Urbanisation and Food Insecurity Risks: Assessing the Role of Human Development

The phenomenon of rapid urbanisation across the world has become a topic of increased scholarly inquiry. Yet, little attention has been paid to how urban growth affects countries’ food security and whether this association is modified by a country's level of development. The present study aims to fill this lacuna by examining the association between urbanisation and food security applying statistical modelling. The analysis uses country-level data, from the World Development Indicators and the United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects. Using a Food Insecurity Risk Index (FIRI) as the outcome variable, the results confirm a significant negative impact of urban growth on food security at the country level. It further finds that rapidly urbanising countries with the lowest levels of human development are most at risk of food insecurity.     

Food Stamp Program Participation and Food Insecurity: An Instrumental Variables Approach

The relationship between Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation and household food insecurity (FI) is investigated using data from the 1996–1997 National Food Stamp Program Survey. Endogeneity of FSP participation is accommodated with an instrumental variables approach. In contrast to other findings reported in the literature, results suggest participation in the FSP reduces the severity of FI. Sociodemographic variables play important roles in FSP participation and FI. Underreporting of FSP participation and limited observations of food-insecure households in previous studies may have also been factors.     

Grain Production and Food Security in Arab Countries

Grains are the most important group of products in the food security programs of the Arab countries. These countries suffer from a shortage of food in general and in particular a shortage of grains. This results from a rapidly growing population and growing disposable incomes. This paper describes the grain sector in the economy of the Arab countries with special attention to its role in the national and regional food security programs. First, output and consumption of grains between 1973 and 1984 are analysed in all Arab countries, with special attention to wheat. Second, the concept of food security is discussed. Food security is defined as continuity of food supply to the whole population and unhampered access to food by all groups of the population. Food security is considered principally as a problem of short-term variability of food production and instability of imports. Food insecurity is thus measured by the size of production and consumption variability in relation to the long-term levels of consumption and production. The standard deviation and the coefficient of variation are used as indicators of the variability. Last, strategies and policies for achievement of food security are discussed. The growing food supply gap in the Arab countries implies the need to increase grain production as an element of major importance in the development of food-security programs. Proper grain policies must foresee increases of yields, reduction of post-harvest losses, and increased capacity to handle and store grain reserves. The establishment of national and regional Arab strategic grain stocks equal to the average magnitude of harvest shortfalls is recommended as one measure of short-term strategy. The long-term strategy, in turn, focuses on development of domestic agricultural production and greater cooperation among the Arab countries.     

现代食品分析中常用的仪器分析技术及发展意义

食品分析是研究和评定食品品质及其变化的一门学科,是传统分析化学与食品科学与工程的有机结合。本文就现代食品分析常用到的仪器分析技术及其应用范围进行了总结论述,同时还对仪器分析技术的发展及意义进行探讨,使人们对现代食品分析中常用的仪器分析技术有更进一步的了解。     

Taking agricultural technologies to scale: experiences from a vegetable technology dissemination initiative in Tanzania

One of the widely suggested approaches to meet the increasing food demand of a substantially growing world population is sustainable intensification. We present a unique agricultural research and scaling programme in Tanzania, focusing on the key elements necessary for results related to: gender analysis; private sector engagement; social capital; improvement and adaptation; and programme performance monitoring and evaluation. Since 2014, more than 6000 farmers have benefited from either the adaptive research or the scaling component of the programme. Preliminary impact analysis results from six pilot locations indicate that programme participants realized significantly higher yields compared to non-participants. In addition to productivity improvements, introducing resistant and drought-tolerant elite vegetable varieties improved the resilience of the existing farming systems. Finally, considering the needs of both male and female participants had a positive impact on technology adoption rates and reach.     

提高食品检验准确性的措施

食品安全问题会对人们的健康产生直接影响,研究最近几年的食品安全问题发现,政府与社会对于食品安全的关注度逐渐提高。为了真正保障食品安全,需要做好对应的食品检测,提高食品检测工作质量,进而为人们创造一个健康的生活环境,满足社会对于食品检验的要求。     

Changing Policies,Shifting Livelihoods: The Fate of Agriculture in Guinea‐Bissau

How do African agricultural livelihoods change under stressful conditions? How do market and agricultural policies and development interventions impact on both agricultural and social change, and consequently on food self‐sufficiency? Which long‐term factors can contribute to ‘depeasantization’? Is the ‘New Green Revolution’ the best and only solution for African food insecurity? These are the main questions this paper sets out to address, using southern Guinea‐Bissau as a case study. On the basis of long‐term ethnographic fieldwork, we look at farmers' responses to external and internal pressures, and analyse how ‘depeasantization’ progresses and livelihoods have been losing their resilience. Chances to reverse this trend, although difficult to implement, may still be feasible.     

