Community Classroom of Hope: Permaculture Garden & RAP

College classrooms are long overdue for an overhaul. As the next generation of students are bombarded with the most challenging questions of our time, including those of climate resilience, sustainable farming, and community development, universities need classrooms and curricula that inspire. Outdated lecture halls and the lack of engagement, discussion, and generative conflict in classes stands as an obstacle to creating new ways of thinking and being. It’s paramount that college classes represent the change, hope, and curiosity they aim to inspire in their students. This project bridges forefront research in transformative classroom practices with survey and interview data on gaps in the UMass Amherst campus community in skillful communication skills and in experiential hands-on social learning. The results propose a residential permaculture garden program as a solution to address these competency gaps. The components of this program include a research-supported outdoor curriculum in student-led facilitation, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), insight dialogue, Earth stewardship projects, circling, and mindfulness. The project seeks to propose a solution for the feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, and pessimism that affect college students robbed of meaningful community and connection on their campuses. This is done through the medium of permaculture, a regenerative and holistic way of farming that engages communities and prioritizes “Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share” ethics and encourages “constructive hope”. This project aims to inspire the foundation of a new program at UMass Amherst and serve as a model for similar community and hope-strengthening projects at other colleges and universities in the United States

Pickering particles prepared from food waste

In this paper, we demonstrate the functionality and functionalisation of waste particles as an emulsifier for oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions. Ground coffee waste was chosen as a candidate waste material due to its naturally high content of lignin, a chemical component imparting emulsifying ability. The waste coffee particles readily stabilised o/w emulsions and following hydrothermal treatment adapted from the bioenergy field they also stabilised w/o emulsions. The hydrothermal treatment relocated the lignin component of the cell walls within the coffee particles onto the particle surface thereby increasing the surface hydrophobicity of the particles as demonstrated by an emulsion assay. Emulsion droplet sizes were comparable to those found in processed foods in the case of hydrophilic waste coffee particles stabilizing o/w emulsions. These emulsions were stable against coalescence for at least 12 weeks, flocculated but stable against coalescence in shear and stable to pasteurisation conditions (10 min at 80 °C). Emulsion droplet size was also insensitive to pH of the aqueous phase during preparation (pH 3–pH 9). Stable against coalescence, the water droplets in w/o emulsions prepared with hydrothermally treated waste coffee particles were considerably larger and microscopic examination showed evidence of arrested coalescence indicative of particle jamming at the surface of the emulsion droplets. Refinement of the hydrothermal treatment and broadening out to other lignin-rich plant or plant based food waste material are promising routes to bring closer the development of commercially relevant lignin based food Pickering particles applicable to emulsion based processed foods ranging from fat continuous spreads and fillings to salad dressings

Interfacial and emulsifying properties of mealworm protein at the oil/water interface

The increasing global population and consumer demand for protein will render the provision of protein a serious future challenge. The lower environmental impact of insect farming makes the consumption of insects an appealing solution, although consumers in developed countries often respond to the idea of eating insects with disgust. One approach to accustom consumers to insects as part of their diet is through the application of functional insect extracts as food ingredients. Here, the interfacial and emulsion properties of protein extracted from Tenebrio molitor (MP) was investigated in comparison to commercial whey protein (WP). The MP showed higher interfacial activity and faster adsorption kinetics at the oil/water interface. The mean droplet size of high shear processed oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions (20% w/w oil) stabilised with MP assumed a process limited value at the lowest protein concentration, included in this study, of 0.44% w/w based on aqueous phase. Stepwise increase in protein concentration to 0.88%, 1.75% and 2.63% revealed, in the case of WP stabilised emulsions, that the same process limited droplet diameter was reached at 1.75% protein addition. With a view to potential future application of MP as a food emulsifier MP stabilised emulsions were exposed to common formulation and process conditions such as varied pH, salt, heat, chilling and freezing. Except for flocculation after heating to 90 °C and at pH close to the isoelectric point (IEP) of the MP, the microstructure of the emulsions remained unchanged. MP shows promise as a food emulsifier and represents a vehicle for the introduction of insect protein into the diet of societies not accustomed to eating insects

Pickering particles prepared from food waste

In this paper, we demonstrate the functionality and functionalisation of waste particles as an emulsifier for oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions. Ground coffee waste was chosen as a candidate waste material due to its naturally high content of lignin, a chemical component imparting emulsifying ability. The waste coffee particles readily stabilised o/w emulsions and following hydrothermal treatment adapted from the bioenergy field they also stabilised w/o emulsions. The hydrothermal treatment relocated the lignin component of the cell walls within the coffee particles onto the particle surface thereby increasing the surface hydrophobicity of the particles as demonstrated by an emulsion assay. Emulsion droplet sizes were comparable to those found in processed foods in the case of hydrophilic waste coffee particles stabilizing o/w emulsions. These emulsions were stable against coalescence for at least 12 weeks, flocculated but stable against coalescence in shear and stable to pasteurisation conditions (10 min at 80 °C). Emulsion droplet size was also insensitive to pH of the aqueous phase during preparation (pH 3–pH 9). Stable against coalescence, the water droplets in w/o emulsions prepared with hydrothermally treated waste coffee particles were considerably larger and microscopic examination showed evidence of arrested coalescence indicative of particle jamming at the surface of the emulsion droplets. Refinement of the hydrothermal treatment and broadening out to other lignin-rich plant or plant based food waste material are promising routes to bring closer the development of commercially relevant lignin based food Pickering particles applicable to emulsion based processed foods ranging from fat continuous spreads and fillings to salad dressings

Formulation engineering of water-in-oil-in-water emulsions for salt reduction with sucrose oleate as a PGPR-alternative lipophilic emulsifier

Sucrose oleate was assessed as an alternative lipophilic emulsifier to polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) for the stabilisation of the internal aqueous phase of a water-in-oil-in-water emulsion formulation designed for salt release from the internal aqueous phase during oral processing. A water-in-oil emulsion (30 g water/100 g oil), containing an internalised salt solution (1.5 g salt/100 g), was successfully incorporated as droplets into a salt containing external aqueous phase (0.5 g salt/100 g) with in-situ gelatinised waxy rice starch (WRS) stabilising the oil droplet interface. The droplets of the sucrose ester stabilised water-in-oil emulsion were aggregated, and this microstructure carried over into the water-in-oil-in-water emulsion. The PGPR stabilised water-in-oil emulsion showed no evidence of aggregation, and the primary droplet size was smaller. Mean oil droplet size was comparable, slightly increasing for the sucrose ester containing formulation over a 3-months observation period. Nevertheless, salt encapsulation efficiency, reducing by around 10% over 3-months, as well as in vitro salt release, reducing by 20%, were comparable. This study demonstrated that sucrose ester SE O-170 is a viable alternative for PGPR in w/o/w emulsions designed for salt release during oral processing

Effect of popping water content and amylose/amylopectin ratio on the physical properties of expanded starch products with different shear histories

Aerated starch products are a staple of the food industry, with particular relevance in the snack market. Water plays a crucial role in the formation of such products due to its utility both as a blowing agent and as a starch plasticiser. Amylose/amylopectin ratio and shear are traditionally also important factors in starch expansion. In this study, waxy, normal and high amylose maize starch variants were expanded using a rice-cake style popping head at water contents between 0% and 24%. This range of water contents was achieved by drying the material at 105 °C and then rehydrating by suspension over water at 50 °C until the desired water content was reached prior to popping. Sample types were further subdivided into low shear (native) and high shear (extruded) processing prior to popping. Processing history, amylose content and water content all influenced the water interaction properties of the popped products. However, density was largely governed by water content with little apparent influence of other factors. An optimum water content range to produce low-density (and therefore high desirability in industry) products was identified in the region of ~15–21% water. Samples popped below this range exhibited suboptimal expansion whilst those popped at higher water contents experienced violent blowout

The effect of popping, a sustainable form of processing, soaking, boiling, and roasting processes on antinutritional factors in chickpea and red kidney bean

