Food and Nutrient Supply from Organic Agriculture in the Least Developed Countries and North America

Transitions to sustainable food systems require shifts in food production and availability, particularly the replacement of animal-based protein with plant-based protein. To explore how this transition may relate to demographic patterns, we undertake an ecological analysis of global associations between age-specific mortality, total national macronutrient distributions, and protein substitution. Our dataset includes per capita daily food supply and demographic data for 101 countries from 1961–2018. After adjusting for time, population size, and economic factors, we find associations between low total protein supplies and higher mortality rates across all age groups. Early-life survivorship improves with higher animal-based protein and fat supplies, while later-life survival improves with increased plant-based protein and lower fat supplies. Here, we show that the optimal balance of protein and fat in national food supplies, which correlates with minimal mortality, varies with age, suggesting that reductions in dietary protein, especially from animal sources, may need to be managed with age-specific redistributions to balance health and environmental benefits.

Needs-based food and nutrient security indices to monitor and modify the food supply and intakes: Taiwan, 1991–2010

This review provides an introduction to organic farming, its history and concepts, organic certification systems and governmental support, impacts to the environment and food security, the quality of organic food, and the impact of organic farming on human health. Organic farming is a holistic approach to agriculture and food systems that is based on agroecosystem health, soil fertility, reduction of inputs, and locally to regionally adapted farming systems. The first organic ideas were developed after World War I in Europe as an alternative to the existing conventional farming systems which induced rapid and crucial social and environmental changes in rural areas. Today, organic farming is growing rapidly on a global scale, with around 370 million hectares currently under certified organic management and a turnover of organic products amounting to 60 billion US dollars. Given that organic farming has environmental benefits, some governments are subsidizing organic farmers, while others establish legally valid organic standards that must be followed to enhance consumer trust in organic labeling.Many recent studies comparing organic and conventional farming have been performed, although almost exclusively in North America and Europe. These studies show that environmental impacts of organic farming are less than those from conventional farming, but the conclusions depend on the different farming systems used for comparison and on the parameters that were assessed. For soil parameters such as organic matter or aggregate stability, the effect from organic farming systems was positive compared to conventional farming systems, although contrary results exist in some cases. For nitrate leaching, study results are diverse and depend on production systems (animal husbandry, crop production, proportion of legumes). For greenhouse gas emissions, organic farming provides lower emissions on a per hectare basis compared to conventional farming, but the same or higher emissions on a product basis because of lower yields. If the yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems could be reduced, the potential for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would rise. Organic farming performed better with regard to biodiversity compared to conventional farming for most taxa assessed. The impact of organic farming on food security cannot be clearly assessed because studies on the performance of organic farming in developing countries are lacking. Currently, some authors argue that organic farmers in developing countries profit from organic production if they can realize a price premium for the products and reduce input costs.One of the most important consumer motivations for the purchase of organic products is their health benefits. Organic products performed better than conventional products for different food compounds by containing less pesticide residues that are harmful to human health, having more desirable bioactive substances, and in the case of organic meat and milk, having more desirable fatty-acid composition. Animal experiments have shown positive health impacts from organic food. Several studies conducted on rats have indicated higher immune system reactivity in organically fed rats compared to conventionally fed animals. Similar results have been obtained for chickens and cows.The rapid growth of organic farming also can be a threat to future development if the organic sector cannot maintain its integrity and credibility. Organic products are available not only in farmer markets but in on-farm shops and organic food stores and are becoming increasingly present in conventional supermarkets. This involves long supply-chains, large suppliers, as well as processing, distribution, and trade via conventional processors and wholesalers. This conventionalization of organic food-chains may challenge the credibility of the organic sector as an environmentally friendly and socially fair form of agriculture. As the organic sector depends very much on this credibility, the question of how to retain this authenticity will be a major concern for the future.

Agricultural productivity is the key to global food security. Modern conventional farming has substantially increased food production, but at the expense of serious environmental harm [[1][1]]. By contrast, organic production is regarded as a suitable and more sustainable alternative owing to its

The European Commission's Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, under the European Green Deal, acknowledges that innovative techniques, including biotechnology, may play a role in increasing sustainability. At the same time, organic farming will be promoted, and at least 25% of the EU's agricultural land shall be under organic farming by 2030. How can both biotechnology and organic farming be developed and promoted simultaneously to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? We illustrate that achieving the SDGs benefits from the inclusion of recent innovations in biotechnology in organic farming. This requires a change in the law. Otherwise, the planned increase of organic production in the F2F strategy may result in less sustainable, not more sustainable, food systems.

