Food Relocation Research Articles

Economic effects of food supply chain re-localization on the Croatian economy

Securing the availability of healthy food at affordable prices is of fundamental public interest. The formerly prevailing paradigm of the absolute superiority of free trade in the global food market is changing in favour of re-localization after vulnerabilities were exposed by the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent disorder in the global food market. Re-localization of food production could also have a positive impact on the environment, public health and sustainable local development. This paper analyses the trends and current conditions in the Croatian food market regarding the potential economic benefits of re-localization of food production. The purpose of the paper is to estimate the economic benefits of food re-localization in Croatia. The method of input–output analysis is applied to test hypotheses. Direct, indirect and induced effects of re-localization of food production are estimated and the results compared with other countries. The results confirm previous findings that re-localization of food production could stimulate the domestic economy. The multipliers estimated for Croatian agricultural and food production do not deviate significantly from the results published for other economies. Output multipliers related to the Croatian food sector are slightly lower than those estimated for new European Union members, while multipliers for the Croatian agriculture sector are in line with those estimated for the same group of countries. It is found that expenditures on domestic food products induce significantly larger economic effects in Croatia than expenditures on imported food. Import substitution and re-localization would also positively affect public finances. Re-localizing 10% of imports of agri-food products could increase the Croatian GDP by 0.32%. The employment effects would be even larger since labour intensity in the food and agriculture sectors is high.

Influence of phylogenetic, environmental, and behavioral factors on the gut bacterial community structure of dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in a Neotropical Biosphere Reserve.

Gut bacteria help dung beetles metabolize nutrients contained and synthesize those unavailable in their food, depending on the ecological scenario in which they develop. However, less is known about the influence of environmental and behavioral factors on the taxonomic composition of bacterial gut communities in Scarabaeinae beetles. To address this research topic, we analyzed 13 tropical dung beetle species in the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, to understand how the beetle tribe, habitat, food preference, food relocation, and parental care influence the composition of gut bacterial communities. We found that the beetle tribe is the primary factor impacting the taxonomic composition of gut bacterial communities. Among them, Deltochilini displayed the highest variability in diversity due to the different combinations of habitat and food preferences among its species. On the other hand, the other tribes studied did not exhibit such variable combinations. Habitat emerged as the second most influential factor, with forest-dwelling beetles displaying higher diversity. This can be attributed to the heterogeneous environments within tropical forests, which offer a greater diversity of food resources. In contrast, grassland beetles, living in more homogeneous environments and relying on cow feces as their main food source, exhibited lower diversity. Our findings suggest a correlation between bacterial diversity and food resource availability in complex habitats, such as tropical forests, which offer a wider array of food sources compared to simpler environments like grasslands.

Forest conversion into pasture selects dung beetle traits at different biological scales depending on species pool composition.

The conversion of forests into open areas has large effects on the diversity and structure of native communities. The intensity of these effects may vary between regions, depending on the existence of native species adapted to open habitats in the regional pool or the time since habitat change.We assess the differences in species richness and functional diversity of dung beetle communities (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) between native forests and novel pasturelands of the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, two biomes with contrasting histories of human occupation in Brazil. We conducted standardized surveys in seven forest fragments and adjacent pastures in each region and measured 14 traits in individuals collected in each type of habitat at each particular site. We calculated functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, and community-weighted mean of traits for each area, and analyzed individual variation through nested variance decomposition and Trait Statistics.Communities were richer and more numerous at the Cerrado. We did not find any consistent relationship between functional diversity and forest conversion beyond the changes in species diversity. Although landscape changes were more recent at the Cerrado, the colonization of the new habitat by native species already adapted to open habitats lessens the functional loss in this biome. This indicates that habitat change's effects on trait diversity depend on the regional species pool rather than on time since land conversion.Forest conversion effects were primarily due to internal filtering. The effects of external filtering only appear at the intraspecific variance level, with contrasting differences between the Cerrado, where traits related to relocation behavior and size are selected, and the Atlantic Forest, where selection operates for traits related to relocation behavior and flight. These results evidence the importance of considering individual variance to address the responses of dung beetle communities to forest conversion.

