Sustainable Food & Farming

Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course at Koberwitz (now Kobierzyce), in the summer of 1924, was the gateway event that led to the development of biodynamic agriculture and, subsequently, organic agriculture. The present paper identifies for the first time the 111 attendees of that course. The list reveals that 'Koberwitzers', as they called themselves, were a well credentialed and capable group of individuals, some of whom went on to champion and develop Rudolf Steiner's ideas about agriculture and other fields. The present paper revises a prior analysis of the Koberwitzers. For each Koberwitzer, the list reveals, the name, hometown, occupation, and accommodation during the course. Thirty one percent of Koberwitzers were women. Thirty eight percent were associated directly with agriculture (including farmer, estate manager, and estate owner), 6% of attendees were creatives (including writer, author, artist and editor), and a further 6% were priests. These three occupational categories, viz. Agriculture, Creative and Priest, together account for 50% of Koberwitzer occupations (and 72% of the known occupations). There remains for further scholarship to populate gaps in the listing: the gender of one Koberwitzer remains unidentified; one hometown (and country) remains unidentified; 33 occupations remain unidentified; and 51 accommodations remain unidentified. At the time of the Koberwitz course, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was mortally ill. The course was never repeated,. It was up to the Koberwitzers to progress Rudolf Steiner's call for the development of a differentiated natural agriculture without synthetic chemicals. The Koberwitzers met the call. There are now 251,842 certified biodynamic hectares in 55 countries, included in the 71,514,583 certified organic hectares in 186 countries.

Today’s conversations about vertical farming deal almost exclusively with food production. After all the key advantages
of vertical farming are to grow healthy, pesticide-free crops all year round at very high and very predictable rates of
yield. However, the authors of this report believe that this is only the beginning. Vertical farming can also be used for
waste water management and recycling, innovative local food distribution and business models, air quality measures,
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, education, as well as playing a potential role in novel health, nutritional, and
pharmaceutical applications.
Before we can begin expanding the conversation about vertical farming, we need to establish a common language
that includes global industry events and definitions that can be applied to vertical farming and controlled environment
agriculture (CEA). That is the first purpose. From there, the authors intend to share the state of the industry based
upon the most current information available to date and expand the conversation into new opportunities and areas of
possibility for vertical farming globally.
Based on survey results from the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) members, the definition of vertical farming is the
practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers, vertically inclined surfaces and/or integrated into buildings. The
modern idea of vertical farming uses CEA technology. CEA facilities use environmental control (humidity, temperature,
gases, etc.), fertigation1, and potentially artificial control of light (as a supplement in the case of a rooftop greenhouse,
or as a unique light source in pure indoor farming conditions).
In the current state of the industry employing a qualified workforce is one of the main challenges in the private
sector. Vertical farming CEA facilities use a diverse team of experts from different backgrounds that include growers,
horticulturalist, mechanical, biological and electrical engineers, architects, data scientists, food safety experts, etc.
This report looks at CEA education programs and degrees in schools, universities and private companies worldwide.
It posits the next steps needed to develop the next generation of vertical farmers.
As the industry continues to educate and search for qualified vertical farmers, cities will have to cope with urban
regulations to foster industry development. We analyzed architecture and urban regulations, and shed light on how
Singapore, New York City and Paris are adapting to urban regulations as well as various programs that support vertical
farming and their respective city sustainability objectives.
We point out how cities and various programs can provide funding or support for vertical farming companies.
However, for any enterprise to enter the vertical farming industry, it is crucial to have a sound business proposition
and understand how to survive and scale in local markets. We address and analyze finance and business models and
provide a roadmap for entrepreneurs.
Vertical farming technologies are not limited to food production. An important and generally under-reported production
method for medicinal products is vertical farming. Plant-made pharmaceuticals may create the opportunity to produce
biologically active molecules at a low-manufacturing cost. We outline what are plant-made pharmaceutical products
and production advantages used for recombinant protein pharmaceutical production. We were careful to include data
on the use of medicinal plants in various regions of the world. With medicinal plants used widely in Asia, we chose
to highlight current business opportunities for vertical farming beyond food. We also mention market opportunities
and novel applications in the biopharming space, that is, using plants to manufacture novel biological agents, which
has been difficult to imagine before the rise of new CEA and low cost genetic engineering technologies. However, this
report will not address medicinal marijuana developments despite market growth in operational facilities that use
CEA technologies.
One main purpose of the white paper is to evaluate global developments and document the regional specificities of
the vertical farming industry, as driven by bottom-up (private sector-led) and/or top-down (government-led) initiatives
in each region. This report identifies in specific regions how the building up of vertical farming can also promote
adjacent industries (e.g., semiconductor and LED lighting industry in Taiwan). As the industry grows within each country there will be champions, survivors and failed enterprises.
Media coverage in the West and Asia reports on the scale, size, methods, models and production capabilities of
vertical farms, and provides insight on the amount of operational units and trends. Although actionable data to
support decision makers is limited, we assess and provide an analysis of current operational facilities and provide
forecasts of overall industry trends. In the face of insufficient data and a lack of proven models, we nevertheless hope
throughout the course of this report to offer the reader a complete view based on the information currently available.
This study has its caveats. As already indicated above, in the industry there is no aggregated data source, and this
is the role we are attempting to fulfill. Throughout the course of the report we compiled available data from public
sources and government documents, as well as from more than 30 interviews we conducted to demonstrate and
forecast the development of the industry. This is one of the first attempts to describe the global vertical farming
industry; moving forward we will be in a position to go deeper and add material to the study. In short, our findings
indicate that before we envision vertical farms as tools for our cities, first we need to remove remaining administrative
constraints, improve the training of the workforce, encourage competition, enhance business models and attract
investors.

