Food chain inefficiency (FCI) : accounting conversion efficiencies across entire food supply chains to re-define food loss and waste

Achieving global food security requires a new approach that integrates not only all aspects of the growing, harvesting and processing of food (necessary to ensure sufficient affordable and sustainable production to alleviate hunger) but also the complexities associated with food consumption including deterring unhealthy overconsumption. Inefficiencies occur at various points along the agri-food supply chain but at present they are inadequately conceptualized via separate accounts of food loss, food waste, supply chain management, and public health. Here we re-define food loss and waste through the concept of conversion efficiency applied to the entire system, an approach up to now only applied to the primary processes of crop productivity. Nine conversion efficiencies are defined: sunlight capture efficiency; photosynthesis use efficiency; biomass allocation efficiency; harvesting efficiency; storage and distribution efficiency; processing efficiency; retailing efficiency; consumption efficiency; and dietary efficiency. Using the production and consumption of bread in the UK as an example, we demonstrate how efficiencies may be estimated and thus where the main inefficiencies lie, so indicating where the most significant improvements could be made. We suggest that our approach, which introduces the term Food Chain Inefficiency (FCI) to re-define food loss and waste, provides a rational and effective way to devise the practical interventions and policies needed to deliver a sustainable agri-food system

The importance of over-the-counter-sales and product format in the environmental exposure assessment of active pharmaceutical ingredients

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Temporal and spatial variation in pharmaceutical concentrations in an urban river system

Many studies have quantified pharmaceuticals in the environment, few however, have incorporated detailed temporal and spatial variability due to associated costs in terms of time and materials. Here, we target 33 physico-chemically diverse pharmaceuticals in a spatiotemporal exposure study into the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the wastewater system and the Rivers Ouse and Foss (two diverse river systems) in the city of York, UK. Removal rates in two of the WWTPs sampled (a conventional activated sludge (CAS) and trickling filter plant) ranged from not eliminated (carbamazepine) to >99% (paracetamol). Data comparisons indicate that pharmaceutical exposures in river systems are highly variable regionally, in part due to variability in prescribing practices, hydrology, wastewater management, and urbanisation and that select annual median pharmaceutical concentrations observed in this study were higher than those previously observed in the European Union and Asia thus far. Significant spatial variability was found between all sites in both river systems, while seasonal variability was significant for 86% and 50% of compounds in the River Foss and Ouse, respectively. Seasonal variations in flow, in-stream attenuation, usage and septic effluent releases are suspected drivers behind some of the observed temporal exposure variability. When the data were used to evaluate a simple environmental exposure model for pharmaceuticals, mean ratios of predicted environmental concentrations (PECs), obtained using the model, to measured environmental concentrations (MECs) were 0.51 and 0.04 for the River Foss and River Ouse, respectively. Such PEC/MEC ratios indicate that the model underestimates actual concentrations in both river systems, but to a much greater extent in the larger River Ouse

Diversification and dispersal of the Hawaiian Drosophilidae: The evolution of Scaptomyza

The genus Scaptomyza is emerging as a model lineage in which to study biogeography and ecological adaptation. To place future research on these species into an evolutionary framework we present the most comprehensive phylogeny of Scaptomyza to date, based on 5042 bp of DNA sequence data and representatives from 13 of 21 subgenera. We find evidence that the lineage originated in the Hawaiian Islands and subsequently dispersed to the mainland and other remote oceanic islands. We also identify that many of the unique ecological niches exploited by this lineage (e.g., herbivory, spider predation) arose singly and independently. We find strong support for the monophyly of almost all subgenera with exceptions corroborating hypotheses of conflict inferred from previous taxonomic studies

Chapter six - transformation of agricultural landscapes in the Anthropocene: nature's contributions to people, agriculture and food security

Multiple anthropogenic challenges threaten nature's contributions to human well-being. Agricultural expansion and conventional intensification are degrading biodiversity and ecosystem functions, thereby undermining the natural foundations on which agriculture is itself built. Averting the worst effects of global environmental change and assuring ecosystem benefits, requires a transformation of agriculture. Alternative agricultural systems to conventional intensification exist, ranging from adjustments to efficiency (e.g. sustainable intensification) to a redesign (e.g. ecological intensification, climate-smart agriculture) of the farm management system. These alternatives vary in their reliance on nature or technology, the level of systemic change required to operate, and impacts on biodiversity, landscapes and agricultural production. Different socio-economic, ecological and political settings mean there is no universal solution, instead there are a suite of interoperable practices that can be adapted to different contexts to maximise efficiency, sustainability and resilience. Social, economic, technological and demographic issues will influence the form of sustainable agriculture and effects on landscapes and biodiversity. These include: (1) the socio-technical-ecological architecture of agricultural and food systems and trends such as urbanisation in affecting the mode of production, diets, lifestyles and attitudes; (2) emerging technologies, such as gene editing, synthetic biology and 3D bioprinting of meat; and (3) the scale or state of the existing farm system, especially pertinent for smallholder agriculture. Agricultural transformation will require multifunctional landscape planning with cross-sectoral and participatory management to avoid unintended consequences and ultimately depends on people's capacity to accept new ways of operating in response to the current environmental crisis

‘GMO-FREE ’ LABELS – ENHANCING TRANSPARENCY OR DECEIVING

Copyright 2009 by authors. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. Vortrag anlässlich der 49. Jahrestagung der GEWISOLA „Agrar- und Ernährungsmärkte nach dem Boom