The study was conducted to determine the effect that a popping head (like a rice cake machine), a low-shear and low-water processing technology, has on the concentration of antinutritional factors in chickpea and red kidney bean. Seeds were popped under several parameters (popping time, sample format and equipment type), and analysed against soaking (1:5 w/v in reverse osmosis water for 24 hours), roasting (100 g at 180 °C for 20 minutes) and boiling (1:5 w/v in reverse osmosis water at 100 ± 1 ° C for 1 hour) processes. Popping and roasting significantly reduced phytic acid content in chickpea (6-22%) and red kidney bean (16-39%). In contrast, phytic acid content after soaking and boiling was not significantly different to raw seeds. Condensed tannins were significantly reduced in red kidney bean after soaking (74%), boiling (100%), and 4 second popping (28-42%) treatments and increased in both pulses after roasting (137%) and 8 second popping (21-47%). Further analysis showed that the soluble content of phenolics increased with popping, but the total and bound phenolic content was reduced. These results demonstrate that the high temperatures and pressures applied during the popping process effectively reduce antinutritional factors in pulses, compared to conventional processing methods

A dual function for Pex3p in peroxisome formation and inheritance

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pex3p has been shown to act at the ER during de novo peroxisome formation. However, its steady state is at the peroxisomal membrane, where its role is debated. Here we show that Pex3p has a dual function: one in peroxisome formation and one in peroxisome segregation. We show that the peroxisome retention factor Inp1p interacts physically with Pex3p in vitro and in vivo, and split-GFP analysis shows that the site of interaction is the peroxisomal membrane. Furthermore, we have generated PEX3 alleles that support peroxisome formation but fail to support recruitment of Inp1p to peroxisomes, and as a consequence are affected in peroxisome segregation. We conclude that Pex3p functions as an anchor for Inp1p at the peroxisomal membrane, and that this function is independent of its role at the ER in peroxisome biogenesis

“I guess it's quite trendy”: A qualitative insight into young meat-eaters’ sustainable food consumption habits and perceptions towards current and future protein alternatives

As the market for sustainable food continues to expand, there is a need to understand how consumers’ consumption habits and perceptions are changing. Targeting the younger populations is of interest as they arguably will shape the future of food. Therefore, the present study aimed to provide in-depth consumer insights on a range of topics from current consumption habits (i.e., meat reduction, plant-based meat/seafood (PBM/S)), towards future protein alternatives (i.e., cell-based meat/seafood (CBM/S), precision fermented dairy (PFD)). Online focus groups were conducted in the UK with meat-eaters (n = 38) aged 18–34. Codebook thematic analysis was applied using the Framework Matrix as a tool for data analysis. Key themes were presented using the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation), which identified areas of behavioural change. Results found a trend towards meat reduction, partially initiated by moving away from home and limited food budgets. Overall, participants acknowledged the environmental impact of food, but a notable knowledge gap was apparent when quantifying the effect, especially for dairy and seafood. Compared to PBM, few participants had tried PBS products, partially due to lower availability and familiarity. Enablers for PBM/S included convenience, positive sensory experiences and the influence of others, whilst barriers related to negative health connotations and over-processing. For CBM/S and PFD, animal welfare, curiosity and optimised nutrition acted as enablers, whilst barriers related to wider consumer acceptance, affordability and unnaturalness. In general, participants felt changing food consumption habits can have an impact on climate change and were optimistic about novel technologies supporting future protein transitions. Increasing public understanding around the environmental impact of food, especially seafood and dairy, and prioritising the affordability of sustainable food are suggested as intervention strategies to encourage sustainable food consumption

The Iowa Homemaker vol.32, no.4

We Go Pogo, Too, Beverly Gould, page 7 Their Health in Her Hands, Marjorie Miller, page 8 Behind “The Magic Window”, Alane Baird, page 9 Date Doings in Ames, Ruth Anderson, page 10 Where and When, page 11 Before You Snap It, Jean Goul, page 12 She Cooks Before the Camera, Jane Steele, page 13 What’s New, Evelynn Toulouse and Dorothy Will, page 14 Football’s Inside Info, Colene Ruch, page 16 Time-Saver Plus!, Patricia Stiff, page 17 Trends, Joanne Ryals, page 1