Food Supply Research Articles

Smart, sustainable, and resilient food supply chains in disruptive events context

Smart, sustainable, and resilient food supply chains in disruptive events context

Food supply chain resilience in the digital era: a bibliometric analysis and development of conceptual framework

Food supply chain resilience in the digital era: a bibliometric analysis and development of conceptual framework

Benefits and challenges with blockchain technology in global food supply chains: views from the practice

PurposeAlthough technologies such as blockchain (BCT) hold great potential to improve global food supply chains (GFSCs), our understanding of BCT use in GFSCs remains limited. The purpose of this study is to broaden BCT discussions by exploring its benefits and challenges across the entire GFSC.Design/methodology/approachQualitative interviews with 23 industry experts were used to identify and comprehend the nuanced issues with BCT application in GFSCs.FindingsThe study identifies 21 perceived benefits and challenges with BCT use in GFSCs, including the benefit of broader data incentives beyond BCT use and the challenge of reluctance to assume dominant roles among the GFSC actors.Originality/valueWhile prior studies mostly focused on BCT use for traceability and food safety in the GFSC midstream, this study extends the scope to include upstream and midstream actors. It highlights socio-economic benefits for traditionally disadvantaged farmers in the upstream and normative challenges to its adoption in the GFSC midstream and downstream. It also identifies three paradoxes emerging with BCT use in the GFSCs including the paradoxes of food technology, transparency and de-centralization.

From molecules to morphology: How food supply influences the larvae of sea urchins across all levels of biological organization.

An important goal of many studies in molecular ecology is to utilize molecular tools to elucidate how critical traits like metabolism and growth are affected by environmental stressors and how organisms offset these stresses by adaptive molecular-level responses. Stress from food deprivation may be critical for early developmental stages that require a continued supply of substrates for energy metabolism and growth if development is to be completed. In a 'From the Cover' article in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Li etal.(2023) examined the effects of withholding food (unicellular algae) on 10 traits of larvae of the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), ranging from the molecular level (gene expression) to morphology. Overall, this study sheds new light on the plasticity of larval development and the tight linkages that exist among traits as they respond to changes in food availability. Importantly, shifts in the sources of food utilized under different dietary treatments show the plasticity of these larvae to alter reliance on endogenous energy stores and dissolved organic matter (DOM) as algae deprivation continues. The effects of global change on the amounts and phenology of productivity in the seas make this type of integrated, multi-level analysis an important tool for predicting the future states of marine ecosystems.

Increasing willingness to pay in the food supply chain: a blockchain-oriented trust approach

Increasing willingness to pay in the food supply chain: a blockchain-oriented trust approach

Improving large animal practice efficiency with credentialed veterinary technicians

Large animal veterinary practice faces many challenges, in­cluding competitive markets, labor shortages, increasing costs of goods, and more. One major concern that our profession currently recognizes is a decrease in the total number of large animal veterinarians available to service producers despite increased demand for large animal veterinary care in many re­gions.1,2,3 Recent data from the AVMA states that less than 4% of veterinarians are employed in food-animal practice.1 There has also been a 15% decline in the total number of veterinar­ians who practice food animal or mixed animal medicine.1,3 This makes it extremely difficult for livestock to get adequate veterinary care to keep herds and flocks healthy. The lack of veterinary care and oversight creates a significant concern for animal welfare and food safety. As this shortage continues, the scarcity of large animal veterinarians for foreign animal dis­ease surveillance becomes a significant concern in securing the business continuity of our food supply.