Hybrid food networks and sustainability transitions: Shared and contested values and practices in food relocalisation and resocialisation

AbstractProcesses of food relocalisation and resocialisation occurring within alternative food networks (AFNs) are seen as fundamental to fostering sustainability transitions in agro‐food systems. Criticism of the alternative‐conventional dualism typical of much AFN literature, however, has resulted in the emergence of the concept of hybrid food networks. This article looks at the Japanese context to critically engage with current debates on relocalisation, resocialisation and hybridity, particularly regarding the conditions under which they can serve as a means of transitioning towards more sustainable food systems. The study employs a qualitative approach to explore the interplay between the values and practices of small‐scale organic farmers with those of mainstream agro‐food actors operating in hybrid food spaces. The findings highlight two characteristics of hybrid contexts where actors characterised by different degrees of alternativeness ‘share space’ in the local food system: first, the tensions and contrasting meanings that emerge in the practice of food relocalisation and resocialisation; second, the way in which institutional efforts to relocalise food consumption co‐opt and dilute more radically transformative projects but at the same time can rapidly amplify incremental changes connected to the uptake of more sustainable practices.

Recovery of dung beetle assemblages in regenerating Caatinga dry forests following slash-and-burn agriculture

Understanding patterns of tropical forest resilience is a central challenge in conservation ecology particularly in seasonally-dry tropical forests, where anthropogenic disturbance and climate change are pervasive threats. Here, we investigate the recovery rate and community organization of dung beetles along a Caatinga dry forest regeneration cline in the context of slash-and-burn agriculture in northeast Brazil. Assemblages were described considering a wide set of attributes, including abundance, taxonomic (Hill orders D0, D1 and D2) and functional diversity (functional richness, evenness and redundancy) and taxonomic/functional composition, across a chronosequence consisting of regenerating and old-growth forest stands exposed to different levels of aridity and chronic disturbance. In addition, we use body mass, diet, food relocation behaviour and habitat specificity of dung beetles as ecological attributes. Our results show that Caatinga dry forests supports dense but relatively impoverished dung beetle assemblages at both local and landscape scales, with the same small set of species dominating local assemblages. Dung beetles do not experience successional replacements along the regeneration gradient, with evidence of high resilience. Moreover, disturbance-associated dung beetle species (predominantly small-bodied generalists) resulted in assemblage convergence across the regeneration cline. Finally, chronic anthropogenic disturbance was a decisive driver of changes in abundance and taxonomic diversity, while aridity positively affected species composition and functional richness. These patterns resulted in the occurrence of spatially structured assemblages in response to a combination of both natural and anthropogenic variables, while under little or no influence of forest regeneration status across human-modified Caatinga landscapes. We conclude that the absence of directional changes in dung beetle assemblages through the forest succession pathway of regenerating second-growth forest is associated with the effect of aridity and human disturbances on community organization, including selection for certain species and functional groups, which in turn, can alter important ecological functions and consequently the resilience of dry forests.

The relationship between dung beetle diversity and manure removal in forest and sheep grazed grasslands

The relationships and linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem processes are critical issues in ecology. Manure removal is an ecosystem process related to several ecological functions performed by dung beetles. However, there is little information on manure removal by beetles in temperate ecosystems of Mexico. Using a linear model based on species biomass, here we estimated the amount of manure that can be potentially removed by dung beetle species in temperate forests and grasslands with sheep herding. Then, we related the estimated amount of manure removed with attributes of dung beetle communities: species richness, diversity, evenness and functional diversity in forest and grasslands sites. We compared the amount of manure potentially removed at each habitat by all species of dung beetles and by beetle’s food relocation strategies. Also, we used Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to test the relationships between manure removal and community attributes. Our model estimated that five species remove most of the manure, and tunneler beetles remove higher amounts of manure in grasslands than in forest sites. GAMs revealed that manure removal is related to dung beetle species richness and evenness, but not to functional diversity. Therefore, it is relevant to promote rich dung beetle communities to maintain optimal ecosystem functions, both in native forest and livestock areas.

