Life Cycle Costing and Food Systems: Concepts, Trends, and Challenges of Impact Valuation

Our global food systems create pervasive environmental, social, and health impacts. Impact valuation is an emerging concept that aims to quantify all environmental, social, and health costs of food systems in an attempt to make the true cost of food more transparent. It also is designed to facilitate the transformation of global food systems. The concept of impact valuation is emerging at the same time as, and partly as a response to, calls for the development of legal mechanisms to address environmental, social, and health concerns. Information has long been understood both as a necessary precursor for regulation and as a regulatory tool in and of itself. With global supply chains and widespread impacts, data necessary to produce robust and complete impact valuation requires participation and cooperation from a variety of food system actors. New costing methods, beyond basic accounting, are necessary to incorporate the scope of impacts and stakeholders. Furthermore, there are a range of unanswered questions surrounding realizations of impact valuation methods, e.g. data sharing, international privacy, corporate transparency, limitations on valuation itself, and data collection standardization. Because of the proliferation of calls for costing tools, this article steps back and assesses the current development of impact valuation methods. In this article, we review current methods and initiatives for the implementation of food system impact valuation. We conclude that in some instances, calls for the implementation of costing have outpaced available and reliable data collection and current costing techniques. Many existing initiatives are being developed without adequate consideration of the legal challenges that hinder implementation. Finally, we conclude with a reminder that although impact valuation tools are most often sought and implemented in service of market-based tools for reform, they can also serve as a basis for robust public policies

Urinary tract infections in the community

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are defined as significant bacteriuria in the setting of symptoms of cystitis/pyelonephritis. Urine dipstick is diagnostic in most cases. Urinalysis and Microscopy (U&M) and Culture and Sensitivity (C&S) prior to starting antibiotic therapy is indicated for the diagnosis and as an aid to the correct management of UTIs in certain settings. Antibiotics to treat UTIs must be carefully chosen and their prescribed duration depends on the type of UTI. Over-the-counter products for the treatment and prevention of UTIs are available: these include cranberry products and potassium citrate. Recurrent UTIs in females, UTIs in catheterized men, pyelonephritis and UTIs with unusual organisms require further investigation.peer-reviewe

My experience as a GP trainer : some reflections

Dr Jason J. Bonnici relects on his experience as a GP trainer, saying that what comes out most with GP Training is that it is professionally and personally very rewarding. The GP who is a trainer benefits as a GP because s/he keeps abreast of what is going on in the specialty, uses communication skills to bring this knowledge and a variable degree of experience across to the GP trainee, and endeavors to fill in lacunae in skills and/or knowledge.peer-reviewe

Review of: Amer EI-Ahraf et al., The Impact of Public Policy on Environmental Quality and Health: The Case of Land Use Management and Planning

Review of the book The Impact of Public Policy on Environmental Quality and Health: The Case of Land Use Management and Planning by Amer El-Ahraf et al., (Quorum Books 1999). Acknowledgments, introduction, appendixes, selected bibliography, index. ISBN 1-56720-065-6 [181 pp. $59.95. Hardbound, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881]

Climate Policy & U.S.-China Relations

The Chinese stance, that no cap on carbon emissions will ever exist no matter how high, may be a product of China\u27s belief in a cold and hard, and potentially true, reality-that global economic power is paramount and will provide the only avenue to adapt to an inevitable climate crisis, as well as achieve the milestones of superpower status, many of which they have already achieved (e.g., Olympic Games, World Expo, United Nations Security Council). While China\u27s policy remains problematic, as is United States\u27 failure to lead in the international community on the issue of climate change, China\u27s actions, while globally irresponsible, may be very reasonable if solely defined by Chinese domestic interests. The question is whether China\u27s dramatic economic rise comes with more responsibility, and what is the responsibility of the United States in light of its existing and historical economic prowess and level of energy consumption

Food Court

This article, focusing on produce and grain, discusses the environmental and climate change impacts of food production, processing, packaging, and distribution, which ultimately contribute to both economic and social costs. The article addresses environmental energy costs in the food supply. Figure 1 shows, for example, the significant amount of energy used in various aspects of food production, transportation, and processing. Much of this article\u27s focus will be on commodity crops. Along with wheat and rice, corn and soybeans constitute the world\u27s most popular planted and consumed crops. The United States is the leading producer of corn, growing nearly 40 percent of the world\u27s total, with more than half of that production coming from only 20 percent of U.S. corn growers. In 2008 over 85 million acres of corn and more than 75 million acres of soybeans were planted in the United States, and the crops have faced increasing demand in the world market over the past ten years as they are sources of both human and animal food.

Global Environmental Law: Food Safety & China

This article makes the case for food security law and policy as a component of global environmental law in recognition of the global economy, trade liberalization, and concerns for food safety and environmental harm. It further describes rule of law as a significant force in mitigating food safety concerns and pollution in China. Part II explores global food safety concerns in the context of United States-China relations, while Part III discusses the U.S. Food & Drug Administration\u27s on-the-ground presence in China as an example of the emergence of cooperative agreements in global environmental governance. Part IV shows how increased rule of law may mitigate environmental harm and food safety concerns in China. The article concludes by arguing that increased international cooperation on traditionally domestic issues is both likely and desirable, and it illustrates the need for increased rule of law efforts in the developing world

Precision Measurements of Particle Masses using Jets at LEP2

How massive elementary particles get their mass is one of the greatest open questions in physics. Two of the major goals of the current LEP2 physics program that help to address this question are (a) to measure as precisely as possible the W Boson mass mW and (b) to exclude or discover the Higgs Boson within the available kinematic region. The reconstruction of invariant masses with jets from 4-jet channels (e.g. WW -> q qbar q qbar and HZ -> b bbar q qbar) and missing energy channels (e.g WW -> e nu q qbar and e+e- -> H nu nubar) is discussed. The emphasis is on the determination of mW, from which the role of calorimetry in such a precision measurement is emphasised

In situ recovery of secondary metabolites using adsorption resins : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Almost without exception a two to three fold increase in microbial secondary metabolite concentration was measured when adsorption resins were added in-situ during a submerged liquid fermentation. Anguidine was produced at a final concentration of 440 mg/L after five days in a shake flask that contained adsorption resin, compared to 300 mg/L without resin. Rapamcyin was produced at a final concentration of 87 mg/L after six days in a shake flask that had resin present, compared to 28 mg/L without resin. Ansamitocin P3 was produced at a final concentration of 24 mg/L after six days in a shake flask with resin, compared to 9.75 mg/L without resin. The increase in secondary metabolite concentration confirmed that the resins used provided a positive influence on secondary metabolite production. Adsorption resins for shake flask studies were selected based on their ability to achieve maximum adsorption of specific secondary metabolites in various fermentation systems. A library of adsorbed concentrations was collected for the three secondary metabolites studied. The lipophilicty of the metabolite, calculated by several software packages, was compared to the polarity of the adsorption resin to generate a relationship. By using the preceding set of data it is possible to select adsorption resins that improved the produced concentrations of the target organic secondary metabolites. The fermentation media compositions tested appeared to have no effect on the final product concentration when adsorption resins were added in situ during the fermentations. Based on the lipohilictiy of the secondary metabolite and the polarity of the resins, it is possible to select a resin that achieves a high adsorption concentration of the target organic secondary metabolite