AI Driven IoT(AIIoT) for Smart Agriculture

The agricultural industry is witnessing a significant shift due to the emergence of Artificial Intelligence driven Internet of Things (AIIoT), which is providing farmers with unparalleled automation capabilities and insights. The goal of this paper is to present a thorough review of AIIoT in smart agriculture, emphasising its uses, advantages, and consequences for decision-making. Smart agriculture decision-making is a game-changing technology that gives farmers the ability to maximise their operations and make well-informed judgements. Through the utilisation of advanced analytics, real-time data, and decision support systems, farmers may optimise crop yields, minimise expenses, and minimise risks. The agricultural industry will become more sustainable and productive as a result of farmers' increased ability to make decisions as the field of smart agriculture develops. The application of AI and IoT in smart agriculture is a game-changing technology that might completely alter how we grow and prepare food. Farmers can increase crop yields and quality, streamline operations, and contribute to a more effective and sustainable food supply chain by utilising AI and IoT. The advantages of AIIoT in smart agriculture are evident, despite the fact that there are still certain obstacles to be addressed, and its use is anticipated to increase in the years to come.

Uneven agricultural contraction within fast-urbanizing urban agglomeration decreases the nitrogen use efficiency of crop production.

Diverse development paths among cities within an urban agglomeration can lead to uneven changes in their agricultural production scale, which reshape the inter-city food supply patterns and the spatiotemporal characteristics of nitrogen (N) pollution from the food system. Here, using Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China as a case, we found a substantial decrease in N use efficiency of crop production from 45.2% to 29.3% during 1989-2007, along with a growing level of concentration of food N production in less-urbanized cities. From 1989 to 2018, 12.3% to 42.2% of total N pollution in food production became embedded in inter-city trade, leading to aggregation of N pollution in peripheral cities with relatively low levels of economic development. We suggest that protection and intensification of cropland from urban encroachment, as well as enhancing the economic and technical synergies among cities, can serve the sustainable transition of the food system with coordinated N pollution mitigation.

Assessing the equilibrium of food supply and demand in China’s food security framework: a comprehensive evaluation, 1980–2017

The continuous upward trajectory observed in total grain production serves as a fundamental pillar for guaranteeing food security. Nevertheless, relying solely on the measurement of China’s overall food security status through total grain output is inherently biased and neglects to capture the comprehensive nature of food security. This study adopts a food supply and demand balance perspective and constructs an evaluation indicator system for food security based on indicators such as grain yield per unit area, per capita grain possession, grain inventory, and inventory ratio. The weight of each indicator in the food security system is calculated using the entropy value method, and a comprehensive evaluation of China’s food security level from 1980 to 2017 is conducted. The study revealed that China’s food supply and demand exhibited a discernible upward trajectory in development. Notably, the food supply demonstrated greater volatility, whereas the food demand remained relatively stable but experienced incremental growth. Between approximately 1985 and 1993, China’s food supply and demand subsystem briefly experienced a state of mild imbalance, followed by a state of moderate imbalance around 2003. These imbalances were primarily attributed to insufficient effective food supply. In terms of the equilibrium between supply and demand in the context of food security, China’s food supply and demand exhibit a predominantly balanced condition with a slight surplus, wherein the adequacy of food supply significantly influences food security. Furthermore, the provision of policy support serves as a robust assurance for food security, and China’s existing policy framework for food security demonstrates a constructive impact.

How Tungurahua Volcano Dropped Heavy Metals into Ecuador’s Food Supply

How Tungurahua Volcano Dropped Heavy Metals into Ecuador’s Food Supply

Single Stage Autonomous Solar Water Pumping System Using PMSM Drive

Water supply technology has advanced significantly with the development of autonomous solar water pumping devices. These solar-powered systems offer a dependable and sustainable way to pump water in remote and off-grid areas. They are the perfect solution for solving problems with water delivery in places with restricted access to power because of their capacity to function independently and without the requirement for grid electricity. Autonomous solar water pumping systems present a viable and creative approach to a sustainable water supply at a time when demand for renewable energy solutions is only expected to increase. Sustainable and effective agricultural techniques have advanced significantly with the introduction of autonomous solar water pumping equipment. These solar-powered devices provide an economical and environmentally responsible way to address the problems of declining water supplies and growing energy expenses. Adoption of autonomous solar water pumping devices will be essential to maintaining the productivity and long-term sustainability of our world's food supply as the agricultural sector develops.

