy for Europe, strengthening the connection between economy, society, and environment. It addresses global challenges such as meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations and the climate objectives of the Paris Agreement. A circular, sustainable bioeconomy can be a core instrument for the Green Deal in the post-COVID-19 era, making the EU more sustainable and competitive. In this context, the EC (Joint Research Centre in collaboration with DG Research and Innovation) created an ad-hoc external Network of Experts (NoE) through individual contracts to contribute to the EC’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy with forward-looking analysis needed for exploring possible scenarios towards a sustainable, clean, and resource-efficient bioeconomy, with a focus on climate-neutrality and sustainable development. This first work package concerned knowledge synthesis and foresight. The post-Brexit EU27 bioeconomy employs ≈17.5 million people (≈ 9% of its workforce) and generates € 1.5 trillion (≈ 10% of its GDP) when the tertiary bioeconomy sector (bio-based services) is included. To analyse, assess and monitor the bioeconomy’s sustain¬ability, interactions with fossil, mineral, renewable systems as well as bioeconomic contributions to ecosystem services are important, considering dynamic interlinkages and substitution effects. The bioeconomy is the only system providing food, feed, and eco-system services, i.e. for those there is no substitute. Sustainable, affordable, and secure biomass is available from EU sources in the medium- to longer-term, meeting demands for existing and emerging uses (e.g. bio-based material) by 2030. There is enough sustainable EU biomass to contribute to all sectors by 2030, and probably beyond, as well as to bring organic carbon back to soil. To ensure sustainable supply, not only residues and wastes are relevant, but sustainably sourced agricultural and forestry feedstocks, and feedstocks from recovering and restoring marginal and degraded land. Options for managing land and forestry systems for biomass supply that lead to a better carbon balance depend on many factors and have biodiver¬sity, other environmental and socio¬economic trade-offs, all needing consideration. The bioeconomy includes sustainable food systems which can increase resilience. For all of this, change is needed: The EU Bioeconomy Strategy intends a shift from the substitution logic towards circularity and sustainability. This requires governing the sustain-ability of the bioeconomy for which the SDGs are the normative framework. The challenge is to implement sustainability governance of the bioecono¬my to safeguard against negative impacts while fostering positive options. The weak integration of sustainability governance of forests into EU policies and vis-à-vis non-EU countries is a hindrance to achieve the objectives of a circular, sustainable EU bioeconomy, which may be addressed in the upcoming new European Forest Strategy intended to promote the bioeconomy while respecting ecological principles favourable to biodiversity. In preparing for a post-COVID-19 era, the bioeconomy should be a priority for the European economic recovery support: promoting short domestic sustainable bioeconomic supply chains brings resources back to the real economy, creates (rural) employment and favours CO2-neutral development, e.g. through biorefineries and land-based Carbon (C) sequestration with respective agricultural and forestry investments. The synopsis of all EU bioeconomy drivers and trends for 2030 and 2050 (assuming a successful implementation of a sustainable, circular EU bioeconomy, i.e. not for “business-as-usual”) indicates that bioenergy would become less relevant, while biomaterials and ecosystem services will gain significantly, strengthening the EU competitiveness and creating employment. Biomass for construction materials, fibre, food and feed, furniture, and textiles will grow, and use of innovative biomaterials such as bio-based chemicals, lubricants, and bio-based plastics which offer high value added per mass unit will increase. Despite the impressive potential of wind and solar, biomass will provide grid balancing services, and help sectors difficult to be decarbonised through electricity (aviation, heavy duty and maritime transport, high-temperature industrial processes). There is a complementary role of bioenergy