The impact of population growth and climate change on food security in Africa: looking ahead to 2050

Providing nutritious and environmentally sustainable food to all people at all times is one of the greatest challenges currently facing society. This problem is particularly acute in Africa where an estimated one in four people still lack adequate food to sustain an active and healthy life. In this study, we consider the potential impact of future population growth and climate change on food security in Africa, looking ahead to 2050. A modelling framework termed FEEDME (Food Estimation and Export for Diet and Malnutrition Evaluation) was used which was characterized to model the impacts of future climate changes (utilizing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios projections) and projected population growth on food availability and subsequent undernourishment prevalence in 44 African countries. Our results indicate that projected rapid population growth will be the leading cause of food insecurity and widespread undernourishment across Africa. Very little to no difference in undernourishment projections were found when we examined future scenarios with and without the effects of climate change, suggesting population growth is the dominant driver of change. Various adaptation options are discussed, such as closing the yield gap via sustainable intensification and increasing imports through trade and aid agreements. These strategies are likely to be critical in preventing catastrophic future food insecurity.     

The Food Stamp Program and Food Insufficiency

Food stamp participants have higher food insufficiency rates than eligible nonparticipants, even after controlling for other factors. Given the Food Stamp Program's prominent role in the alleviation of hunger, this is a counterintuitive result. We conjecture that these higher rates are due to adverse selection insofar as households more likely to be food insufficient are also more likely to receive food stamps. We establish a theoretical framework to address this adverse selection. Using a simultaneous equation model with two probits, we show that once one controls for this adverse selection, food stamp recipients have the same probability of food insufficiency as nonrecipients.     

Food Stamp Benefits and Child Poverty

In 2000, 8.8 million children lived in households participating in the Food Stamp Program, making this assistance program a crucial component of the social safety net. Despite its importance, little research has examined food stamps' effect on children's overall well-being. Using the Current Population Survey from 1989 to 2001, we consider the impact of food stamps on three measures of poverty—the headcount, the poverty gap, and the squared poverty gap. We find that in comparison to the headcount measure, food stamp benefits lead to large reductions in the poverty gap and squared poverty gap measures.     

Increasing agricultural productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions in sub‐Saharan Africa: myth or reality?

The motivation for this study stems from two major concerns that are interlinked. The first is the decades long food insecurity crisis faced by sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries which is still prevalent. The second is the negative impact greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture may have on future food production and which is likely to worsen the food insecurity problem. The conundrum SSA farmers face is how to increase food output through productivity growth while minimizing GHG emissions. To measure changes in productivity growth and GHG emissions, this study evaluates the agricultural performance of 18 SSA countries by utilizing the Malmquist–Luenberger index to incorporate good and bad outputs for the years 1980–2012. The empirical evidence demonstrates that productivity is overestimated when bad outputs are not considered in the production model. The analysis provides a better understanding of the effectiveness of previous mitigation methods and which informs an appropriate course of action needed to achieve the twin objectives of increasing agriculture productivity while reducing GHG emissions.     

食品安全监督管理中快速检测技术的运用试析

食品安全问题直接关系到人们的生命健康,需要引起高度重视,也要落实好食品安全监督管理工作,保障食品质量安全,避免食品安全问题对人们造成不良影响。另外,做好食品安全监督管理工作,需要运用好各项检测技术,严格执行相关部门所提出的标准与要求。本文分析了快速检验技术在食品安全监督管理中的运用情况,并提出了相关的改进性意见,以期快速检测技术水平实现进一步提高,更好地为食品安全保驾护航。     

Valuing Food Store Access: Policy Implications for the Food Stamp Program

Food stamp recipients may lack access to larger stores, reducing the availability of nutritious food. Reliance on smaller stores may have undesirable impacts. Policy alternatives include limiting food stamp redemption to larger stores and subsidizing store development. I estimate that limiting redemption to supermarkets and grocery stores, or supermarkets alone, results in losses ranging from $499.2 million to $1.05 billion, or $1.17 billion to $2.44 billion (respectively) annual loss in food stamp recipient welfare nationwide. The impact of improving access is also significant, ranging from $333.6 million to $931.2 million.     