A Social Cognitive Career Theory Study of Agricultural Mechanical Trade Workers

Attracting and retaining skilled workers in agriculture is a global problem. Shortages of essential workers disrupt supplies of goods and services from the point of production on farms through manufacturing, transport, to ultimate consumption. The global pandemic’s effect on food supply was a salutary lesson in the effects of a diminished agricultural workforce. Agricultural mechanics are vital to productivity. The present research used the social cognitive career theory to explore agricultural mechanics’ careers. An exploratory qualitative study deployed interviews to collect data from N = 19 mechanical trade workers. Interviews were centered on participants’ descriptions of their work regarding theoretical constructs including self-efficacy, outcome expectations, satisfaction, dispositional traits, and contextual affordances. Reflective thematic analysis of the data produced concordance with key constructs of the social cognitive career theory sufficient to justify its utility for research with this specific agricultural occupation. This research makes an important contribution to the literature of vocational psychology which can and should contribute to solving the complex problem of supporting a workforce needed for agriculture’s ongoing challenge of feeding and clothing the world’s growing population.

Raman and Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled With Machine–Deep Learning for Adulterant Detection in Ground Turmeric

The intricate nature of the global food supply chain and the presence of regulations spanning multiple jurisdictions contribute to an increased likelihood of food adulteration. This underscores the need for effective monitoring methods to guarantee the safety and nutritional quality of our food. In this context, the application of infrared spectroscopy-based techniques emerges as an environmentally friendly, non-invasive, and waste-minimizing solution for authenticating food products. Infrared spectra serve as unique molecular fingerprints, offering a multidimensional representation of how chemical bonds in the material interact with infrared light. Chemometrics, which are primarily linear-based models, play a crucial role in extracting essential information from spectral data, enabling dimensionality reduction, classification, and predictive analysis. Recent progress in the field of big data science and artificial intelligence has brought forth machine learning and deep learning algorithms explicitly designed to uncover features from complex multidimensional data, encompassing both linear and nonlinear relationships. These advancements have the potential to enhance the detection of adulterants in food products. This study assesses the accuracy of various shallow machine learning models and a deep learning model based on a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D CNN). The evaluation is conducted using Raman and infrared spectral data obtained from ground turmeric samples that were deliberately adulterated with five distinct substances. The study highlights the improved classification accuracy achieved through the implementation of the 1D CNN model.

Extent of alignment between the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the NOVA classification system across the Australian packaged food supply.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines are currently being revised and ultra-processed foods have been identified as a high priority action area. To better understand how well the current Dietary Guidelines align with level of processing classifications, the aim of this study was to assess the alignment between the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the NOVA classification system for classifying the healthiness of packaged foods. Data were sourced from the Australian FoodSwitch dataset, which included 28 071 packaged food and beverage products available in major Australian supermarkets in 2022. Products were classified as (i) core or discretionary (Australian Dietary Guidelines) and (ii) non-ultra-processed or ultra-processed (NOVA). Agreement between the two systems (core vs. non-ultra-processed and discretionary vs. ultra-processed) was evaluated using the kappa statistic. There was 'moderate' agreement (κ = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.40-0.42) between the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the NOVA system, with 69.8% of products aligned across the two systems. Alignment was more common for discretionary foods (80.6% were ultra-processed) than core foods (59.9% aligned were not-ultra-processed). Food categories exhibiting the strongest levels of alignment included confectionary, foods for specific dietary use, and egg and egg products. Discordance was most common for convenience foods, sugars, honey and related products, and cereal and grain products. Despite moderate alignment between the Australian Dietary Guidelines and NOVA, the discordance observed for almost one-third of products highlights the opportunity to develop recommendations for ultra-processed foods within the guidelines to advise Australians how these foods should be considered as part of a healthy diet.

