Assessing the Sustainability Implications of Expansions and Innovations in Refrigerated Food Supply Chains

Refrigeration transforms food systems. The global integrated refrigerated supply chain, or “cold chain,” impacts numerous sustainability outcomes, from energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to consumer diets and producer behavior. This dissertation seeks to understand refrigeration’s systems-level sustainability implications: first, how this technology influences environmental outcomes and human behavior, but also how adoption and use patterns feed back into how this technology impacts its users and the broader environment. This dissertation begins by building an understanding of the current cold chain’s influence on sustainability. Chapter 2 reviews the existing literature on refrigeration, finding the cold chain remarkably understudied in the sustainability literature. One key environmental tension identified is the trade-off between GHG emissions added from cold chain operation, and the cold chain’s ability to decrease food loss. Chapter 3 compares changes in pre-retail GHG emissions from cold chain operation and food loss rate changes when introducing a refrigerated supply chain into the Sub-Saharan African food system. This study finds cold chain introduction resulting in a net GHG increase of 10% in a scenario reflecting a North American development scenario and 2% in a European development scenario. This analysis also models refrigeration’s influence on food demand and agricultural production: finding an increase of 10% over the baseline when modeling a North American diet, or a 15% reduction with a European diet. Given the substantial influence diet has on food system sustainability, Chapter 4 explores the particular role that refrigeration plays in consumer diet. This study moves beyond Chapter 3’s assumption of convergence to Western diets in development, using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey and a regression model to isolate the effects of refrigeration from socio-economic variables. In this case study, household refrigerator ownership is statistically significantly associated with lower consumption of starchy staple foods, nuts and seeds, and pulses; and higher consumption of meat and dairy. Having investigated how refrigeration currently influences emissions and diet, this dissertation’s final chapters examine improvements and innovations in refrigerated supply chains. Motivated by a Chapter 3 finding that the cold chain adds more pre-retail emissions than it saves through food loss reduction, Chapter 5 assesses interventions to decrease cold chain emissions. This study builds a more-refined, process-based cold chain model, reflecting a fully-developed refrigerated food supply chain. The largest decreases result from decarbonized electricity, improved supermarket refrigeration systems, or reductions in pre-consumer food loss. The largest emissions reduction from a single intervention is 1.20 kg CO2e/kg (39%) for frozen fish supplied from using decarbonized electricity, and the largest from a tested combination is 1.61 kg CO2e/kg frozen fish from combining decarbonized electricity with a CO2NH3 supermarket refrigeration system. The final chapter assesses the environmental improvements offered by an innovation in the cold chain: meal kit services. Meal kits are pre-portioned ingredients delivered to consumers, circumventing brick-and-mortar retailing. This study finds average grocery store meal GHG emissions exceeding those for an equivalent meal kit by 33%. Reductions in food waste emissions are found to exceed emissions missions added through extra packaging, and that direct-to-consumer delivery provides additional emissions reductions. This dissertation examines several key sustainability implications of cold chain expansion and innovation. The complex interactions between cold chain technology and consumer behavior underscores the need to take a systems perspective when examining sustainability outcomes from future food supply chain developments.PHDResource Policy & Behavior PhDUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155222/1/brheard_1.pd

Range Extensions and Review of the Caprellid Amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) from the Shallow, Coastal Waters from the Suwanee River, Florida, to Port Aransas, Texas, with an Illustrated Key

Eight species of the amphipod family Caprellidae sensu Myers and Lowry, 2003 are currently known to occur in the shallow, near shore waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), from the Suwannee River, Florida, to Port Aransas, Texas, and to depths of 10 m. They include: Phtisica marina, Hemiaegina minuta, Paracaprella pusilla, Paracaprella tenuis, Deutella incerta, Caprella equilibra, Caprella penantis, and Caprella scaura. Another species, Caprella andreae, is also suspected to occur in this region due to its close association with sea turtles, which nest on the sand beaches of the northern GOM. The occurrence of these 9 species in the northern GOM is discussed; known distributions, new records, synonymies, diagnoses, and remarks on life history and ecology are also presented. In addition, new northern GOM records for 7 of these species are provided along with a simplified identification key

