World Food Supply Research Articles

Leblebi: a Roasted Chickpea Product as a Traditional Turkish Snack Food

Grain legumes occupy an important place in the world food supply. Legumes go through several primary processes (e.g., dehulling, boiling, roasting, splitting, and grinding, etc.) before they are used in different food preparations. Roasting or puffing of legumes by subjecting them to high temperatures for a short time has been practiced in Asia, the Middle East, and South America for many years. The roasted chickpea product, called leblebi, a word that originated from Persian is widely consumed as a traditional snack food in Turkey, the Mediterranean region, and the Middle East. Although, leblebi originated in Turkey, exact details of leblebi are not well known. There are two different kinds of leblebi, dehulled leblebi (Sari Leblebi and Girit Leblebi) and nondehulled leblebi (Beyaz Leblebi and Sakız Leblebi) produced in Turkey. The processing stages for all different kinds of leblebi include cleaning and grading, soaking, tempering (preheating and resting), boiling, resting, roasting, and dehulling. At the end of the production process, the chickpeas swell, soften, and after roasting, become crisp. Leblebi is a healthy snack food due to its nutritional content. Furthermore, leblebi has a long shelf life due to its low moisture content. Although, leblebi consumption goes back to ancient history, very little research on its production has been carried out.

Ford, B.J. (ed.) GM Crops: the scientists speak.

Ford, B.J. (ed.) GM Crops: the scientists speak.

The quest for a biosafe biosphere

The quest for a biosafe biosphere

Ethical Issues of Global Corporatization: Agriculture and Beyond

The world food supply has become inadequate for more than half the world population, as evidenced by a recent report of the World Health Organization that indicated that more than 3 billion people are malnourished. This is the largest number of malnourished ever reported. Per capita food production, especially cereal grains, has been declining for nearly 2 decades, despite new biotechnology and other agricultural technologies. Rapid human population growth, compounded by diminishing availability of fertile cropland, freshwater, and fossil fuels, is intensifying the emerging problems in all food production systems. Numerous ethical issues are related to the problem of malnutrition, including global corporatization.

Effects of climate change on global food production under SRES emissions and socio-economic scenarios

This paper analyses the global consequences to crop yields, production, and risk of hunger of linked socio-economic and climate scenarios. Potential impacts of climate change are estimated for climate change scenarios developed from the HadCM3 global climate model under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1FI, A2, B1, and B2. Projected changes in yield are calculated using transfer functions derived from crop model simulations with observed climate data and projected climate change scenarios. The basic linked system (BLS) is used to evaluate consequent changes in global cereal production, cereal prices and the number of people at risk from hunger. The crop yield results elucidate the complex regional patterns of projected climate variables, CO 2 effects, and agricultural systems that contribute to aggregations of global crop production. The A1FI scenario, as expected with its large increase in global temperatures, exhibits the greatest decreases both regionally and globally in yields, especially by the 2080s. The contrast between the yield change in developed and developing countries is largest under the A2a–c scenarios. Under the B1 and B2 scenarios, developed and developing countries exhibit less contrast in crop yield changes, with the B2 future crop yield changes being slightly more favourable than those of the B1 scenario. When crop yield results are introduced to the BLS world food trade system model, the combined model and scenario experiments demonstrate that the world, for the most part, appears to be able to continue to feed itself under the SRES scenarios during the rest of this century. However, this outcome is achieved through production in the developed countries (which mostly benefit from climate change) compensating for declines projected, for the most part, for developing nations. While global production appears stable, regional differences in crop production are likely to grow stronger through time, leading to a significant polarisation of effects, with substantial increases in prices and risk of hunger amongst the poorer nations, especially under scenarios of greater inequality (A1FI and A2). The use of the SRES scenarios highlights several non-linearities in the world food supply system, both in the biophysical sense, where the levels of atmospheric CO 2 tested reach new levels, and the socio-economic sense, where changes in population dynamics and economic and political structures complicate the translation of biophysical climate change impacts into social indices, such as the number of people at risk of hunger.