Evidence of associative blocking during foraging in the social wasp Vespula germanica.

While foraging, Vespula germanica usually return to abundant food sites. During this relocation behavior, these wasps learn to identify contextual cues associated with food position. We analyzed associative blocking in this species, that is, how an association with a conditioned stimulus (CS1) blocks subsequent learning when a novel stimulus (CS2) is added on a second foraging visit. Three groups of wasps (A, B, and C; total 74 individual wasps) were observed while collecting meat during one or two consecutive visits. In group A, an environmental cue (CS1) was paired with food placed at a specific site, and on the second visit, a second cue (CS2) was added while food remained in the same position. In a subsequent testing phase, CS1 was removed and the food source displaced nearby. We then recorded the number of hovers performed over the empty dish (previously baited). Group A wasps appeared to ignore the addition of CS2 on their second visit because they performed fewer hovers over the learned site. For group A, the duration of the decision-making process to finally fly toward the baited dish was shorter than when CS1 and CS2 were presented together on their first visit (group B). This is the first study to demonstrate the occurrence of associative blocking in vespids, confirming that a prior foraging experience influences subsequent food relocation in V. germanica. Our findings reveal that first learning episodes block further associations with novel contextual cues, contributing to understanding of complex cognitive processes involved in V. germanica´s foraging behavior.

The Multiplier Effects of Food Relocalization: A Systematic Review

Background: The purchase of local food is often argued to stimulate local economies through multiplier effects; this argument is questioned in this paper. Methods: The ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, Taylor and Francis Online, SpringerLink, AgECON, and Emerald databases were searched systematically. A complementary search in Google Scholar was also carried out. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2019 were identified using multiple search terms. Data about four types of multipliers (output, employment, income, and value-added multipliers) were extracted. Results: Twenty-four papers fit the criteria, allowing for a qualitative assessment only. Sixteen papers found unambiguously that an increase in demand for local food had a directly positive impact on local economies in some way; one paper found no impact at all. The papers were classified into three groups based on their focal areas: marketing channel-focused, farm enterprise-focused, and scenario/impact analysis-focused studies. In terms of the methods of analysis, three major approaches were identified: input–output models, assessments of descriptive statistics, and econometric analyses. Considerations related to the potential overestimation of current approaches are presented. Conclusions: The existence of employment and income multipliers seems to be more evident, while the impacts of output- and value-added multipliers depend more on the actual context. Research gaps are also identified.

Counting Local Food Consumption: Longitudinal Data and Lessons from Vermont

As interest in local food systems as a community development tool increases, scholars and practi­tioners are looking for methods to count progress toward benchmarks. This paper reports on efforts to count local food consumption as part of a statewide strategic plan for food systems develop­ment in Vermont. It provides longitudinal data from three waves of counting (2011, 2014, and 2017), finding increases over time due to both increased consumption and improved counting methods. The paper reflects on successes and challenges over the study period, focusing on data availability, key assumptions, and limitations. It concludes with future directions of inquiry into measuring food relocalization efforts. See the press release for this article. 

Male Horn Lack of Allometry May be Tied to Food Relocation Behaviour in Lifting Dung Beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Eucraniini).