Stomatopoda (Crustacea: Hoplocarida) from the Shallow, Inshore Waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Apalachicola River, Florida to Port Aransas, Texas)

Six species representing the order Stomatopoda are reported from the shallow, inshore waters (passes, bays, and estuaries) of the northern Gulf of Mexico limited to a depth of 10 m or less, and by the Apalachicola River (Florida) in the east and Port Aransas (Texas) in the west. With the exception of the “live bottom” gonodactylid, Neogonodactylus bredini (Manning), these predatory crustaceans usually inhabit burrows in mud, sand-mud, and sand substrata in coastal and shelf waters. The species treated in this paper are Neogonodactylus bredini (Manning), Lysiosquilla scabricauda (Lamarck), Bigelowina biminiensis (Bigelow), Coronis scolopendra Latreille, Squilla empusa Say, and Gibbesia neglecta (Gibbes). The questionable record of Squilla rugosa Bigelow by Archer (1948) is discussed. A review of the life history, ecology, distribution, and new northern Gulf of Mexico records is provided here for each of these species. Figures and an illustrated key are also presented

A guide to the Thalassinidea (Crustacea: Malacostraca: Decapoda) of the South Atlantic Bight

Ghost shrimp and mud shrimp in the decapod infraorder Thalassinidea are ecologically important members of many benthic intertidal and shallow subtidal infaunal communities, largely due to the sediment filtration and mixing that result from their burrowing and feeding behavior. These activities considerably modify their immediate environment and have made these cryptic animals extremely interesting to scientists in terms of their behavior, ecology, and classification. Over 20 years ago, seven species of thalassinideans were known from the South Atlantic Bight (Cape Hatteras, NC to Cape Canaveral, FL). During this study, the examination of extensive collections from the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), the Southeastern Regional Taxonomic Center (SERTC), and regional institutions, resulted in the identification of 14 species of thalassinideans currently known to occur within this region. The family Axiidae is represented by three species: Axius armatus, Calaxius jenneri, and Paraxiopsis gracilimana; the Callianassidae by six: Biffarius biformis, B. cf. fragilis, Callichirus major, Cheramus marginatus, Gilvossius setimanus, and Necallianassa berylae; the Calocarididae by two: Calocaris templemani and Acanthaxius hirsutimanus; and the families Laomediidae, Thomassiniidae, and Upogebiidae are each represented by one: Naushonia crangonoides, Crosniera wennerae, and Upogebia affinis, respectively. An illustrated key is presented for species level identification and supplemental notes on the ecology, distribution, and taxonomy of the species are provided.(PDF file contains 38 pages.

Redescription of Pinnixa arenicola Rathbun, 1922 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae), with new observations on its range and host

Abstract.-Pinnixa arenicola is redescribed and illustrated on the basis of new collections and reexamined type material. Its occurrence in the burrows of Upogebia vasquezi Ngoc-Ho is reported, along with range extensions that include Florida, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and the Cayman Islands. New collections represent the first reports of P. arenicola since original discoveries in Curaçao and suggest a potentially wide distribution of the species in the tropical western Atlantic. Following publication of the unillustrated original description for the holotype male, females were also noted to occur in Curaçao, but illustrations with limited detail were provided by Rathbun for only the male holotype specimen. Prior to our work, no illustrations have depicted female morphology, unique male gonopods, or some pereopod features of potential value in defining phylogenetic relationships

Transforming Food Systems Under a Changing Climate: Changing diets and transforming food systems - key messages

In an aspirational global food system, everyone would meet but not exceed their nutritional needs, and fulfill personal preferences for tasty, affordable, varied, convenient and healthy food—while keeping climate change under 2°C. Diets are an outcome of people’s choices and are profoundly shaped by socio-cultural, physical and economic factors in the food ‘choice environment’. Historically there have been substantial changes in people’s diets and diets continue to be in flux. Dietary change offers a route to achieving the aspirational Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) food system, combining positive outcomes for health and for the environment. The most effective strategies to shift diets will involve multiple approaches that deliberately aim not just to influence consumers themselves, but all participants in the food system, taking into account plural values and incentives. Effectiveness of actions will depend on the political economy at national and global levels. Overall there is reason to be hopeful about the potential for dietary change, given both historic trends and the growing suite of tools and approaches available