Nutritional value of plant purely depends on the methodology of cultivation. (Urmila Sarkar and Surendra Sawardekar) Different methods of cultivation lead to prior proficiency of plant growth in terms of germination, height, weight, nutritional factors and so on. (Urmila Sarkar and Surendra Sawardekar). A practice of 'Organic farming' for the production of quality based nutritional contents becomes an essential element. A crop such as Zea mays L. (Maize or Corn) is an important staple crop known for its wide range of nutritional component such as Carbohydrate, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, moisture, ash etc. (Urmila Sarkar and Surendra Sawardekar). The experimental research is focused on assessment of Protein content from organically grown Zea mays L. (maize/corn). The results conclude efficient amount of total protein in Zea mays L. plant material as a whole viz. root, leaf and seed.

Farmers market rules and policies can do a lot for a market. They can set out what products can be sold, how vendors are selected, what’s expected of vendors from growing practices to signage to paperwork, and how vendors are disciplined or removed from the market. Rules and policies can do even more. They can describe a market’s history and philosophy, educate consumers, signal compliance with regulatory requirements, and reinforce tax-exempt status or organizational form. Rules can also operate as contracts, with meaningful legal protection and risk management value. One consequence of this functionality is that rules and policy documents can get pretty long. The landscape gets even more complex when the rules are accompanied by separate vendor applications, hold-harmless agreements, and membership materials, and the market has a website providing additional information. All this can put a quite a reading burden on vendors and quite a management burden on the market. This article is about ways to both maximize the value to a market of its rules and minimize the load on the user.

A sustentabilidade passou a ser pauta constante, é nesse cenário que a agroecologia se apresenta como forma de agricultura sustentável que retoma as concepções agronômicas anteriores à chamada Revolução Verde. É possível produzir de modo sustentável, com manejos que usem como paradigma práticas da agricultura orgânica e o emprego de tecnologias limpas, gerando menos externalidades ambientais negativas e, consequentemente, mais sustentabilidade. Assim, o objetivo do presente artigo é analisar como a agroecologia e os seus desdobramentos no cenário brasileiro.