Food security in a just energy transition is a growing debate about designing sustainable food secure networks worldwide. Energy transition, land-use change, and food security are crucial factors for food security and provision. The increased demand for food products and customer preferences regarding food safety provide various issues for the current agriculture food supply chain (AFSC). Along with rising sustainability concerns, strict government regulation, food security, and traceability concerns compel managers, business houses, and practitioners working in AFSC to adopt new tools, techniques, and methodologies to model current food supply chain problems. Thus, in turn, design the food logistics network for food security. Hence, this study investigates the core determinants of food security and supply in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon over the period of 2010–2019. In order to estimate the objectives of the study, we employ the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares estimators (DOLS) to draw the study findings. However, the estimated results show a negative association of land use with food security and supply. Likewise, energy transition, gross domestic product, and agricultural value added (AVA) contribute to the food security supply. In contrast, urbanization's negative but insignificant contribution to the food supply in selected economies exists. Besides, another core objective of the study is to investigate the moderate role of the energy transition on the gross domestic product, agriculture sector, and land use and find the significant contribution to the food supply. However, the current study also tries forecasting for the next 10 years and employs the impulse response function (IRF) and variance decomposition analysis (VDA). Congruently, this study uses the pairwise panel causality test and finds exciting outcomes. The COVID-19 crisis has posed challenges such as energy consumption and food security issues. On behalf of the results, the current study proposes imperative policies to investigate the desired level of food supply. The findings provide valuable insights for experts, policymakers, and officials to take practical measures for energy use and food security challenges.

Nutrition security describes the adequacy of the food supply to meet not only energy but also macronutrient and micronutrient requirements for the population. The aim of this study was to develop a method to assess trends in national nutrition security and the contribution of imports to nutrition security, using the UK as a case study. Food supply data from FAO food balance sheets and national food composition tables were used to estimate the nutrient content of domestically produced food, imported food and exported food. Nutrition security was defined as the total nutrient supply (domestic production, minus exports, plus imports) to meet population-level nutrient requirements. The results showed that the UK was nutrition secure over the period 1961–2011 for energy, macronutrients and key micronutrients, with the exception of total carbohydrates and fibre, which may be due to the loss of fibre incurred by processing cereals into refined products. The supply of protein exceeded population requirements and could be met with domestic production alone. Even excluding all meat there was sufficient protein for population requirements. The supply of total fat, saturated fat and sugar considerably exceeded the current dietary recommendation. As regards nutrition security in 2010, the UK was reliant on imported foods to meet energy, fibre, total carbohydrate, iron, zinc and vitamin A requirements. This analysis demonstrates the importance of including nutrients other than energy to determine the adequacy of the food supply. The methodology also provides an alternative perspective on food security and self-sufficiency by assessing the dependency on imports to meet population level nutritional requirements.

Introduction: information about changes in food and energy supply, macronutrient and micronutrient availability by processing level is required to understand the nutritional transition in Mexican society. Objective: to describe the food, energy, and nutrient supply in Mexican households from 1984 to 2018. Methods: five waves of a Mexican cross-sectional survey were analyzed to identify changes in food, energy, and nutrient supplies in households. Food groups were created using the NOVA classification. The content of energy and nutrients was estimated using Mexican and U.S. databases. The education and income interaction with energy and nutritional supply was analyzed. Results: in this period, the supply of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, processed meat and dairy, fish and seafood, prepared food, and ultra-processed food and drinks increased, whereas unprocessed or minimally processed (UMP) cereals and tubers, legumes, meat, dairy, eggs, and all processed culinary ingredients decreased. These changes have implied a higher supply of protein, total fat, cholesterol, vitamins A and C, calcium and sodium. Total energy, energy density, carbohydrates, and magnesium and potassium density decreased. Across waves, UMP and processed cereals were the main supply for energy, carbohydrates, fiber, iron and potassium. Dairy was the main supply of saturated fat. UMP and processed cereals were the main source of sodium in 1984, whereas ultra-processed cereals were the main source of sodium in 2018. Conclusions: although UMP foods remain the main group in most Mexican households, their supply has decreased over the years, whereas the supply of ultra-processed foods has increased.

