Emerging market for sustainable food in Bangkok

More and more food is traded all over the world, changing the general pattern of food production and consumption dramatically. This transformation includes increasing consumer demand for safe and environmentally friendly produced food. Food is no longer produced only by farmers in the vicinity where consumers can easily observe how they produce their food. Nowadays, food can be produced in Asia and presented on a supermarket’s shelf in Europe, this unknown origin makes consumers more concerned about the safety of their food. Food scandals such as mad cow disease, bird flu, and GMOs make consumers concerned, uncertain and worried about their food. In response to these concerns, modern retailers in many countries improve their sustainable development policy and actively increase the provision of sustainable food. As a newly industrialized country in Southeast Asia, Thailand can be expected to witness a similar increasing domestic demand for sustainable food products, particularly in its urban areas. The general patterns of global change affect Thailand as well, but the specific processes of change differ due to specific conditions of urban Thailand. This paper analyzes the process of change towards sustainable food provision in Bangkok by investigating how consumers and the system of provision interact in retail outlets

Food Retailers as Key Actors

All kinds of food products are easily accessible throughout the year in the outlets of global retailing firms. Nowadays, as most people shop for food in supermarkets, the retail sector is also assuming a dominant role in sustainable food consumption. Can they fulfill this role and how can they realize it

Governance and non-state actors in municipal solid waste management

A study of governance and urban waste must examine not only the formal structures of government but also the informal structures created by the society, such as community-based institutions, associations, and organizations; their relationships; and the relationship between the formal and informal structures for collection, transportation, and disposal of waste. It is evident that municipalities in developing countries and particularly so in East Africa, typically lack the financial resources and skills needed to cope with the crisis of solid waste management. This raises the important issue of how to deliver quality service in the face of the financial and skill constraints of the public sector. Comparing governance arrangements that incorporate non-state actors in three urban authorities Kisumu (Kenya); Jinja (Uganda) and Mwanza (Tanzania) in East Africa, allowed this study to describe and appraise performance of these non-state actors in solid waste management at the municipal level with an aim of recommending policy options. Issues addressed are legitimacy and influence on decision-making; relations and alliances and the payment systems. Theoretical arguments of neo-developmental states verses network states in governance, guided the discussion. Household surveys; interviews and document analysis were the method used to gather data, SPSS-PASWStatistics_17.0 is used to make analysis of the quantitative data while coding is helpful in handling the qualitative data. The study concluded that a mixed modern approach in governance is needed to achieve sustainability. This would bring together the best features of central system of governance and the decentralized system to obtain an optimum mix

Providing Sustainable Food in Urban Thailand

Increasing demand for sustainable foods can be a driver for environmental improvements along the food-supply chain as a whole. Research in Western Europe has confirmed the importance of distribution channels in supplying sustainable food and particularly in how they are able to combine consumer concerns with the specific presentation of sustainability in the shop. In the urban areas of Thailand only some distribution channels for sustainable food are available, such as supermarkets and specialized shops (including specialized restaurants). Supermarkets mostly offer sustainable products, but the range of sustainable products depends on the location of supermarket. Specialized shops focused on organic products, healthy food, or special dietary needs. This paper reviews sustainable food providers i.e. supermarkets and specialized shops in Bangkok and combines literature review and empirical fieldwork. The focus was on the shop as the location where providers encounter consumers. Sustainability was observed at three levels; the general level, the shop level, and the product level. In particular communication, information, and other trust-building mechanisms at shop level were explored. The paper concludes by confirming the central role of specialized shops and supermarkets in transition processes towards more sustainable food provision. Their engagement creates a pressure on other actors in the food supply chain such as producers, government agencies, and consumers to also shift their practices. Different strategies can be identified as ways to increase sustainability in food provision

Intersecting Governance and Trade in the Space of Place and the Space of Flows

Coastal areas in Southeast Asia have historically been globalised spaces, with land and resources such as fisheries influenced by trade since pre-colonial times. As the intensity of resource use has expanded the resilience of the coastal environment and effectiveness of management practices have come into question. Commodity chains that once involved a stepwise progression through multiple global, national, local scales are now controlled through new ‘spaces’ of information and access, beyond the reach of scale dependent governance regimes such as the state. As a result the interaction of actors in commodity chains needs to be reframed within the lens of globalization while reiterating the practice and function of local actors. The spatial complexity of trade networks is as much a function of social cohesion as it is a function of the location of market infrastructure and sites of production. It is therefore important to understand the spatiality of the system in order to determine the geography of the trade, the source and influence of information, and the relevance of governance systems which mediate access and control over coastal resources. This paper examines the linkages between material transfers of commodities through the space of place and the movement of informational through what is increasingly referred to as the ‘space of flows’. Using examples from Southeast Asia attention is given to the global dynamics over the coastal environment, including the process of resource extraction through artisanal and global commodity chains, and the flows of information, technology and consumer perceptions back to these areas. The paper then discusses the role of contemporary governance systems over resource use by focusing on how state and non state actors continually manipulate both formal and informal regulations over both flows of commodities and information, creating a complex web of socio-spatial interaction from local to global scales