The small Pacific island of Nauru has the highest rate of obesity in the world; this has partly been attributed to a dietary transition from local to imported foods. Nutritional health interventions have included programmes to encourage the establishment of household kitchen gardens and local community farms to supply the people of Nauru with fresh produce. In this chapter, I draw on long-term ethnographic fieldwork to explore why these alternatives to the industrial food system have not only failed to thrive in Nauru, but have also become spaces for contestation and social friction. Further, rather than improve diets in a sustainable way, these donor-funded development initiatives have appeared to instead strengthen existing power and health inequalities. I suggest that such initiatives may be unsuccessful because in focusing on food they do not take into account long-term social ties, relations and hierarchies that structure food networks over time. In order to understand the successes and failures of a nation’s efforts to produce healthy food for its citizens, it is necessary to interrogate the politics and social relations underpinning (post)colonial patterns of land use, food supply and demand.

Abstract. In most of Nigeria’s rural communities, land holdings are small and uneven; and this impacts significantly on their mechanisation potentials. This fragmented nature of the farmlands also inhibits the creation of an effective land market. This study utilised a digital orthomosaic generated from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) survey in evaluating the productivity levels of traditional and mechanised farmers in Okeho Community of Oyo State, South-Western Nigeria. The aerial survey was conducted with a DJI Phantom 4 Professional UAV covering 250 acres of traditional and mechanised farmlands to produce a very high resolution orthomosaic at 6 cm spatial resolution. Sixty-three respondents (61 traditional farmers and 2 mechanised farmers) were also interviewed using questionnaires. Their responses were keyed into a database with the Open Data Kit (ODK) data collector. The orthomosaic was classified into farmland units and a database of the farmers land holdings was created in A...

The purpose of this report is to uncover dominant operational, environmental and social sustainability challenges in the realm of the Agri-Food industry, in particular the durum wheat and pasta sector while focusing attention on the Southern-Italian hemisphere. This Project Report will navigate the effects of climate change, resource scarcity, population growth, and biodiversity depletion on the Agri-Food sector, and relative production of durum wheat semolina (DWS), including financing challenges, and the effects of sustainable development, while elaborating the topic with regards to potential the implementation of innovative strategies; it will also expose sustainability influence in terms of production and design pertaining to the aforementioned industry. Moreover, the report will review the impact of international regulation on the Agri-Food sector, with means to forge the best possible approach for engaging with progressive enhancements in regard to the overall industry’s compliance to international code, while reviewing the importance of integrating a powerful sustainable report, implemented by a leading organization in this niche market and appraising essential numerical and graphical data from 2020’s financial year report.

Desert research, research and development of sustainable greening methods, greenhouse management, forestry, agriculture and cultural industries are the primary fields of the concept and greening deserts projects. The greening and research camp with a greenhouse, office and laboratory containers or tents for the research and development of greening and irrigation methods is the primary objective for opencast mine or post-mining landscapes. Secondary objectives, such as sustainable recreational use and tourism offers, can be realized during the operation over the years and are not necessary for the successful start of the research project and base camp in the opencast mining area or a post-mining landscape. This also eliminates all associated conditions, provisions and legal regulations, since for the time being no public recreational use or tourism operation takes place. Nevertheless, forward-looking considerations and planning approaches as well as extensive points on the areas or topics were worked out and summarized in this concept. Greening Deserts projects are always planned as long-term and sustainable as possible. Further tasks and goals of the projects are the education, research and realization of a sustainable greening, management and cultivation of all kinds of poor, barren and dry areas, landscapes (drylands) or regions. That’s why the main projects of Greening Deserts treating not only typical deserts but all types of deserts, including surface mining deserts, concrete- or urban-deserts. This can all be done with suitable greening and research camps, stations or centers. In this work or in the concept possibilities are analyzed and discussed on the example of research and greening camps for opencast deserts, mining landscapes or post-mining landscape landscapes. The research camp should be an encounter, education and communication platform in post-mining landscapes, internally for experts, specialists and scientists, and in future open to the public. Earth sciences, natural, environmental and desert sciences are three of the main research areas. For a start, the greening, nature and research projects focus on nature experiences, important experience and research in the particular area or terrain. Everything will be analyzed, documented and informed about interesting findings or developments. In the course of the project, with interested and competent bodies or persons will be communicated – via existing and new networks, and then on site as well. In addition to well-known environmental education instruments (tools) and programs, the active experience of nature and creative forms of exploration and experimentation also should be researched and developed.