The small dung beetle tribe Eucraniini includes extremely specialized species that have been defined as “lifters” according to their food relocation behaviour. They are characterized by the presence of well-developed expansions on the head and pronotum, which can be included in the large and varied group of horns, whose presence is usually related to complex reproductive tactics. In this study, two closely related species, Anomiopsoides cavifrons and A. heteroclyta, were examined employing traditional and geometric morphometrics to test whether the Eucraniini has polymorphic males that might exhibit different reproductive tactics, as in the sister tribe Phanaeini, for which a male trimorphism was demonstrated. If also present in Eucraniini polyphenism could be considered a plesiomorphy common to the two clades. The inter- and intraspecific shape variation and object symmetry of the head and the scaling relationships between body size and traits were evaluated. Marked interspecific and small intraspecific differences in shape variation, high symmetry, and similar isometric growth patterns were shown in both species. The hypothesis of male polymorphism in Anomiopsoides was thus rejected. Instead, the results supported the alternative hypothesis that Eucraniini lacks male polymorphism, perhaps due to functional constraints affecting the shape of the structures involved in their peculiar food relocating behaviour.

Local Food Potentials and Agroecology in Yogyakarta Special Province, Indonesia

This paper attempts to unveil the hidden potential of the local food through local food mapping, drawing local food potential based on the “triple burden” theory from Professor Moerdijati Gardjito. An index, called “index of food relocalisation” is adopted and then modified into different name called local food index due to data availability, which is expected to provide a geographical location of the local food potential by proposing a research questions: where do the local food potentials distribute in Yogyakarta Special Province, and why the local food potentials located in that particular area(s)? The findings show that Gunungkidul and Kulonprogo are two potential regencies with their local food crops availabilities This finding is accompanied by an explanation from the analysis from the agroecological subzone and spatial income distribution of paddy and second crops, production activities.

The marketing channels of the local food production and their food safety requirements

As the consequence of the modernization of the consumer habits and the intensive concentration process in retail sector there is an emerging need for building closer consumer- producer relations (Szabó, 2014). Local food production and localized food supply chains, often referred as food relocalisation, have recently become the focus of attention among consumers, producers, as well as policy makers (Balázs, 2012). These systems have a long tradition in the United States and in Western Europe, and they also have deep historic roots in Hungary (Balázs et. al, 2015). In Hungary about 70% trust more in farmers, compared to 30% in stores (Eurobarometer, 2011). The organic food producing activity is a special category in the range of local food production. The consumers usually keep the local food products healthier, fresher and safer as compared to the food marketed in the conventional food supply chains. This is even true for the organic food. In this case the consumers approve and appreciate the producing method also. However the market of organic products is quite small in Hungary, based on its development potential it has strategic importance (Szakály, 2004, in Szente, 2015). Relating to the abovementioned the aim of this article is to introduce the main marketing channels of Hungarian local food production, the relating most important food safety problems. I paid a special attention to the marketing channels of local organic production, because in this product circle the food safety requirements have vital importance.

Linking Sustainability with Geographical Proximity in Food Supply Chains. An Indicator Selection Framework

Despite policymakers’ promotion of food relocalization strategies for burden mitigation, the assumption that local food chains are more sustainable than the global ones might not hold. This literature review tries to highlight a possible framework for exploratory analyses that aim at associating sustainability with the geographical proximity of food supply chains. The purpose of the article is identifying a set of communicative and information-dense indicators for use by evaluators. Bread is the selected test food, given its importance in human nutrition and the relevance of some of its life cycle phases for land use (cereal farming) and trade (cereal commercialization). Article searching (including keyword selection, explicit inclusion/exclusion criteria, and computer-assisted screening using the NVivo® software) was carried out over the Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, and returned 29 documents (refereed and non-refereed publications). The retrieved literature shows varied research focus, methods, and depth of analyses. The review highlighted 39 environmental, 36 economic, and 27 social indicators, along the food chain. Indicators’ reporting chains are heterogeneous; even the comparison of standard procedures, e.g., Life Cycle Assessment, is not straightforward. Holistic approaches are missing.