and electricity until 2050. Yet, a sustainable bioeconomy is not the only possibility to shape the future, nor the only vision on how to make the world a better place. Over the last decades, several drivers (alternative food, non-biomass renewables, Power to Anything (PtX), socio-economic patterns) emerged which may become trends in the 2030 - 2050 horizons. These competing drivers could significantly affect opportunities for implementing the bioeconomy. Some of these drivers could be disruptive, but some are potentially synergistic to the bioeconomy. The SDG framing for the bioeconomy requires integration. With the European Green Deal, important steps of integration are underway regarding various EU policies, especially biodiversity, circularity, climate change, food systems, forest protection and restoration, and renewable energy. The bioeconomy needs to be part of this integration, for which its inclusion in the EU post-COVID-19 recovery plan would be a critical step. In addition, domestic EU land use – especially in rural areas – and foot¬prints implied outside of the EU need to be integrated, considering the multiple opportunities for rural livelihoods, employment and innovation, both within the EU and outside. Circularity requires integration in terms of recycling and re-use of residues & waste flows for which biorefineries are key, but as mentioned above, there is need for integrated governance as well. The bioeconomy in Europe is not a single one – in Northern EU countries forestry domina-tes, while large proportions of the bioeconomy in the South West concern fibres, bio-based textiles and high-quality food. There is growing interest in the blue bioeconomy in Northern and Southern Europe. This diversity implies not a weakness but a strength: instead of focussing on e.g. corn (as the US), forest (Canada), palmoil (Indonesia), soy (Argentina) or sugarcane (Brazil), the diversified EU bioeconomy is more resilient to changes in feedstock supply, market dynamics and technology innovation. The term transformation is used frequently throughout this report, building on the UN 2030 Agenda which calls for transformative change. The guiding principle of being transformative is acknowledging that trade-offs and possible synergies are subject to societal decision-making, not to a neoliberal economic logic alone. Market aspects are one component of decision-making, but not necessarily the dominant one. This requires to re-define the SDG framing of sustainability: Instead of linear box-by-box representation, the SDGs are ordered according to levels. The base is the biosphere which sustains society, which in turn is served by the economy. This is the fundament for deciding how to live within planetary boundaries and align the economy with societal needs, not vice versa. This is reflected in the Just transition concept of the European Green Deal. Transformation also requires working with people in active roles, considering their capacities to think and speak about the transformation (future literacy). This is why social aspects are of high importance, for which a new term is suggested: BioWEconomy. The 2018 EU Bioeconomy is a sound base to start from – its further development and implementation should aim at becoming a BioWEconomy and include respective targets. Still, even such a bioeconomy will not make all of us secure, nor protect against all dangers. There is a large variety of risks mankind has to face, and most of these are interlinked so that a linear scale may be misleading (e.g. tipping points in the climate system). A circular, sustainable, and transformative BioWEconomy can mitigate several of the severe and likely risks, especially food and water crises, climate change, migration, and social instability. A circular, sustainable, and transformative EU BioWEconomy could become a role model for transforming other parts of the economy as well, helping to make the world a better and safer place for all. Finally, this report presents open questions relevant for further research: climate impacts of biomass, future-proof bioenergy systems, competing drivers, social factors, and sustainability governance. Investing in research on these questions will improve the understanding and implementation of a circular, sustainable, and transformative BioWEconomy, not only in the EU, but globally through knowledge-sharing networks.JRC.D.1-Bio-econom