Localisation is one process/outcome which is proffered as key to the ‘grand challenges’ which currently face the food system. Consumers are attributed much agency in this potential transformation, being encouraged from all levels of society to exert their consumer muscle by buying local food. However, due to the social construction of scale it cannot be said that ‘local food’ is a definite entity and consumers understand the term ‘local food’ differently depending on their geographic and social context. As such, the research upon which this paper is based aimed to provide a nuanced understanding of how consumers in the particular spatial and social contexts of urban and rural Ireland understood the concept of ‘local food’. A specific objective was to test the theory that these consumers may have fallen into the ‘local trap’ by unquestioningly associating food from a spatially proximate place with positive characteristics. A three-phase mixed methodology was undertaken with a sample of consumers dwelling in urban and rural areas in both Dublin and Galway, Ireland: one thousand householders were surveyed; six focus group discussions took place; and twenty-eight semi-structured interviews were carried out.
The results presented in this paper indicate that for most participants in this study, spatial proximity is the main parameter against which the ‘localness’ of food is measured. Also, it was found that participants held multiple meanings of local food and there was a degree of fluidity in their understandings of the term. The results from the case study regions highlight how participants’ understandings of local food changed depending on the food in question and its availability. However, the paper also indicates that as consumers move from one place to another, the meaning of local food becomes highly elastic. The meaning is stretched or contracted according to the perceived availability of food, greater or lesser connections to the local producer community and the relative geographic size of participants’ locations. Our analysis of findings from all three phases of this research revealed a difference in understandings of local food among participants resident in urban and rural areas: participants dwelling in rural areas were more likely than those in urban areas to define local food according to narrower spatial limits. The paper concludes with an overview of the practical and theoretical significance of these results in addressing the current dearth of research exploring the meaning of local food for consumers and suggests avenues for future research.

The current public health crisis has shed light on one of food systems’ most pressing challenges: reaching sustainable food security for all in a way that meets environmental and socio- economic sustainability. It has further confirmed that the logic of industrial agriculture has led our food
systems down an unsustain-able path, and that we must urgently change course. Agroecology is increasingly offered as the transformative and comprehensive solution that delivers benefits across all dimensions of sustainability. Yet, proponents of “business-as-usual” approaches continue to insist that producing higher, more resilient yields – particularly through new genomic techniques such as CRISPR/Cas – will serve as the means to ensure long-term food system resilience. Given the urgency for food systems transformation and drawing on agroecology as the paradigm shift we need, this article considers how new technologies can be assessed to evaluate their compatibility
with food systems sustainability. Using the example of CRISPR/Cas, this article offers a preliminary framework for assessment based on FAO’s 10 Elements of Agroecology. The purpose here is not to offer a comprehensive and definite assessment of CRISPR/Cas, but to serve as an example to highlight the need for holistic assessment tools when considering the development and uptake of new agricultural technologies.

Despite a significant growth in food production over the past half-century, one of the most important challenges facing
society today is how to feed an expected population of some nine billion by the middle of the 20th century. To meet the
expected demand for food without significant increases in prices, it has been estimated that we need to produce
70–100 per cent more food, in light of the growing impacts of climate change, concerns over energy security,
regional dietary shifts and the Millennium Development target of halving world poverty and hunger by 2015. The
goal for the agricultural sector is no longer simply to maximize productivity, but to optimize across a far more
complex landscape of production, rural development, environmental, social justice and food consumption
outcomes. However, there remain significant challenges to developing national and international policies that
support the wide emergence of more sustainable forms of land use and efficient agricultural production. The lack of
information flow between scientists, practitioners and policy makers is known to exacerbate the difficulties, despite
increased emphasis upon evidence-based policy. In this paper, we seek to improve dialogue and understanding
between agricultural research and policy by identifying the 100 most important questions for global agriculture.
These have been compiled using a horizon-scanning approach with leading experts and representatives of major
agricultural organizations worldwide. The aim is to use sound scientific evidence to inform decision making and
guide policy makers in the future direction of agricultural research priorities and policy support. If addressed, we
anticipate that these questions will have a significant impact on global agricultural practices worldwide, while
improving the synergy between agricultural policy, practice and research. This research forms part of the UK
Government’s Foresight Global Food and Farming Futures project.