Le nouvel intérêt des villes intermédiaires pour les terres agricoles : actions foncières et relocalisation alimentaire

En France, des intercommunalites de villes intermediaires portent un interet nouveau aux terres agricoles de leur peripherie. Pour renforcer leur systeme alimentaire local, elles font exploiter du foncier public. Comment en arrivent-elles a mettre en œuvre de telles actions ? Quels types de terres, d’agriculteurs et de modele agricole ciblent-elles ? Nous donnons un apercu de trois trajectoires urbaines, a partir d’enquetes qualitatives dans les intercommunalites d’Amiens, Millau et Saint-Affrique. Peu strategiques, elles ciblent le maraichage en circuit court et cherchent a l’implanter sur des terres aux statuts juridiques, physiques et symboliques particuliers. Les differentes formes de mise a disposition renvoient a des legitimites en conflit du role des terres dans l’approvisionnement alimentaire local.

Daily activity of Dichotomius geminatus (Arrow, 1913) and Deltochilum verruciferum Felsche, 1911 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) facing carrion: from resource perception to feeding

Dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) interact with resources in different ways and are classified according to resource relocation guilds. Dichotomius geminatus (Coprini) and Deltochilum verruciferum (Canthonini) are two of the most abundant and ecologically important species of the semi-arid region of Brazil, and understanding their behaviour may facilitate the comprehension of strategies associated to competition for resources. The aim of the present study was to investigate the behavioural repertoire of D. geminatus (tunneler) and D. verruciferum (roller), in isolation and controlled setting in the Brazilian semi-arid biome, using carrion as a food resource. Our hypothesis was that, due to the distinct food relocation strategies presented by these species, distinct behaviours would occur involving resource utilization. We also compared the behaviour of the two species and investigated the period of diel activity. Both species were more active during the night, but D. geminatus presented a shorter peak of nocturnal activity when compared to D. verruciferum. Although there was activity during the day, feeding was only observed during the night, for both species. During the periods of inactivity, D. verruciferum commonly went underneath the carrion, remaining still. As the target species of the study are very abundant, the differences in behaviour associated with the distinct relocation guilds may indicate a strategy to avoid direct competition.

Drivers of community assembly in tropical forest restoration sites: role of local environment, landscape, and space.

There is increasing recognition that community assembly theory can offer valuable insights for ecological restoration. We studied community assembly processes following tropical forest restoration efforts, using dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) as a focal taxon to investigate taxonomic and functional patterns of biodiversity recovery. We evaluated the relative importance of the local environment (i.e., canopy cover, understory cover, tree basal area, and soil texture), landscape context (i.e., habitat patch proximity and availability and percentage of surrounding area classified as natural forest or Eucalyptus spp. plantation), and space (i.e., spatial proximity of the study areas to estimate dispersal limitation or unmeasured spatially structured processes) on dung beetle species and functional trait composition across a gradient of 15 restoration sites in Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We also assessed which factors were the primary determinants in the establishment of individual dung beetle functional groups, classified according to size, food relocation habit, diet, and period of flight activity. Both species and functional trait composition were most strongly influenced by the local environment, indicating that assembly was predominantly driven by niche-based processes. Most of the variation explained by space was co-explained by local environment and landscape context, ruling out a strong influence of dispersal limitation and random colonization on assembly following restoration. In addition, nearly all of the variance explained by landscape context was co-explained by local environment, suggesting that arrival and establishment at a site depends on both local and landscape-scale environmental factors. Despite strong evidence for niche-based assembly, a large amount of variation remained unexplained in all models, suggesting that stochastic processes and/or unmeasured environmental variables also play an important role. The relative importance of local environment, landscape context, and space changed considerably when analyzing the assembly mechanisms of each functional group separately. Therefore, to recover distinct functional traits in restoration sites, it may be necessary to manipulate different components of the local environment and surrounding landscape. Overall, this study shows that assembly rules can help to better understand recovery processes, enabling improvement of future restoration efforts.