RYR1 gene variability and effect on meat pH in Argentinean hybrids swines = Variabilidad del gen RYR1 y efecto en el pH de la carne en cerdos híbridos argentinos

The RYR1 gene is the principal cause of the porcine stress syndrome (PSS) and the presence of pale, soft and exudative meat (PSE) in swine. In Argentina there are no reports about the variability of RYR1 gene in hybrid swine and its effect on the quality of carcass. By PCR-HRM we analyzed 403 hybrids swines from Argentina and 65.0% were homozygous NN, 30.8% heterozygous Nn and 4,2% homozygous nn. Additionally, a significant effect (p <0.0001) of the RYR1 gene was detected on the pH of carcass at 45 minutes after slaughter. Normal genotypes NN showed the highest pH values at 45 minutes after slaughter (6.27), heterozygous Nn showed intermediate pH values (5.94) and homozygous susceptible nn showed the lowest pH values (5.64). Argentina present high incidence of Nn and nn genotypes for the RYR1 gene in relation to Brazil, the principal pig producer of Latin America. Additionally the RYR1 gene affects the pH of the meat, one of the principal parameters in the determination of the PSE meat.El gen RYR1 es la principal causa del síndrome de estrés porcino (PSS) y la presencia de carne pálida, blanda y exudativa (PSE) en los cerdos. En Argentina no existen informes sobre la variabilidad de dicho gen en cerdos híbridos y su efecto sobre la calidad de la canal. Por PCR-HRM se analizaron 403 cerdos híbridos de Argentina y el 65,0% eran homocigotos NN, 30.8% heterocigotos Nn y el 4,2% homocigotos nn. Además, se detectó un efecto significativo (p <0,0001) del gen RYR1 en el pH de la canal a los 45 minutos post faena. Los genotipos NN mostraron los mayores valores de pH a los 45 minutos después del sacrificio (6.27), los heterocigotos Nn mostraron valores intermedios de pH (5,94) y los homocigotos nn presentaron los valores más bajos de pH (5,64). Argentina presenta alta incidencia de los genotipos Nn y nn del gen RYR1 en relación a Brasil, el principal productor de cerdos de América Latina. Además, el gen RYR1 afecta al pH de la carne, uno de los principales parámetros para la determinación de carnes PSE.EEA Marcos JuárezFil: Marini, Sebastián José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Vanzetti, Leonardo Sebastian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez. Grupo Biotecnología y Recursos Genéticos; ArgentinaFil: Borelli, Valeria Soledad. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Las Breñas; ArgentinaFil: Villarreal, Augusto Orlando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Denegri, David. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Cottura, Germán Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Panichelli, Darío. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Silva, Patricia. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Animal. Cátedra de Nutrición Animal; ArgentinaFil: Campagna, D. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Animal. Cátedra de Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Brunori, Jorge Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Brunori, Jorge Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Franco, Raul Enrique. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; Argentin

Mobilisation of arsenic from bauxite residue (red mud) affected soils: effect of pH and redox conditions

The tailings dam breach at the Ajka alumina plant, western Hungary in 2010 introduced ~1 million m3 of red mud suspension into the surrounding area. Red mud (fine fraction bauxite residue) has a characteristically alkaline pH and contains several potentially toxic elements, including arsenic. Aerobic and anaerobic batch experiments were prepared using soils from near Ajka in order to investigate the effects of red mud addition on soil biogeochemistry and arsenic mobility in soil–water experiments representative of land affected by the red mud spill. XAS analysis showed that As was present in the red mud as As(V) in the form of arsenate. The remobilisation of red mud associated arsenate was highly pH dependent and the addition of phosphate to red mud suspensions greatly enhanced As release to solution. In aerobic batch experiments, where red mud was mixed with soils, As release to solution was highly dependent on pH. Carbonation of these alkaline solutions by dissolution of atmospheric CO2 reduced pH, which resulted in a decrease of aqueous As concentrations over time. However, this did not result in complete removal of aqueous As in any of the experiments. Carbonation did not occur in anaerobic experiments and pH remained high. Aqueous As concentrations initially increased in all the anaerobic red mud amended experiments, and then remained relatively constant as the systems became more reducing, both XANES and HPLC–ICP-MS showed that no As reduction processes occurred and that only As(V) species were present. These experiments show that there is the potential for increased As mobility in soil–water systems affected by red mud addition under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions

DNDI-6174 is a preclinical candidate for visceral leishmaniasis that targets the cytochrome bc1

New drugs for visceral leishmaniasis that are safe, low cost, and adapted to the field are urgently required. Despite concerted efforts over the last several years, the number of new chemical entities that are suitable for clinical development for the treatment of Leishmania remains low. Here, we describe the discovery and preclinical development of DNDI-6174, an inhibitor of Leishmania cytochrome bc1 complex activity that originated from a phenotypically identified pyrrolopyrimidine series. This compound fulfills all target candidate profile criteria required for progression into preclinical development. In addition to good metabolic stability and pharmacokinetic properties, DNDI-6174 demonstrates potent in vitro activity against a variety of Leishmania species and can reduce parasite burden in animal models of infection, with the potential to approach sterile cure. No major flags were identified in preliminary safety studies, including an exploratory 14-day toxicology study in the rat. DNDI-6174 is a cytochrome bc1 complex inhibitor with acceptable development properties to enter preclinical development for visceral leishmaniasis.</p

DNDI-6174 is a preclinical candidate for visceral leishmaniasis that targets the cytochrome bc1