Human nutrition is a key component of the definitions of both sustainable food systems and sustainable healthy diets, and features prominently in the Sustainable Development Goals. However, progress towards complete nutrition and food security for the entire global population is poor, and the burden of malnutrition and food insecurity is felt in countries of all income levels, including in Oceania. While countries like Australia and New Zealand (NZ) are widely perceived as sources of high-quality food exported overseas due to great surpluses above national requirement, this hides domestic issues. The international nutrition community recognises and are demanding that our food systems must be sustainable, which is not yet the case anywhere in Oceania. Food insecurity at the household level is not uncommon, nor are nutrient deficiencies. It is often presumed that, should the inequitable distribution of food be balanced, these challenges would disappear. However, food supply and trade data show that even at the national and regional levels, insufficient food and nutrient supplies to meet population requirements are the established norm. For example, it has been demonstrated that domestic vegetable production falls short of NZ dietary recommendations, with imports making a negligible difference other than via energy dense crops(1). Likewise, after consideration of trade, NZ has undersupplies of calcium, potassium, vitamins C and E, and dietary fibre compared to population requirements(2). A wealth of data exists quantifying food production, trade, and availability and various scales. Increasingly, researchers are matching these to human requirements, whether at the food or nutrient level, to identify gaps(3). Insights generated from these data-driven approaches are being directed at trade policy, enabling decisions that can realise aspirational goals to reduce food insecurity through international trade. Making this data accessible to all via interactive user interfaces promotes wider engagement, understanding, and dissemination of findings. It also allows stakeholders in various countries to identify their own vulnerabilities, both as a result of current undersupplies, and due to high reliance on trading partners for food and nutrition security. Trade data can also be connected to environmental measures to identify scenarios where trade can be leveraged to the benefit of both nutrition and broader sustainability goals(4). High level, data driven approaches are not a substitute for individual-based studies on nutrition, but are a useful complement to them. With regionally or nationally deficient food and nutrient supplies, complete nutrition for individuals cannot be attained. A holistic, system-wide understanding is necessary for any policy decisions to advance nutrition.

The article analyzes the issues of food provision of the northern regions of Russia. The development of transport infrastructure is insufficient for the year-round delivery of perishable goods. A lack of research in this field is due to the fact that the transport system in these territories is mainly focused on the delivery of raw materials. The food security was estimated by food supply balances and population surveys. In this study, I use a conceptual model of food security. The food supply security was assessed using two groups of criteria: the availability of food supplies and access to them. The studies have shown that in the regions of the Far North of Russia, the supply of perishable food is insufficient, its assortment is limited, the quality is low at abovemarket prices. The development of the transport infrastructure is a leading factor that determines the food security in the northern regions. I propose to estimate the efficiency of transport delivery schemes considering the losses from their failures. The calculation of losses can prove that the used delivery schemes are not the most effective ones, and there is a need to develop other schemes of transportation. The comparative analysis of the used transport delivery takes into account the delivery time, the cost of transportation and the risks supply disruptions. This analysis has shown, that in the Far North, the delivery by rail to the Siberian rivers beds with subsequent transportation by river transport is the most demanded way of food supply. This delivery method incurs the minimum transportation costs. However, it is the longest route, and has the highest risk of supply disruptions. The second largest delivery scheme by the volume of food supplies is the Northern Sea Route. It incurs higher transport costs, shorter delivery time and lower risks. The third scheme of delivery is by air transport. It is the most under-utilized way of three routes with the minimum losses from disruptions and the maximum cost. The results of this study can be used to redesign delivery schemes and to identify priority areas for the development of transport infrastructure.

An adequate supply of energy, micronutrients and macronutrients is essential to achieve food and nutrition security to prevent malnutrition. Socio-economic, political, and climatic events, however, can affect the supply of food and nutrients. We assessed country-level supply trends of food and nutrients and their sources within the context of policy changes and political, socio-economic and climatic events from 1961 to 2013 in Zambia. Due to the lack of national food consumption data, food supply data from the FAO food balance sheets, matched to food composition tables, were used to estimate the energy, macronutrient and micronutrient content of 264 food items available to Zambia. We calculated historical nutrient supplies based on demographic characteristics and population-level dietary requirements. Results showed that Zambia was nutrition insecure from 1961 to 2013 for key micronutrients vitamin A, folate, riboflavin, vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, iron, and energy-deficient from the late-1980s. The diet has not substantially changed over time, with maize being the dominant food source. However, refined energy-dense food has steadily increased in the diet coupled with a reduction in fibre. These nutrient supply and dietary pattern trends coincide with specific socio-economic, policy, political, and climatic events from the 1970s to the early-mid 2000s, such as population growth, maize subsidy and crop diversification policies, regime change and drought. This study shows how policy, political and climatic events have been central features shaping nutrient supplies and the consequences for nutrition security. The study provides a context to inform future food policies to improve food and nutrition security.