Mercado de cadeias curtas na pecuária familiar: um processo de relocalização no território Alto Camaquã no Sul do Rio Grande do Sul/Brasil

O objetivo deste artigo é estudar um caso de relocalização alimentar e formação de cadeias curtas em dado local no sul do Rio Grande do Sul, através da venda de cordeiro por pecuaristas familiares do território Alto Camaquã. Para tanto, o caso analisado envolveu uma experiência em curso da construção de mercados da pecuária familiar, em específico de produção e comercialização da carne de cordeiro. O mercado da carne de cordeiro dos pecuaristas familiares recebe destaque por consistir em uma estratégia de revalorização da procedência de origem dos alimentos, destacando a construção de cadeias curtas nas formas estratégicas elaboradas entre produtores e consumidores para o estabelecimento de relações de comercialização dos produtores, construindo, desse modo, um processo de revalorização de um lugar e de um produto. Sendo assim, a venda local por pequenos produtores representa, entre tantos significados, um comprometimento de preservação da comunidade, da tradição, de conhecimento tácitos, entre outros valores não mercantis.

Learning in Vespula germanica social wasps: situations of unpredictable food locations

Vespula germanica is a social wasp that frequently forages on carrion, making several trips between un-depleted resources and the nest. In the present study, we analyze this food relocation behavior, evaluating V. germanica response in situations of successive changes in food location. To this end, we allowed individual wasps to feed five consecutive times from a dish located within an array of landmarks. After each return, the feeder was randomly displaced 60 cm from the previous location, so that when the wasp retuned to the array it encountered a different scenario. We found that on their first return to the new situation, wasps first went to the previously learned location and took some time to find the displaced feeder. Interestingly, during the following returns, wasps discovered the novel food location more rapidly, even though its location randomly changed at each return. Thus, after the first experience of food absence, wasps seem to have learned that food would not necessarily be present at the previous site. Free-flying wasps use past experience of food position change to reduce searching time at previously learned locations. These findings illustrate wasp behavioral plasticity in uncertain foraging contexts.

Current status and future prospect of local food production in Hungary: a spatial analysis

ABSTRACTThere is an increasing interest in Hungary to relocalize food. Spatial patterns and development potential of local food systems (LFSs) are analysed in this paper to help spatial planning practices. A composite Policy Intervention for Food Relocalization Index (PIFRI) is introduced to quantitatively reveal how rural development programme measures should be allocated efficiently to promote local food production. PIFRI points out lagging areas and hidden dimensions of development that need further support, and thus helps setting desirable and realistic policy goals. Besides socio-economic processes, biophysical limitations (availability of agricultural areas) are also accounted for. Results show that LFS development is at an early stage in Hungary. The present level of local food activity and future prospects mismatch. Eastern Hungary has the highest potential for further development as it has relatively widespread and intensive local food production activity. The few small-scale farmers operating in the Budapest area have been already engaged in short food supply chains to enjoy various benefits (and higher profit). Results imply a complex mix of several underlying causes behind the experienced patterns.

Feeding, Reproductive, and Nesting Behavior ofCanthon bispinusGermar (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Abstract The food relocation, reproductive, and nesting behaviors of Canthon bispinus Germar were studied in terraria at ambient conditions outdoors with three food resources. Individuals fed upon fish meat and dog dung but did not use cow dung. Five kinds of food manipulation behavior were observed: rolling balls, rolling dung pellets, rolling small pieces of fish, direct burial, and stationary rotation of food. To attract females, males adopt the typical headstand position for the emission of sexual pheromones beside the food source or next to a rolled ball. Males make two sizes of balls to attract females: small balls (≤10 mm) and large balls (≥11 mm). Small balls are always abandoned intact or lightly bitten after mating; they are regarded as nuptial gifts offered by males only to copulate. Most often, sexual encounters occur at the food source or, less frequently, while the male is rolling a ball without the previous emission of pheromones. Only carrion-provisioned large balls (11–21 mm maximum diame...