Institutional factors affecting wild edible plant (WEP) harvest and consumption in semi-arid Kenya

Pervasive food insecurity and poverty in much of the world drives vulnerable populations to harvest natural resources as a means of generating income and meeting other household needs. Wild edible plants (WEPs) are a particularly common and effective coping strategy used to increase socio-ecological resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa where agricultural systems are often sensitive to environmental perturbations and instability. WEPs are collected across the landscape, from agricultural areas to government-managed hilltops with varying degrees of success and legality. This multiple case study research, conducted in Eastern Province, Kenya, investigates the formal forest regulations and land tenure rights, as well as local enforcement and understanding of those rules, in order to understand their impact on the ability of vulnerable populations to use WEPs as a coping strategy. The results suggest that widespread confusion, trust issues and a strong focus on the commercialization of wild foods are limiting the possible contribution of WEPs to food security and increased socio-ecological resilience. We identify a number of policy changes and extension programs that could better support local communities relying on WEPs for subsistence purposes to improve their adaptive capacity.     

食品价值链及其对食品企业质量安全信用行为的影响

不安全食品价值链的经济激励是供应链上厂商集体失信的诱因.不安全食品生产厂商通过要素替代和质量欺诈合作创造价值链,跨地域运作扩大了价值链的增值空间,灵活的进退机制提供了构建不安全食品链的条件.打破不安全食品价值链,实现供应链替代,改善厂商的信用治理环境,是促进食品企业建立质量安全信用机制的关键.     

Gourmandizing Poverty Food: The Serpa Cheese Slow Food Presidium

This paper examines a Slow Food–sponsored project to recreate and promote Serpa Velho, a hard aged cheese historically produced in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The authors examine the historical forces behind three changes that the project sought to reverse, namely the abandonment by cheese makers of the Merino breed, the move away from aging the cheese on straw mats in the cheese room rafters to aging in refrigerated stores, and the sale of younger, softer cheeses. The authors contend that the pursuit of these aims by the project ironically contradicts Slow Food's stated aims of fostering the production of food that is ‘good, clean and fair’. The paper concludes not only that more rigorous historical analysis exposes Slow Food's romanticism and elitism, but also that such analysis is necessary to the improvement of the food we eat.     

影响食品检验准确性的因素分析及对策探讨

食品检验对我国人们食品消费安全来说非常重要。但在食品检验的过程中,却存在着一些影响食品检验准确性的外在因素,这些因素会导致食品检验出现差异,从而造成不可预知的食品安全问题。因此,为减少这些因素对食品检验的影响,相关检测部门要积极采取措施方法,以提高食品检验结果的准确性。本文主要就影响食品检验准确性的因素及对策进行分析探讨。     

论食品抽样检测的方法与技巧

食品抽样检测是食品安全方面的重要工作,只有做好了抽样检测方法的选取,掌握相应的检测技巧,才能够提高食品抽样检测结果的准确性,维护和保障食品安全。基于此,本文针对食品抽样检测的基本工作,对抽样检测方法和技巧进行分析,以有效解决食品的各种安全威胁,为人们提供安全、绿色的食品。     

Food security and Canada's agricultural system challenged by COVID-19

The effect of COVID-19 on Canadian food security is examined from two different perspectives. COVID-19 creates a unique “income shock” that is expected to increase the prevalence of household food insecurity. This food insecurity can be measured by utilizing the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). More fundamentally, COVID-19 heightens household concern about the capacity of the Canadian food system to ensure food availability. Despite surges in demand and supply chain disruptions, we currently do not observe broad, rapid appreciation in food prices. This suggests that there is an adequate supply of food for the near term. There is less certainty over intermediate and longer time periods because so many factors are in flux, particularly the rate of increases in sicknesses and deaths across the country and globally. Data on these health factors and elements of the food supply chain are needed to predict beyond a short time frame. In this regard, we discuss three ongoing considerations—ease of capital flows, international exchange, and maintaining transportation—that will help ensure food availability in the longer run.