Leblebi: a Roasted Chickpea Product as a Traditional Turkish Snack Food

Abstract Grain legumes occupy an important place in the world food supply. Legumes go through several primary processes (e.g., dehulling, boiling, roasting, splitting, and grinding, etc.) before they are used in different food preparations. Roasting or puffing of legumes by subjecting them to high temperatures for a short time has been practiced in Asia, the Middle East, and South America for many years. The roasted chickpea product, called leblebi, a word that originated from Persian is widely consumed as a traditional snack food in Turkey, the Mediterranean region, and the Middle East. Although, leblebi originated in Turkey, exact details of leblebi are not well known. There are two different kinds of leblebi, dehulled leblebi (Sari Leblebi and Girit Leblebi) and nondehulled leblebi (Beyaz Leblebi and Sakız Leblebi) produced in Turkey. The processing stages for all different kinds of leblebi include cleaning and grading, soaking, tempering (preheating and resting), boiling, resting, roasting, and dehulling. At the end of the production process, the chickpeas swell, soften, and after roasting, become crisp. Leblebi is a healthy snack food due to its nutritional content. Furthermore, leblebi has a long shelf life due to its low moisture content. Although, leblebi consumption goes back to ancient history, very little research on its production has been carried out.

Where Will the Food Come From?

Global warming is already impacting the world's food supply. In addition, WTO agreements along with individual country free trade agreements are impacting the food that individual countries produce and trade. Add the failure of the Kyoto Accord and the Information Age and where food used to be produced may not be produced there in the future. So where will the food come from?

Perspective on genetic engineering of agricultural crops for resistance to disease

Plant breeding has been the classical means of manipulating the plant genome to develop resistant cultivars for controlling plant diseases. However, genetic engineering provides an entirely new approach. Although, currently, the area planted with crops genetically modified for resistance to disease is small compared with that of crops genetically modified for tolerance to herbicides or resistance to insects, numerous strategies are being pursued to render plants resistant to viruses, fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. Risks associated with the use of transgenic crop plants for agricultural food production may relate to the use of specific transgenes, marker genes, or gene control sequences, whereas other concerns address the entire approach of engineering heterologous genes into plants. Inherent risks can be mitigated by new and innovative strategies, and transgenic plants can be produced within a regulatory framework. If genetically modified plants are to be regulated, it is inevitable that methods will be required to distinguish between transgenic and nontransgenic plants and their products. Analytical laboratory tests may be directed toward novel gene products or the gene construct itself and must take both theoretical and practical detection limits into consideration. With a judicious approach, disease-protected transgenic plants may yet prove to be essential for producing a safe and adequate world food supply without endangering the environment or jeopardizing plant diversity.Key words: transgenic plants, genetically modified organisms, plant-disease control, disease-protected crops.

Engineering the farm: ethical and social aspects of agricultural biotechnology

Engineering the Farm offers a wide-ranging examination of the social and ethical issues surrounding the production and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), with leading thinkers and activists taking a broad theoretical approach to the subject. Topics covered include: - the historical roots of the anti-biotechnology movement - ethical Issues involved in introducing genetically altered crops - questions of patenting and labeling - the precautionary principle and its role in the regulation of GMOs - effects of genetic modification on the world's food supply - ecological concerns and impacts on traditional varieties of domesticated crops - potential health effects of GMOs Contributors argue that the scope, scale, and size of the present venture in crop modification is so vast and intensive that a throughgoing review of agricultural biotechnology must consider its global, moral, cultural, and ecological impacts as well as its effects on individual consumers. Throughout, they argue that more research is needed on genetically modified food and that consumers are entitled to specific information about how food products have been developed. Despite its increasing role in worldwide food production, little has been written about the broader social and ethical implications of GMOs. Engineering the Farm offers a unique approach to the subject for academics, activists, and policymakers involved with questions of environmental policy, ethics, agriculture, environmental health, and related fields.

The control of spikelet meristem identity by the branched silkless1 gene in maize.

Most of the world's food supply is derived from cereal grains that are borne in a unique structure called the spikelet, the fundamental unit of inflorescence architecture in all grasses. branched silkless1 (bd1) is a maize mutation that alters the identity of the spikelet meristem, causing indeterminate branches to form in place of spikelets. We show that bd1 encodes a putative ERF transcription factor that is conserved in different grasses and is expressed in a distinct domain of the spikelet meristem. Its expression pattern suggests that signaling pathways regulate meristem identity from lateral domains of the spikelet meristem.

World population and food supply: can food production keep pace with population growth in the next half-century?

Criteria for assessing the adequacy of a national average diet are proposed, and the global average cereal production per capita needed to provide an adequate average diet is calculated. The technical feasibility of maintaining global food production per capita up to the year 2050 is assessed. The required input of nitrogen fertilizer is estimated and the water supply in relation to crop evapotranspiration is discussed. It is shown that maintenance of the present global cereal production per capita would be accompanied by a moderate increase in grain consumption per capita in the less-developed countries, but that this will involve a major increase in the net import of grain from the more-developed countries. Achievement of a satisfactory average diet in the less-developed countries as a whole cannot be achieved until the population of this group of countries has declined to a level substantially below its future peak.