Changing diets and transforming food systems

In an aspirational global food system, everyone would meet but not exceed their nutritional needs, and fulfill personal preferences for tasty, affordable, varied, convenient and healthy food—while keeping climate change under 2°C. Diets are an outcome of people’s choices and are profoundly shaped by socio-cultural, physical and economic factors in the food ‘choice environment’. Historically there have been substantial changes in people’s diets and diets continue to be in flux. Dietary change offers a route to achieving the aspirational Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) food system, combining positive outcomes for health and for the environment. The most effective strategies to shift diets will involve multiple approaches that deliberately aim not just to influence consumers themselves, but all participants in the food system, taking into account plural values and incentives. Effectiveness of actions will depend on the political economy at national and global levels. Overall there is reason to be hopeful about the potential for dietary change, given both historic trends and the growing suite of tools and approaches available

Environmental Analyses to Inform Transitions to Sustainable Diets in Developing Countries: a Component of the EATS Project

Sustainable diets are an environmental, economic and public health imperative, but identifying clear intervention points is challenging. The Entry points to Advance Transitions towards Sustainable diets (EATS) project seeks to repackage existing data, combined with an interview-informed awareness of current national and sub-national policy processes, to inform food system-level decision making. Here we view historic trends in food supply in Vietnam and Kenya as a proxy for national average diets, and consider them in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions and cumulative energy demand associated with producing that food. Economic prosperity in Vietnam in recent decades has led to increases in meat consumption and, in turn, amplified increases in diet level environmental impacts. Mild levels of beef consumption in Vietnam have now overcome the most popular meat, pork, as the dominant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, historically consistent levels of dairy and beef in Kenya dominate diet-level environmental impacts. This preliminary work will be integrated into later stages of the EATS project to promote systemic approaches to sustainable development

Environmental analyses to inform transitions to sustainable diets in developing countries: case studies for Vietnam and Kenya

Purpose Sustainable diets are an environmental, economic, and public health imperative, but identifying clear intervention points is challenging. Decision-making will require descriptive analyses from a variety of perspectives, even under the inevitable uncertainty introduced by limited data. This study uses existing data to provide a diet-level perspective on environmental impact from food production in the case study countries of Vietnam and Kenya. Methods FAO food supply data at decadal time steps were used as a proxy for national average diets in Vietnam and Kenya. We combined these data with estimates of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and water use impact associated with producing food commodities. Generic GHGE factors were derived from a survey of the life cycle assessment literature. Country- and commodity-specific blue water use estimates were used, reflecting country-of-origin for import-dominated commodities. The AWARE characterization model was used to offer a diet-associated water scarcity footprint. Trends in diet-associated environmental impacts were interpreted in light of diet shifts, economic development trends, and other factors. Results and discussion Increasing per capita food supply in Vietnam, and in particular increases in meat, have led to rising diet-associated per capita GHGE. While supply of beef remains 5.2 times smaller than pork—the dominant meat—increases in beef demand in the past decade have resulted in it becoming second only to rice in contribution to diet GHGE. The water use and water scarcity footprint in Vietnam follow an increasing trend comparable to food supply. On the other hand, historically consistent levels of dairy and beef in Kenya dominate diet-level GHGE. Water use associated with the Kenyan diet shows marked increases between the 1990s and 2000s due to imports of wheat and rice from water-stressed regions. Environmental performance data for characteristic food production systems in these and other developing countries are needed to improve the representativeness and reliability of such assessments. Conclusions Despite data limitations, the methods and results presented here may offer a fresh perspective in sustainable development policy deliberations, as they offer an entry point to linking environmental impact and consumption behaviors and can elucidate otherwise obscure or unexpected outcomes. A clear need emerges for further environmental analysis of dominant production systems within both Vietnam and Kenya

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms