Food Supply System Research Articles

ECONOMIC AVAILABILITY OF FOOD IN THE CONDITIONS OF WAR

Food security is a country's ability to provide people with access to quality and healthy food. According to the Rome Declaration on World Food Security, every country must ensure the human right to adequate nutrition. This document envisages: physical and economic availability, food independence, reliability in relation to seasonal and weather fluctuations and sustainability of production growth. Today, the problem of food security in Ukraine concerns almost all aspects of the functioning of the state: from defense and readiness to deal with emergency situations to long-term development prospects.
 Ukraine's contribution to the world food market in 2021 was equivalent to providing food for 400 million people. russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine disrupted the production, processing and food supply systems.
 The policy of our country in the field of ensuring food security changes in accordance with the challenges and taking into account the experiences that have confirmed their practical feasibility. In particular, a plan to ensure food security under martial law was adopted. This is a complex of actions that involves monitoring the state of food security and agricultural infrastructure as a whole; providing support to food producers; provision of targeted assistance to socially vulnerable categories of the population, centralized control over product prices.
 World leaders, the European Union and the United Nations are also currently looking for ways to avoid a food crisis due to the war waged by russia against Ukraine, which has caused the harvest to decrease by about 30%

Challenges for future food systems: From the Green Revolution to food supply chains with a special focus on sustainability

AbstractFinding a food system to feed the growing worldwide population remains a challenge, especially in the current era, where natural resources are being dramatically depleted. From a historical point of view, the Green Revolution, together with biofortification and sustainable intensification, was established as a possible solution to counter hunger and malnutrition during the second half of the 20th century. As a solution, to overcome the limitations attributed to the Green Revolution, food supply chains were developed. The current food system, based on the long food supply chain (LFSC), is characterized by globalization, promoting several advantages for both producers and consumers. However, LFSC has been demonstrated to be unable to feed the global population and, furthermore, it generates negative ecological, environmental, logistical, and nutritional pressures. Thus, novel efficient food systems are required to respond to current environmental and consumers’ demands, as is the case of short food supply chain (SFSC). As a recently emerging food system, the evaluation of SFSC sustainability in terms of environmental, economic, and social assessment is yet to be determined. This review is focused on the evolution of food supply systems, starting from the Green Revolution to food supply chains, providing a significant perspective on sustainability.

Blockchain for Food Tracking

A food shortage, which has increased with the climate crisis, will be one of the biggest problems of the world, together with water scarcity, in the future and will damage the sustainability of the food supply system. With the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, food resources are decreasing, and food prices are rising all over the world. The decrease in food sources increases the importance of food tracking even more. The exorbitant price increases after the COVID-19 pandemic are the most concrete indicators of this. Blockchain-based food tracking systems will be of critical importance because they will prevent exorbitant price increases with their contribution to food tracking processes, such as reliability and transparency. In this study, the establishment of a blockchain-based food tracking system in Turkey, its operation, and its results will be discussed. It was concluded that 97.54% of the participants using the established system found the application useful and wanted such an application to become widespread. In addition, comparing the performance data of the established blockchain-based system with other blockchain infrastructures, a value of 0.038 s for latency is 435 times better than Ethereum, one of the most popular blockchain infrastructures. A transmission per second value of 285, reception per second value of 335, and CPU load rate value of 19.22 are obtained with the proposed system.

Quantitative Assessment of Climate Change Impact and Anthropogenic Influence on Crop Production and Food Security in Shandong, Eastern China

Food security plays an important role in maintaining national stability and sustainable development of human society, and its research has become a hot issue at present. Shandong is the main grain producing area in China, and its grain production plays an important role in national food security. Accordingly, this paper is based on the county climate change, grain yield, sown area, fertilizer use, total power of rural machinery, and total population data in Shandong Province from 1995 to 2020. The evolution process of the food security pattern was studied by the methods of spatial analysis and comprehensive evaluation, the influencing factors of food security were quantitatively analyzed, and the adaptive countermeasures to alleviate the food security risks in this region were discussed. The results show that: Grain production increased by 30.62% from 1995 to 2020. The total population and per capita food availability also increased. Since 2000, more than a quarter of counties have experienced a high risk of food insecurity. The spatial agglomeration of grain production was enhanced, and the local agglomeration characteristics were significantly different. The average temperature in the growing season, the sown area, and the total power of agricultural machinery had a significant positive impact on grain production, while the annual average temperature had a significant negative impact on grain production. Improving the food supply system, strengthening the protection of cultivated land, improving the efficiency of fertilizer utilization, and increasing investment in agricultural science and technology can effectively alleviate food security risks.

«Bread Poverty» as a Factor of Destabilization in the Olonets «New Order» Regiments in the 1660s

The article examines the problems of the food supply system of the Russian army during the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667. An attempt is made to reveal the degree of dependence of the increased scale of desertion among soldiers in the Olo-
 nets «new order» regiments from the supply crisis of the early 1660s. The study applies a historical and genetic method, as well asa comparative method. The author argues that the maximum aggravation of relations between soldiers and the command in 1662 was largely due to the negative consequences of the monetary reform of the middle of the 17th century and the late payment of bread and monetary salaries. Moreover, inconsistent government policy on the soldiers of OlonetskyUyezd
 provoked a sharp increase in the number of soldiers desertingfrom the army. The measures taken by the authorities to suppress the impoverishment of the soldiers
 came to failure. The fight against desertion took various forms, but it was also not possible to stop desertion from the regiments.

A resilience systemic model for assessing critical supply chain disruptions

AbstractAssessing the impact of natural disasters and manmade incidents against critical infrastructure systems is important and challenging. As critical infrastructure sectors become more interdependent, a method is needed to assess how disruptions to one sector affect other sectors. This need is particularly significant in the case of critical national supply chains which have not received the same attention as other critical infrastructure systems. This research develops a methodology for performing supply chain impact assessments by integrating model‐based systems engineering (MBSE) with discrete event simulation (DES). SysML models capture the supply chain structure and critical infrastructure interdependencies. Simulation of the supply chain model subjected to external constraints identifies the impacts from critical infrastructure disruptions. This approach enables researchers and public policy planners to assess critical supply chain risks associated with current infrastructure implementations, and to conduct what‐if analyses on alternative solutions. Application of this methodology to assess the natural disaster impacts on an urban food supply system demonstrates the effectiveness of modeling and simulation for evaluating the impacts of critical infrastructure disruptions on a wide range of critical supply chains. Future research should apply this methodology to different national supply chains and investigate additional critical infrastructure interdependency linkage mechanisms.

Global initiatives on implementation of zero hunger policy

Purpose. The study aims to analyze critically the system and functions of specialized agencies, programs and United Nations (UN) funds that ensure the implementation of the second goal of sustainable development (GSD2), to identify the components of global initiatives for the successful implementation of the Zero Hunger Policy.
 Methodology / approach. The methodological approach of the study are theoretical provisions and practical recommendations for the formation of the food supply system, economic theory, which determines the patterns of food distribution, scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists on sustainable development of the agricultural sector to achieve Zero Hunger. The following methods were used in the research process: statistical (regression analysis of the assessment of factor’s impact on the level of daily energy value of food consumed in households in Ukraine), monographic (mechanism of GSD2 implementation in the global dimension), historical method (the UN’s composition and function in guaranteeing GSD2 implementation), systematic analysis (composition and roles of international institutions within the United Nations in guaranteeing GSD2 implementation), direct analysis and synthesis (areas of FAO’s activities in ensuring the implementation of GSD2 at the national level) etc.
 Results. The study found that global initiatives for successful implementation of the Zero Hunger Policy are based on three components: regulatory support, the activities of international organizations coordinated by the UN, and the implementation of the GSD2 framework and programs at the national level, which support most countries across the globe interaction with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
 Originality / scientific novelty. Theoretical provisions regarding global initiatives for the implementation of Zero Hunger Policy have further developed: the main functions of specialized agencies, programs and UN funds that ensure the implementation of GSD2 were systematized, the degree of their spread and influence was determined; it was proved that FAO had a significant potential comparative advantage in assisting countries to meet new challenges in GSD2 monitoring; it was found that the activities of FAO together with partners to ensure global processes for the implementation of GSD2 include different areas.
 Practical value / implications. The obtained results are important for building a network of institutional and international cooperation for the successful implementation of Zero Hunger government policies.

Global initiatives on implementation of zero hunger policy

Purpose. The study aims to analyze critically the system and functions of specialized agencies, programs and United Nations (UN) funds that ensure the implementation of the second goal of sustainable development (GSD2), to identify the components of global initiatives for the successful implementation of the Zero Hunger Policy.
 Methodology / approach. The methodological approach of the study are theoretical provisions and practical recommendations for the formation of the food supply system, economic theory, which determines the patterns of food distribution, scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists on sustainable development of the agricultural sector to achieve Zero Hunger. The following methods were used in the research process: statistical (regression analysis of the assessment of factor’s impact on the level of daily energy value of food consumed in households in Ukraine), monographic (mechanism of GSD2 implementation in the global dimension), historical method (the UN’s composition and function in guaranteeing GSD2 implementation), systematic analysis (composition and roles of international institutions within the United Nations in guaranteeing GSD2 implementation), direct analysis and synthesis (areas of FAO’s activities in ensuring the implementation of GSD2 at the national level) etc.
 Results. The study found that global initiatives for successful implementation of the Zero Hunger Policy are based on three components: regulatory support, the activities of international organizations coordinated by the UN, and the implementation of the GSD2 framework and programs at the national level, which support most countries across the globe interaction with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
 Originality / scientific novelty. Theoretical provisions regarding global initiatives for the implementation of Zero Hunger Policy have further developed: the main functions of specialized agencies, programs and UN funds that ensure the implementation of GSD2 were systematized, the degree of their spread and influence was determined; it was proved that FAO had a significant potential comparative advantage in assisting countries to meet new challenges in GSD2 monitoring; it was found that the activities of FAO together with partners to ensure global processes for the implementation of GSD2 include different areas.
 Practical value / implications. The obtained results are important for building a network of institutional and international cooperation for the successful implementation of Zero Hunger government policies.

Impacts of international food and feed trade on nitrogen balances and nitrogen use efficiencies of food systems

International trade of agricultural products has greatly increased over time, but its impacts on sustainable development are debated. It may contribute to food security in importing countries, increases the dependency between countries, and has been implicated in displacement of environmental pollution and resource depletion. There is also discussion about the relationships between trade and nitrogen (N) balances and N use efficiencies (NUE). We explored relationships between changes in the trade of food and feed and in N balances and NUE of the food supply systems through simulation modeling and an analysis of empirical data of 115 countries (representing 91% of global population) for the period 1961–2011. In the empirical analysis, 64 main importing countries and 14 main exporting countries, were distinguished. Importing countries had on average a higher population density than exporting countries but rather similar protein intake and GDP per capita. The empirical analysis indicate that main importing countries had on average higher N fertilizer inputs to their food supply systems, and also higher N surpluses and higher NUE than main exporting countries. The overall mean NUE of the food supply system of main importing countries decreased with increasing import, but the relationships between import and NUE were diverse when these countries were grouped according to population density and GDP per capita. We compared N balances and partial N balances, and three methodologies commonly used for estimating NUE. We observed that NUE2 provides an unbiased estimate for both importing and exporting countries. Our study contributes to the understanding of the diverse relationships between international trade, N balances and NUE of food systems.

Moving beyond the impasse in geographies of ‘alternative’ food networks

Despite theoretical developments in conceptualising alterity, what counts as ‘alternative’ in unconventional systems of food provision remains contested. This paper argues that the literature has reached an impasse. I argue that overly ‘alternative’ readings conceptualise Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) as a more embedded form of economic exchange, while neoliberal readings represent them as a case of marketisation. This paper systematically reviews AFNs literature and contends that a deeper engagement with Polanyian geographies enables a more nuanced approach to evaluating alternatives and their socio-political significance. Analytically and normatively, ‘alternatives’ need not be radically ‘other’, nor seen as having been co-opted by the neoliberal order.

Anti-competition Agreements on Agricultural Fertilizers between Cause and Effect

The total link between plant protection products and agricultural productivity is investigated empirically in this research. The study gives statistics on the economic impacts of expanding fertilizer sales, so we raise important concerns about the cause for the expansion, which creates this growth, need or excessive consumption, according to a range of research. Fertilizer management and monitoring in accordance with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with the application of the correct quantity of nitrogen at the correct time as the foundation for successful fertilizer management. The paper also looks into some of the effects of climate change on agriculture; research shows that carbon absorbers are just as important as reducing emissions, and that the two are closely linked. The findings and information on the effectiveness of agricultural methods of high-performance farms ready to provide sustainable food supply systems provide people the confidence to consume organic goods in order to ensure that their bodies are healthy. This article addresses the topic of competition law violation in the context of imports of nitrogen-based fertilizers, in this case urea, as a product utilized in agriculture, using a subject and predicate method.

Establishing a Multidisciplinary Framework for an Emergency Food Supply System Using a Modified Delphi Approach.

A scientific food emergency supply system is helpful for assuring food supplies continuity, improving response efficiency, and reducing disaster losses. However, the framework for a food emergency supply system is currently an understudied area in emergency management post-disaster. In this study, a comprehensive literature review of major databases was performed to identify potential indicators for the emergency food supply system, followed by a two-round modified Delphi with a multidisciplinary expert panel (n = 17) to verify the proposed framework. The effective response rate of questionnaires ranged from 94.4% (17/18) to 100% (17/17) and the authority coefficient of experts was 0.88, indicating high positivity and reliability of the experts. Furthermore, the p-values of Kendall’s W were < 0.01 and the Cronbach’s α were > 0.7 for all domains and indicators, indicating a high reliability and validity for the proposed framework. Finally, a consensus was reached on all eight domains and 81 indicators. In conclusion, this study introduced and verified a multidisciplinary framework for the food emergency supply system, which could provide a theoretical basis for emergency responders to make corresponding commands and decisions post-disaster.

Taking sustainable eating practices from niche to mainstream: the perspectives of Swedish food-provisioning actors on barriers and potentials

The food system is a major driver of anthropogenic environmental impacts and in Sweden a sizeable proportion of the country’s relatively large per capita ecological footprint is attributable to food. In short, sustainable eating practices need to become mainstream. Actors within the food-provisioning system likely have valuable insights into how such a transition could be enabled. This article presents the results of a qualitative study that aimed to examine the perspectives of these individuals on such a transition in Sweden using a social practice framework to identify framings of barriers and potentials for mainstreaming sustainable eating practices. We found that conventional framings and models for explaining change and transitions dominate. These approaches center on providing alternative food products, with some attention devoted to normalizing sustainable eating through product design, communication, and marketing. However, exceptions to these strategies include calls for redefining business profitability in terms of human and planetary health and notions of a decentralized food-provisioning system consisting of small-scale actors and limited by the regional and seasonal supply of food. Our analysis suggests that interventions for mainstreaming sustainable eating practices need to move beyond a constrained recrafting of mainstream eating practices and toward systematic practice substitution that favors considerations regarding how eating practices connect to other practices that constitute people’s everyday lives. We conclude by discussing implications for the food-provisioning system and suggest directions for further research that could lead to the development of strategies for mainstreaming sustainable eating practices in Sweden and elsewhere.

Structural shifts in food basket composition of rural and urban Philippines: Implications for the food supply system.

Empirical evidence on the responsiveness and sensitivities of food consumption to its drivers is vital for conducting economic studies. Despite recent attempts to provide such estimates, much empirical work remains to be done considering the prevailing shifts in consumption trends in the Philippines. Price and expenditure elasticities are estimated for seven food categories for rural and urban Filipino households, using Stone-Lewbel (SL) price indices and the quadratic almost-ideal demand system (QUAIDS) model. We used multiple years (2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018) of the Philippines Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) to estimate the food demand system. The results show that rice is a normal good for most households, particularly for rural consumers. However, it is an inferior good for the top 30% of rural Filipinos and the top 40% of urban Filipinos. As income increases, such wealthy households tend to replace their rice-dominated diet with nutrient-dense food products. Female-headed households, younger households, and households with educated members consume significantly more animal proteins such as meat and dairy products.

Traditional Dietary Knowledge of a Marginal Hill Community in the Central Himalaya: Implications for Food, Nutrition, and Medicinal Security.

Himalayan communities illustrate a rich agriculture–medicine use system that not only provides adequate dietary diversity and nutrition but also delivers therapeutic security. This study explores the food–medicine interface as observed by the marginal hill communities in the central Himalaya with an aim to assess traditional agriculture and food plants with relation to dietary diversity and nutritional and medicinal values based on comprehensive research. A total of 445 respondents were interviewed to obtain data on food intakes using dietary recall methods and dietary diversity indices (DDIs). The ethnomedical use of plant species was gathered from respondents as well as from various published studies for respective species. Nutritional parameters were collected from the Indian Food Composition Table developed by the ICMR, India to analyze the average nutritional intake. The traditional food system achieves the dietary and nutritional needs of the community within the standard norms. The average household dietary diversity of 7.45, 7.34, and 8.39 in summer, monsoon, and winter seasons, respectively, sustain 79, 74, and 93% of energy requirements in respective, seasons. The average food consumption score (FCS) was 73.46, and all the food exhibited rich phytochemicals, such as amino acids, alkaloids, carotenoids, flavonoids, glycosides, and phenolic acids. These plants also provided effective treatments against several ailments and illnesses, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetics, gastrointestinal issues, and inflammation The indigenous cuisines also have significant food and medicinal values. Considering that the community had significant knowledge of food systems with their nutritional and therapeutic utility, there is a need to protect and document this indigenous knowledge. Also, most of the crops are still under cultivation, so there is a need to create more awareness about the nutritional and therapeutic value of the system so that it could be retained intact and continued. The implications of this research are of both academic importance and practical significance to ensure food–medicine security and avoid malnutrition among rural communities. It is expected that the study would lead to renewed thinking and policy attention on traditional agriculture for its role in food and nutritional security that may lead to a sustainable food supply system.

Information Sharing Management System Based on Blockchain Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

In recent years, the food supply system has become increasingly globalized. Traditional traceability systems have issues with centralized administration, opaque information, untrustworthy data, and the ease with which information islands can be created. To address the aforementioned issues, this study proposes a blockchain-based traceability system for storing and querying product information throughout the agricultural supply chain. Most existing systems, on the other hand, are unable to meet the traceability and management requirements of ASCs. To address these concerns, we first develop a blockchain-based ASC architecture for product traceability, which provides decentralised security for agri-food tracing data stored in ASCs. A Deep Reinforcement Learning based Supply Chain Management (DR-SCM) system is then offered to make effective judgments on the production and storage of agri-food commodities for profit optimization. In a variety of ASC scenarios, extensive simulation experiments are conducted out to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed blockchain-based infrastructure and the DR-SCM strategy.

Thermodynamic Constraints on Electromicrobial Protein Production.

Global consumption of protein is projected to double by the middle of the 21st century. However, protein production is one of the most energy intensive and environmentally damaging parts of the food supply system today. Electromicrobial production technologies that combine renewable electricity and CO2-fixing microbial metabolism could dramatically increase the energy efficiency of commodity chemical production. Here we present a molecular-scale model that sets an upper limit on the performance of any organism performing electromicrobial protein production. We show that engineered microbes that fix CO2 and N2 using reducing equivalents produced by H2-oxidation or extracellular electron uptake could produce amino acids with energy inputs as low as 64 MJ kg−1, approximately one order of magnitude higher than any previous estimate of the efficiency of electromicrobial protein production. This work provides a roadmap for development of engineered microbes that could significantly expand access to proteins produced with a low environmental footprint.

COVID-19 pandemic and food poverty conversations: Social network analysis of Twitter data.

This novel and mixed-method study investigated food poverty conversations at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent national lockdown on the social media platform Twitter. NodeXL Pro software was used to collect tweets using the terms 'food' and 'poverty' in any order somewhere in a tweet sent on selected days between April 5 and May 23, 2020. The data obtained from NodeXL Pro were cleaned. Social network analysis tools were used to analyse and visualise our data. Using this method, sentiment-related words (positive or negative words), the top (the most mentioned) 10 hashtags, top words and top word pairs were identified. The patterns of word pairs communicated in our network were visualised based on each word pair's frequency. This also enabled us to carry out a content analysis to create coding of the word pairs' data. A total of 81249 tweets were identified that contained the terms 'food' and 'poverty'. Our findings revealed that individuals' tweets overwhelmingly contained views about the increase in hunger, food poverty and food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Twitter users perceived that when the pandemic measures began, many food-secure families were pushed into food insecurity due to a rapid rise in unemployment and rising poverty due to the quarantine and stay-at-home instructions in place at the time. They also addressed the sharp rise in food poverty being driven by panic buying, food shortages, food affordability and disruptions in food supply and food systems. Our analysis of this data suggests that to mitigate food poverty or to prevent a 'hunger pandemic' for future pandemic emergencies, comprehensive and longer term policy responses and economic supports are needed to strengthen the resilience of food systems. However, the highlighted limitations of this study must be considered.

Multi-Actor Social Networks: A Social Practice Approach to Understanding Food Hubs

Food hubs are collaborative entities that strategically manage the assemblage, delivery, and promotion of food from a range of local food producers. They are essentially multi-actor institutions, involving horizontal collaboration between producers and vertical collaborations up and down the food chain, involving all actors required to bring food products from producers to consumers. Although food hubs offer many advantages to both producers and consumers, they remain a recognisably neglected research topic in Europe. Furthermore, the strategic networks of actors involved in these collaborative entities is often overlooked. Empirically, this study draws from a collection of ‘good practices’ gathered for the Short Supply Chain Knowledge and Innovation Network (SKIN) EU-funded H2020 project. Drawing on a social practice approach and network diagrams, this article explores the good practices of three food hub typologies. This study primarily investigates the context in which food hubs practice multi-actor food provision. We apply social practice as a lens to ’zoom in’ and explore the shared materials, meanings and skills that aid such systems of provision. Social network diagrams are utilised to ‘zoom out’ to examine and facilitate the detection of key actors involved in food hubs’ strategic networks. This research addresses the lack of academic attention on European food hubs by placing practice as the central unit of focus. Our approach enables better comprehension of what constitutes a short food supply chain (SFSC) when orchestrated within three main typologies of food hubs. The findings are of interest to researchers, policy makers, agricultural development intermediaries, and actors involved in systems of food provision who are interested in understanding and supporting the functioning of SFSCs.

Towards a More Sustainable Urban Food System—Carbon Emissions Assessment of a Diet Transition with the FEWprint Platform

The production, processing, and transportation of food, in particular animal-based products, imposes great environmental burden on the planet. The current food supply system often constitutes a considerable part of the total carbon emissions of urban communities in industrialised cities. Urban food production (UFP) is a method that can potentially diminish food emissions. In parallel, a shift towards a predominantly plant-based diet that meets the nutritional protein intake is an effective method to curtail carbon emissions from food. Considering the high land use associated with the production of animal-based products, such a shift will prompt a community food demand that is more inclined to be satisfied with local production. Therefore, during the design process of a future low-carbon city, the combined application of both methods is worth exploring. This work introduces, describes, and demonstrates the diet shift component of the FEWprint platform, a user friendly UFP assessment platform for designers that is constructed around the broader three-pronged strategy of evaluation, shift, and design. For three neighborhoods, in Amsterdam, Belfast, and Detroit, the contextual consumption and country-specific environmental footprint data are applied to simulate a theoretical community-wide diet shift from a conventional to a vegan diet, whilst maintaining protein intake equilibrium. The results show that in total terms, the largest carbon mitigation potential awaits in Detroit (−916 kg CO2eq/cap/year), followed by Belfast (−866 kg) and Amsterdam (−509 kg). In relative terms, the carbon reduction potential is largest in Belfast (−25%), followed by Amsterdam (−15%) and Detroit (−7%). The FEWprint can be used to generate preliminary figures on the carbon implications of dietary adaptations and can be employed to give a first indication of the potential of UFP in urban communities.