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF INSECTICIDAL NEUROTOXINS FROM AUSTRALIAN FUNNEL-WEB SPIDERS

Insect pests decimate a significant proportion of the world's food supply and transmit a number of deadly human diseases. These arthropods are generally controlled by spraying broad-spectrum chemical insecticides. However, the emergence of insecticide-resistant insect populations, as well as increasing disquiet about the environmental and human health risks associated with certain agrochemicals, has stimulated the search for new arthropod-control strategies. Since the primary role of spider venoms is to kill or immobilize arthropod prey, it is not surprising that spider venoms have proved to be rich sources of insecticidal compounds. In this review we examine the function and three-dimensional structure of four families of novel insecticidal neurotoxins that have been isolated from the venom of Australian funnel-web spiders. Although all of these toxins are members of the inhibitor cystine-knot family, they have proved to be structural chameleons, with the three-dimensional fold often providing few clues about toxin function. However, significant progress is being made in identifying the targets and mapping the bioactive surfaces of these peptides. In addition to being useful lead compounds for insecticide design, these neurotoxins should provide valuable tools for the pharmacological and structural characterization of insecticide targets.

The Marine Environment: Fencing the Last Frontier

Fisheries resources contribute a valuable source of protein to the world's food supply. While there is much promise for continued production gains from aquaculture and terrestrial sources, the marine fisheries sector faces a number of critical current policy junctures. Since extension of jurisdiction to 200 miles in 1976, there have been dramatic changes in the opportunity for coastal nations to rationally manage formerly open access marine resources. While more spatially encompassing management has brought physical yield close to full biological potential, much of the potential economic yield from fisheries is still squandered. An important issue is whether the future potential of marine resources will be guided by an expansion of private property rights or by an expansion of bureaucratic regulatory structures. New monitoring, information, and enforcement technology is making it increasingly possible to zone the ocean and implement measures that mimic terrestrial property systems. At the same time, there is opposition to privatizing marine resources by groups who view them as public resources. The outcome of the tussle between the forces supporting and opposing property rights creation will largely determine the extent and kinds of values that will be generated from marine resources around the world in the next decade.

Estimates of International Transport Losses of World Food Supply

Definitive values for food losses in international trade are difficult to obtain. Losses are typically underestimated because they are fragmented, occurring at many points during distribution. As well, they are under-reported because they are commonly accepted as a cost of doing business. For example, shrinkage allowances that provide for “acceptable losses” are incorporated into price accounting. Food losses may also be ignored because they can be politically embarrassing. This paper attempts to build an order-of-magnitude estimate of losses occurring during ocean transport by comparing world totals of exports and imports. The estimated losses of $250-750 annually are found for the major categories of traded agricultural commodities.

Population Growth and Food Production: Issues, Problems and Prospects

The world food supply and population growth are considered important variables in today's debate on economic and environmental development. This paper looks at the past, present and future trends of population growth and food production. It then concentrates on the present debate to identify whether rapid population growth poses serious problems for the supply and demand of food. This paper argues the need to apply a simultaneous demographic, economic and ecological policy in order to tackle effectively the problem of a population, development and environment triangle.

Functional Significance of the β-Hairpin in the Insecticidal Neurotoxin ω-Atracotoxin-Hv1a

omega-Atracotoxin-Hv1a is an insect-specific neurotoxin whose phylogenetic specificity derives from its ability to antagonize insect, but not vertebrate, voltage-gated calcium channels. In order to help understand its mechanism of action and to enhance its utility as a lead compound for insecticide development, we used a combination of protein engineering and site-directed mutagenesis to probe the toxin for key functional regions. First, we constructed a Hairpinless mutant in which the C-terminal beta-hairpin, which is highly conserved in this family of neurotoxins, was excised without affecting the fold of the residual disulfide-rich core of the toxin. The Hairpinless mutant was devoid of insecticidal activity, indicating the functional importance of the hairpin. We subsequently developed a highly efficient system for production of recombinant toxin and then probed the hairpin for key functional residues using alanine-scanning mutagenesis followed by a second round of mutagenesis based on initial "hits" from the alanine scan. This revealed that two spatially proximal residues, Asn(27) and Arg(35), form a contiguous molecular surface that is essential for toxin activity. We propose that this surface of the beta-hairpin is a key site for interaction of the toxin with insect calcium channels.