Review of Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use in West Asia and North Africa

Ensuring global food security in the face of climate change is critical to human survival. With a predicted human population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and the demand for food supplies expected to increase by 60% globally, but with a parallel potential reduction in crop production for wheat by 6.0%, rice by 3.2%, maize by 7.4%, and soybean by 3.1% by the end of the century, maintaining future food security will be a challenge. One potential solution is new climate-smart varieties created using the breadth of diversity inherent in crop wild relatives (CWRs). Yet CWRs are threatened, with 16–35% regarded as threatened and a significantly higher percentage suffering genetic erosion. Additionally, they are under-conserved, 95% requiring additional ex situ collections and less than 1% being actively conserved in situ; they also often grow naturally in disturbed habitats limiting standard conservation measures. The urgent requirement for active CWR conservation is widely recognized in the global policy context (Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, UN Sustainable Development Goals, the FAO Second Global Plan of Action for PGRFA, and the FAO Framework for Action on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture) and breeders highlight that the lack of CWR diversity is unnecessarily limiting crop improvement. CWRs are not spread evenly across the globe; they are focused in hotspots and the hottest region for CWR diversity is in West Asia and North Africa (WANA). The region has about 40% of global priority taxa and the top 17 countries with maximum numbers of CWR taxa per unit area are all in WANA. Therefore, improved CWR active conservation in WANA is not only a regional but a critical global priority. To assist in the achievement of this goal, we will review the following topics for CWRs in the WANA region: (1) conservation status, (2) community-based conservation, (3) threat status, (4) diversity use, (5) CURE—CWR hub: (ICARDA Centre of Excellence), and (6) recommendations for research priorities. The implementation of the recommendations is likely to significantly improve CWRs in situ and ex situ conservation and will potentially at least double the availability of the full breadth of CWR diversity found in WANA to breeders, and so enhance regional and global food and nutritional security.

Long-Time Assessment of the Organic Farmer’s Market in Granada (Spain)

In recent years the world has seen an increase in the popularity of farmer’s markets, short food supply chains and local food systems. This growth can be attributed to the public’s growing consciousness of the impracticality of the global food system, globalization’s waste of fossil fuels, the fear of food chemicals, and small farmers’ desire to directly sell their products, among other things. Although there are a wealth of farmer’s market surveys and research on this topic that has been conducted over the past decades around the world, scant data have been collected about farmer’s markets in the south of Spain. This study focuses on the organic farmer’s market in Granada (Spain) and consists of five surveys developed in 8 years which are analyzed to help better understand this market that was first established in the Spring of 2013. It will also consider research on farmer’s markets in Europe and beyond in order to compare the situation of the Granada market as well as bringing in some new ideas of how it can be improved.

Exploring the Prevalence and Resistance of Campylobacter in Urban Bird Populations

The increasing urbanization of ecosystems has had a significant impact on wildlife over the last few years. Species that find an unlimited supply of food and shelter in urban areas have thrived under human presence. Wild birds have been identified as amplifying hosts and reservoirs of Campylobacter worldwide, but the information about its transmission and epidemiology is still limited. This study assessed the prevalence of Campylobacter in 137 urban birds admitted at a wildlife rescue center, with 18.8% of individuals showing positive. C. jejuni was the most frequent species (82.6%), followed by C. coli and C. lari (4.3% each). The order Passeriformes (33.3%) showed significant higher presence of Campylobacter when compared to orders Columbiformes (0%) and Ciconiiformes (17.6%), as well as in samples collected during the summer season (31.9%), from omnivorous species (36.8%) and young individuals (26.8%). Globally, Campylobacter displayed a remarkable resistance to ciprofloxacin (70.6%), tetracycline (64.7%), and nalidixic acid (52.9%). In contrast, resistance to streptomycin was low (5.8%), and all the isolates showed susceptibility to erythromycin and gentamycin. The results underline the importance of urban birds as reservoirs of thermophilic antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter and contribute to enhancing the knowledge of its distribution in urban and peri-urban ecosystems.