This timely book brings to our attention the multiplicity of linkages and interconnections between what we eat and how this impacts on the earth’s resources. It was written with the purpose that if we had a better idea of the consequences of our food choices, this might encourage us to develop more sustainable practices of production and consumption in the decades ahead.

Although human societies have, over time, brought under control a large proportion of the earth’s resources for the purpose of food production, we remain subject to the effective functioning of global ecosystem services. The author highlights the vital importance of these services and explains why we should be concerned about the depletion of freshwater resources, soil fertility decline and loss of biological diversity. The book also tackles some of the enormous challenges of our era: climate change, to which the agri-food system is both a major contributor and a vulnerable sector; and the prospect of significantly higher energy prices, arising from the peaking of oil and gas supplies, which will reveal how dependent the food system has become upon cheap fossil fuels. Such challenges are likely to have significant implications for the long-term functioning of global supply chains and raise profound questions regarding the nutritional security of the world’s population. Taken together the book argues that a re-examination of the assumptions and practices underpinning the contemporary food system is urgently required.

Environment and Food is a highly original, inter-disciplinary and accessible text that will be of interest to students and the wider public genuinely interested in and concerned by the state of the world’s food provisioning system. It is richly illustrated with figures and makes extensive use of boxes to highlight relevant examples.

The production of animal-based instead of plant-based foods has become a major reason for climate change, yet fewer than 10% of United States college respondents associate eating animals as a significant contributor (Truelove & Parks, 2012).  The objective of this research is to identify more precisely the contribution of animal agriculture to climate change and to offer more sustainable alternatives.  Animal agriculture is responsible for a major share of damage caused in land degradation, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution, and to the loss of biodiversity (Poore and Nemecek, 2018; Machovina, Feeley, & Ripple, 2015).  Research on animal agriculture’s share of anthropogenic global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however, varies from 14.5% to 51%.  The inconsistency between Gerber et al. (2013) United Nations’ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) figure of 14.5% and Goodland & Anhang (2009) Worldwatch Institute article figure of at-least 51% was explored in this paper.  With more accurate knowledge of the contribution of animal agriculture on both climate change and environmental degradation, there will be more political and industrial will to support viable alternatives.  Innovative products from companies like Beyond Meat, Oatly, and JUST Inc. were compared as alternatives that showed benefits to land restoration, carbon sequestration, and the reduction of environmental degradation.  Considering the need for always applying up-to-date knowledge to Canadian policy and practice, a recent example was reviewed and shown to be an opportunity for other countries to follow for positive systemic change towards encouraging and supporting plant-based foods.

The proportion of the British population reducing their consumption of animal food products has increased dramatically over the last decade, while vegetarian and vegan options are now widely available in supermarkets and restaurants across the UK. This phenomenon presents vital benefits for climate change, environmental degradation, human health and animal welfare. Yet, little research has investigated the rapidly growing trend. A broader understanding of the decision to reduce one's consumption and the cognitive, social and physical processes involved in maintaining dietary changes is essential for policy makers, campaigners and researchers working toward a sustainable future. Meat reduction and vegan campaigns by non-governmental organisations serve as a primary promoter of reduction and present a unique opportunity to research reducers when they may first be seeking a dietary transition. The theoretical framework employed within this dissertation combines the first comprehens...