The emerging importance of dietary lipids, quantity and quality, in the global disease burden: the potential of aquatic resources.

Achievement of Health-for-All, whereby people everywhere throughout their lives, have the opportunity to reach and maintain the highest attainable level of health is impossible whilst hunger, starvation, and malnutrition remain. Malnutrition covers a broad spectrum of ills, including undernutrition, specific nutrient deficiencies, and overnutrition; and it kills, maims, retards, cripples, blinds, and impairs human development on a truly massive scale worldwide. In the developing world in 1995, of the estimated 10.4 million deaths among children under 5 years of age, protein-energy malnutrition was an associated and causative factor in 5.1 million of these deaths (i.e. 49%). On the other hand, evidence has recently been compiled suggesting that of the more than 10 million cases of cancer that occurred in 1996, an estimated 30-40% (3-4 million every year) are preventable by feasible, appropriate diets, and by physical activity and maintenance of appropriate body weight. Malnutrition affects all age groups across the entire lifespan. From the moment of conception, throughout foetal life, iodine, folate and intrauterine nutrition have a profound influence on development, growth, morbidity, mortality, not only in utero and in early infancy, but on morbidity, physical and mental capacity throughout life. Despite significant improvements in world food supplies, health conditions, and availability of educational and social services, no population escapes malnutrition's grasp. All countries have significant population groups with some form of debilitating malnutrition. Malnutrition worldwide, includes a spectrum of nutrient-related disorders, deficiencies and conditions including the following major public health problems; Intrauterine growth retardation, protein-energy malnutrition, Iodine deficiency disorders, Vitamin A Deficiency, Iron Deficiency Anaemia and Overweight and Obesity (WHO, Website).

Computers and electronics in postharvest technology — a review

The article gives an overview of areas where computers and electronics have made a particular impact on the postharvest industry. These include environmental control and storage, quality monitoring, quality management, grading systems, inventory control, and management of product. Specific examples of the application of electronic systems have been given to illustrate the current state of postharvest technology, and some future predictions have been given. It is likely that consumer demand for improved quality, longer storage life, and guaranteed product safety will continue to grow. In a highly competitive market the industry will need to meet these demands, and electronic technology will play an increasingly important role. Improved sensors to assess quality are still needed, and handling and storage systems are likely to become increasingly sophisticated. In the latter half of the twentieth century technology has contributed much to improve the world's food supply, but it has also generated problems for the wider society, which will require attention in the next millennium.

Antibody-based resistance to plant pathogens.

Plant diseases are a major threat to the world food supply, as up to 15% of production is lost to pathogens. In the past, disease control and the generation of resistant plant lines protected against viral, bacterial or fungal pathogens, was achieved using conventional breeding based on crossings, mutant screenings and backcrossing. Many approaches in this field have failed or the resistance obtained has been rapidly broken by the pathogens. Recent advances in molecular biotechnology have made it possible to obtain and to modify genes that are useful for generating disease resistant crops. Several strategies, including expression of pathogen-derived sequences or anti-pathogenic agents, have been developed to engineer improved pathogen resistance in transgenic plants. Antibody-based resistance is a novel strategy for generating transgenic plants resistant to pathogens. Decades ago it was shown that polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies can neutralize viruses, bacteria and selected fungi. This approach has been improved recently by the development of recombinant antibodies (rAbs). Crop resistance can be engineered by the expression of pathogen-specific antibodies, antibody fragments or antibody fusion proteins. The advantages of this approach are that rAbs can be engineered against almost any target molecule, and it has been demonstrated that expression of functional pathogen-specific rAbs in plants confers effective pathogen protection. The efficacy of antibody-based resistance was first shown for plant viruses and its application to other plant pathogens is becoming more established. However, successful use of antibodies to generate plant pathogen resistance relies on appropriate target selection, careful antibody design, efficient antibody expression, stability and targeting to appropriate cellular compartments.

THE RELATIVE CONSTANCY OF PROTEIN AS PERCENT OF CALORIES IN WORLD FOOD SUPPLIES

To test the relative constancy of protein as a percentage of calories in world food supplies, the percentages of calories from these nutrients were calculated from the data available in the FAO Food Balance Sheets from 1961 through 1994 for 154 countries. The percentage of calories from fat varied from 7% to 44% over the past 30 years, whereas that from carbohydrate ranged from 46% to 82%. However, the caloric content of protein varied from only 7% to 16%.