Bystanders to a Public Health Crisis

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are devastating our food systems and our health. Due to widespread use, these synthetic, long-lasting chemicals, are omnipresent at dangerous levels in our envi-ronment and our homes. Recent studies link even small exposure to PFAS to a host of adverse health outcomes, including cancer, autoim-mune diseases, thyroid disease, liver damage, childhood obesity, infer-tility, and birth defects. Food consumption is a primary route of PFAS exposure. PFAS mi-grate from water, soil, fertilizers, pesticides, and compost into virtually every plant, fish, animal, and animal product, and ultimately (in the greatest concentration) into the consumer. In addition, food pro-cessing equipment, disposable dishes, and containers leach dangerous levels of these chemicals into processed food products, further infusing our every meal with PFAS. Consequently, it is no surprise everything from chocolate cake and microwave popcorn to free range eggs, wildcaught fish, organic milk, and organic kale can harbor staggering quantities of these toxic substances. Despite the widespread presence of these substances and strong sci-entific evidence of their harmful impact on humans, federal regulation of PFAS in food is currently nonexistent. At least fifteen agencies have a mandate to ensure the safety of our food. More is not always better. In the case of regulatory agencies, it can lead to fragmented demand for attention, diffusion of responsibilities, and bureaucratic bystander apathy. This story has played out time and again with other toxic con-taminants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides and is playing out yet again with PFAS. Despite our country’s devastating experience with past contaminants and the unprecedented scientific progress of our time, the federal response to new food safety threats has only become more sluggish and inadequate. This article lays a pathway for change, taking the issue of PFAS food contamination as a case study for the broader dysfunction in the food safety regulatory system. Part II reviews the history of federal food regulation and explores the role that each federal actor in the field plays in ensuring the safety of the food supply. Part III provides back-ground on the chemical and toxicological profile of PFAS and their widespread presence in the environment in general and the food sup-ply in particular. Part IV examines possible approaches to more effec-tive regulation of environmental contaminants in food and proposes a readily available but currently overlooked mechanism for combatting the current public health crisis of PFAS in food. Lastly, Part V cata-logues the expected benefits of the solution and addresses anticipated skepticism. It concludes that the proposed approach can effectively protect consumers from PFAS in food today, while simultaneously gar-nering much needed data to usher in a more permanent solution in the future.

The role of digital platforms in e-commerce food supply chain resilience under exogenous disruptions

Purpose Operational risks can cause considerable, atypical disturbances and impact food supply chain (SC) resilience. Indicatively, the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in the UK food services as nationwide stockouts led to unprecedented discrepancies between retail and home-delivery supply capacity and demand. To this effect, this study aims to examine the emergence of digital platforms as an innovative instrument for food SC resilience in severe market disruptions. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive multiple case-study approach was used to unravel how different generations of e-commerce food service providers, i.e. established and emergent, responded to the need for more resilient operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings SC disruption management for high-impact low-frequency events requires analysing four research elements: platformisation, structural variety, process flexibility and system resource efficiency. Established e-commerce food operators use partner onboarding and local waste valorisation to enhance resilience. Instead, emergent e-commerce food providers leverage localised rapid upscaling and product personalisation. Practical implications Digital food platforms offer a highly customisable, multisided digital marketplace wherein platform members may aggregate product offerings and customers, thus sharing value throughout the network. Platform-induced disintermediation allows bidirectional flows of data and information among SC partners, ensuring compliance and safety in the food retail sector. Originality/value The study contributes to the SC configuration and resilience literature by investigating the interrelationship among platformisation, structural variety, process flexibility and system resource efficiency for safe and resilient food provision within exogenously disrupted environments.

The Economics of Food Supply Chain Resilience

Food supply chain resilience has become a priority for policymakers in recent years. Prompted by several systemic disruptions and the increased likelihood of future shocks, significant attention and public financial investment have been devoted to preparing supply chains to be more able to absorb shocks and more nimbly respond in the future. Food and agricultural supply chains have been particularly scrutinized due to widespread shortages and food price inflation of key staples in recent years. Varied perspectives have emerged about the factors that contribute to the resiliency of food supply chains and the interventions that will be most effective. This article reviews the perspectives on food supply chain resilience generally. Furthermore, we attempt to synthesize the methodologies that have been used to study resilience and offer some guidance for economists studying the topic moving forward.