Addressing the longstanding debate over the social impact of military power and recent discussions of military-induced famine the authors conduct a panel analysis of aggregate food supply and child hunger rates in 75-79 less-developed countries (LDCs). Distinguishing between militarization as the growth of military resources and militarism as the use of military force to handle political conflicts the authors show that militarization is both beneficial and detrimental to food security whereas militarism is consistently detrimental. Arms imports and associated increased military spending plus praetorianism and military repression reduce food security whereas increased military participation and arms production boost food security. Increased food supply reduces child hunger and is largely confined to the more developed of the LDCs. These military power effects show net economic growth which trickles down to improve food supply and reduce child hunger among the more developed LDCs reflecting the growth of global economic inequality. Contrary to views that see militarization as a single unified process use of armed force is not strongly rooted in either praetorianism or militarization. (authors)

In this work, wheat from two farming systems, organic and conventional, was analyzed. Organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing sectors in the food industry of Europe and the United States. It is an open question, whether organic or conventional agricultural management influences variables such as metabolism, nutrient supply, seed loading and metabolite composition of wheat. Our aim was to detect if organic or conventional farming systems would affect concentrations of metabolites and substances in developing ears and in corresponding matured grain. Therefore, broadband metabolite profiles together with lipids, cations, starch and protein concentrations of wheat ears in the last phase of grain development and of matured grain from organic and conventional agriculture of a rigorously controlled field trial with two organic and two conventional systems were examined. It appears that seed metabolism and supply of developing ears differ in organic and conventional agriculture. However, the differences in 62 metabolite concentrations become marginal or disappear in the matured grains, indicating an adjustment of nutrients in the matured grain from organic agriculture. This result suggests a high degree of homeostasis in the final seed set independent of the growing regime.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the beneficial role of adequate intake of potassium (K) in combating the global burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mainly hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Diets are the main source of K supply to humans and can contribute to both K deficiency (hypokalemia) and excess (hyperkalemia). While global attention is currently devoted to K deficiency, K excess can be even more dangerous and deserves equal attention. The objectives of this paper were to (i) estimate the K intake of Ghanaian population using food supply and food composition data and (ii) compare this estimate with the WHO-recommended requirement for K in order to assess if there is a risk of inadequate or excess K intake. Food supply data (1961–2011) were obtained from the Food Balance Sheet (FBS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to derive trends in food and K supply. The average food supply in the FBS for 2010 and 2011 was used in assessing the risk of inadequate or excess dietary intake of K. The K content of the food items was obtained from food composition databases. Based on 2010-2011 average data, the K supply per capita per day was approximately 9,086 mg, about 2.6-fold larger than the WHO-recommended level (3,510 mg). The assessment suggests a potentially large risk of excess dietary K supply at both individual and population levels. The results suggest the need for assessing options for managing K excess as part of food security and public health strategies. The results further underscore a need for assessment of the K status of staple food crops and mixed diets, as well as K management in food crop production systems in Ghana.

Studies from Latin America have shown that food insecurity reduces dietary diversity. However, dietary diversity measures do not account for the energy and nutrient supply in households. The objective of our study was to know whether there are differences in food, energy and nutrients supplies in Mexican households according to their food insecurity level. We analyzed the database of the National Household Income and Expenditure Survey performed in Mexico in 2014. The modified Latin-American and Caribbean Food Security Scale was used to determine the existence of household food security or insecurity. Participants registered foods and beverages available at their homes during the previous week. The supply of energy and nutrients was estimated using Mexican and American food composition references. Mexican food secure households had greater supply of healthy (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood, and fresh meats) and unhealthy (e.g., processed meats, fries, sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts, and alcoholic beverages) foods. By contrast, food insecure households rely on cheap staple food (e.g. maize, rice, pulses, eggs, and sugar). There was a linear relationship between the energy density and severity of food insecurity. Households with mild and moderate food insecurity had greater total energy supplies than households with food security and severe food insecurity. Food insecure households had greater supplies of carbohydrates, cholesterol, iron, and magnesium, but lower supplies of protein, fat, vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and sodium. Most of the results suggest that food insecure households are exposed mostly to negative aspects of the nutrition transition because they have greater access to energy and lower availability of some micronutrients.