New drugs for visceral leishmaniasis that are safe, low cost, and adapted to the field are urgently required. Despite concerted efforts over the last several years, the number of new chemical entities that are suitable for clinical development for the treatment of Leishmania remains low. Here, we describe the discovery and preclinical development of DNDI-6174, an inhibitor of Leishmania cytochrome bc1 complex activity that originated from a phenotypically identified pyrrolopyrimidine series. This compound fulfills all target candidate profile criteria required for progression into preclinical development. In addition to good metabolic stability and pharmacokinetic properties, DNDI-6174 demonstrates potent in vitro activity against a variety of Leishmania species and can reduce parasite burden in animal models of infection, with the potential to approach sterile cure. No major flags were identified in preliminary safety studies, including an exploratory 14-day toxicology study in the rat. DNDI-6174 is a cytochrome bc1 complex inhibitor with acceptable development properties to enter preclinical development for visceral leishmaniasis.</p

Short-course combination treatment for experimental chronic Chagas disease

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects millions of people in the Americas and across the world, leading to considerable morbidity and mortality. Current treatment options, benznidazole (BNZ) and nifurtimox, offer limited efficacy and often lead to adverse side effects because of long treatment durations. Better treatment options are therefore urgently required. Here, we describe a pyrrolopyrimidine series, identified through phenotypic screening, that offers an opportunity to improve on current treatments. In vitro cell-based washout assays demonstrate that compounds in the series are incapable of killing all parasites; however, combining these pyrrolopyrimidines with a subefficacious dose of BNZ can clear all parasites in vitro after 5 days. These findings were replicated in a clinically predictive in vivo model of chronic Chagas disease, where 5 days of treatment with the combination was sufficient to prevent parasite relapse. Comprehensive mechanism of action studies, supported by ligand-structure modeling, show that compounds from this pyrrolopyrimidine series inhibit the Qi active site of T. cruzi cytochrome b, part of the cytochrome bc1 complex of the electron transport chain. Knowledge of the molecular target enabled a cascade of assays to be assembled to evaluate selectivity over the human cytochrome b homolog. As a result, a highly selective and efficacious lead compound was identified. The combination of our lead compound with BNZ rapidly clears T. cruzi parasites, both in vitro and in vivo, and shows great potential to overcome key issues associated with currently available treatments.</p

Short-course combination treatment for experimental chronic Chagas disease

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects millions of people in the Americas and across the world, leading to considerable morbidity and mortality. Current treatment options, benznidazole (BNZ) and nifurtimox, offer limited efficacy and often lead to adverse side effects because of long treatment durations. Better treatment options are therefore urgently required. Here, we describe a pyrrolopyrimidine series, identified through phenotypic screening, that offers an opportunity to improve on current treatments. In vitro cell-based washout assays demonstrate that compounds in the series are incapable of killing all parasites; however, combining these pyrrolopyrimidines with a subefficacious dose of BNZ can clear all parasites in vitro after 5 days. These findings were replicated in a clinically predictive in vivo model of chronic Chagas disease, where 5 days of treatment with the combination was sufficient to prevent parasite relapse. Comprehensive mechanism of action studies, supported by ligand-structure modeling, show that compounds from this pyrrolopyrimidine series inhibit the Qi active site of T. cruzi cytochrome b, part of the cytochrome bc1 complex of the electron transport chain. Knowledge of the molecular target enabled a cascade of assays to be assembled to evaluate selectivity over the human cytochrome b homolog. As a result, a highly selective and efficacious lead compound was identified. The combination of our lead compound with BNZ rapidly clears T. cruzi parasites, both in vitro and in vivo, and shows great potential to overcome key issues associated with currently available treatments.</p

Direct Regulation of Striated Muscle Myosins by Nitric Oxide and Endogenous Nitrosothiols

, both through activation of guanylyl cyclase and through modification of cysteines in proteins to yield S-nitrosothiols. While NO affects the contractile apparatus directly, the identities of the target myofibrillar proteins remain unknown. Here we report that nitrogen oxides directly regulate striated muscle myosins..These data show that nitrosylation signaling acts as a molecular “gear shift” for myosin—an altogether novel mechanism by which striated muscle and cellular biomechanics may be regulated