Urban daily lives and out-of-home food consumption among the urban poor in Nigeria: A practice-based approach

Understanding the interaction between urban daily lives and patterns of food consumption in the Global South is important for informing health and sustainability transitions. In recent years, the lives of poor urban dwellers have undergone significant transformations which have been associated with shifts in patterns of daily food consumption from household-based towards primarily out-of-home. However, as of yet, little research has explored how changing everyday contexts of consumers' lives interrelate with their food vending-consumption practices. This study seeks to understand the interrelations between everyday urban lives and out-of-home food consumption practices among the urban poor in Ibadan, Nigeria. A situated social practice approach is employed to understand how everyday contexts shape practices of out-of-home food vending consumption. Multiple methods were employed, including GIS mapping of food vending outlets, quantitative consumer surveys, in-depth consumer interviews, and participant observation. The study provides an overview of food vending-consumption practices in terms of the socio-demographic situation of consumers and the embeddedness of food vending in the practice arrangements making up their daily lives. The findings reveal three key daily life practices that interlock with their ready-to-eat foods consumption practices: daily mobility practices, working arrangements, and domestic engagements These three categories of daily urban practices that have undergone rapid transformation in line with socio-economic change and urbanisation and emerged as particularly important in shaping out-of-home food consumption. The paper concludes by considering the importance of understanding the embeddedness of food vending practices in the daily lives of the urban poor for sustainable food systems transitions in the Global South

Practitioners’ perspectives on improving ready-to-eat food vending in urban Nigeria: a practice-based visioning and back-casting approach

In many parts of the world, food consumption is shifting from mostly home-based to out-of-home due to transforming of everyday lives as a result of urban development and changing infrastructure. This trend has spurred the expansion of informal ready-to-eat food vending, particularly among the urban poor. However, informal ready-to-eat food vending practices have faced challenges in provisioning menu settings with high energy and calories foods. Moreover, there are concerns about the safety, health, and diversity of food purchased through ready-to-eat food vending. This paper explores practice-oriented strategies, suggestions, and mechanisms through key actors’ experiences and perspectives to understand how the provisioning of healthy and diverse food in informal ready-to-eat food vending can be improved in urban Nigeria as a future transformative initiative. A social practice-oriented approach, combined with participatory future visioning and back-casting, was employed in a multi-phase process of interlinked focus group discussions and workshops involving key food sector stakeholders. The findings reveal that achieving an increase in diverse foods and integration of fruits and vegetables requires changing food norms and promoting sensitization to the importance of diverse diets through training initiatives involving primary actors. Additionally, key skills/competences in the provisioning of healthy and diverse foods need to be learned and relearned, while adequate food materials, finance and effective and efficient integration of the different food vending practice elements are required for the realization of these initiatives. Furthermore, understanding the relationships between food vending and other food-related provisioning practices within the food vending environment is essential in transitioning to healthier and more diverse food provisioning in the informal food vending sector. Our findings provide insights for policymakers to provide strategic pathways for practical interventions to improve food vending practices that meet the food security and nutritional needs of the urban poor

Efficacy of statins in familial hypercholesterolaemia: a long term cohort study

Objective To determine the efficacy of statin treatment on risk of coronary heart disease in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia

Analysis of polymorphisms of canine Cytochrome P 450-CYP2D15

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) proteins constitute a large ancient family of oxidative enzymes essential for the efficient elimination of a wide variety of clinically used drugs. Polymorphic variants of human CYP2D6 are associated with the conversion rate and efficacy of several drugs such as antidepressants. Polymorphisms of the canine orthologue CYP2D15 are of interest because these antidepressants are also used in dogs with behavioral problems and the outcome of the treatment is variable. However, the annotated CYP2D15 gene is incomplete and inaccurately assembled in CanFam3.1, hampering DNA sequence analysis of the gene in individual dogs. We elucidated the complete exon-intron structure of CYP2D15 to enable comprehensive genotyping of the gene using genomic DNA. We surveyed variations of the gene in four diverse dog breeds and identified novel polymorphisms in exon 2 in border collies. Further investigation to establish the impact of these canine CYP2D15 polymorphisms on interindividual variability in expression and function of this metabolizing enzyme is now feasible. Further knowledge of CYP pharmacogenetics will help individualize therapy and thereby increase therapeutic efficacy, especially in the use of antidepressants in veterinary behavioral medicine

Environmental Systems and Local Actors: Decentralizing Environmental Policy in Uganda

In Uganda, environmental and natural resource management is decentralized and has been the responsibility of local districts since 1996. This environmental management arrangement was part of a broader decentralization process and was intended to increase local ownership and improve environmental policy; however, its implementation has encountered several major challenges over the last decade. This article reviews some of the key structural problems facing decentralized environmental policy in this central African country and examines these issues within the wider framework of political decentralization. Tensions have arisen between technical staff and politicians, between various levels of governance, and between environmental and other policy domains. This review offers a critical reflection on the perspectives and limitations of decentralized environmental governance in Uganda. Our conclusions focus on the need to balance administrative staff and local politicians, the mainstreaming of local environmental policy, and the role of international donors