The proportion of the British population reducing their consumption of animal food products has increased dramatically over the last decade, while vegetarian and vegan options are now widely available in supermarkets and restaurants across the UK. This phenomenon presents vital benefits for climate change, environmental degradation, human health and animal welfare. Yet, little research has investigated the rapidly growing trend. A broader understanding of the decision to reduce one's consumption and the cognitive, social and physical processes involved in maintaining dietary changes is essential for policy makers, campaigners and researchers working toward a sustainable future. Meat reduction and vegan campaigns by non-governmental organisations serve as a primary promoter of reduction and present a unique opportunity to research reducers when they may first be seeking a dietary transition. The theoretical framework employed within this dissertation combines the first comprehensive model of behaviour change, the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie, Atkins and West 2014), with the fields of social consumption and sustainable and ethical consumption to analyse the reducer and the reduction process through a more comprehensive framework. A mixed-methods approach has been used to investigate the barriers, motivators and goals of participants in seven UK-based meat reduction and vegan campaigns through focus groups (n=33) and a longitudinal web-based survey (n=1,587). To the best of the researcher's knowledge, this represents the most comprehensive study of reducers and reduction campaigns to date. Interviews with campaign staff (n=13) and an examination of campaign messaging and strategies have been used to further analyse campaign participation and the reduction process. Findings reveal key trends within highly diverse approaches to reduction, including a reduction hierarchy that prioritises red meat and neglects fish and egg reduction through a tendency for small, gradual dietary changes. While meat reducers were likely to be successful on a short-term basis, they were unlikely to maintain reductions over a prolonged period. Those with the greatest levels of abstention were, instead, the most likely to meet their reduction goals. Animal protection also emerged as key for many reducers, potentially creating a new perspective - a mindshift - that re-positions the animal source within the consumption process. Findings suggest that policy makers, campaigners and advocates need to consider the psycho-social element within the reduction process, with the potential for a wide variety of consumer types and, importantly, the need to not simply address what is consumed but to address normative omnivorous consumption that is formed around a meat component and de-values meatless meals.

We are losing the fight for the conservation of grasslands. Considering
the current loss rate (~6% yearly), only due to agricultural expansion it is
estimated that before 2025, natural grasslands will have disappeared in
the state of Chihuahua. A paradigm change in our actions is required
for the conservation of natural grasslands in Mexico. We consider water
as a key aspect in any new strategies and efforts to conserve grasslands.

In addition, landscapes should be the central axis to facilitate the rational management of such resources. The proposed management activities should take into account economic activities (livestock rearing, agriculture, tourism, among others), cultural aspects (traditions, values, and lifestyles), biodiversity factors (ecological corridors and environmental services), and climate change to achieve positive and sustainable results that foster balance between economic development and the conservation of natural resources in the regions.

Academic interest in food has increased over the last decade with heated debates over organic agriculture , local food, and the globalization of the food economy. While much of this research gravitates towards producers and consumers, there is also growing interest in the economic activities that are performed in-between these two ends. In this paper, we will argue that there is a need to develop stronger discussions engaged with the economic middle broadly and a theoretical framework with which to think through middle industries. We offer the word conducers to categorize economic actors engaged in these middle industries and develop a theory of conduction that can be used to critically approach their activities and organization. Building an approach around practice, performance and the politics of narration, we further conceptualize the role of conducers and conduction, and describe how they contribute to our understanding of rigidity and change in the food industry.

This work provides an overview of trends in the use of agrochemical products in Cambodia, one of the most acute chemically polluted countries in Asia, discusses the impacts — particularly about farmers health and food production — and provides some recommendations to policy makers on how to minimize the negative externalities derived on the uncontrolled use of these technological packages. The methodology is based on the review of secondary data, the current laws sources and in-farm interviews as explaining factors derived on farm and food consumption consequences. On the other hand, the results of the research can be useful to assist policy makers to improve several controlling rules on these usages related to farming issues, and regarding to pesticides and weeds control. As obtained in the review, Cambodian chemicals management laws and regulations have big gaps regarding to their implementation. Most of the legal instruments have only general provisions and do not clearly define the role and responsibility of the governmental institutions and other stakeholders. Existing chemicals law enforcement is limited. Paralleled with the above issues, Cambodia also lacks human resources and monitoring facilities, causing an ineffective law enforcement. This review shows that many governmental policies must be put into action, donors must stop helping rent seeking attitudes by local and international NGOs and a raise for civil society and the concern of famers must be favored by no monetary incentives, as being unfruitful done till now. An agro ecological alternative is offered to face these issues. Finally, based on the last assessments some recommendations on alternatives to the lack of successful policies and laws on pesticides are pointed out.

Literary review of a book on practical permaculture. Wisconsin farmer Mark Shepard argues persuasively that “restoration agriculture”—a style of farming that models itself after the natural ecosystems of the Midwest rather than a manufacturing facility—can not only restore biodiversity but provide better nutrition and a better economic foundation for our communities.

Sick Wildlife The Tip Of An Iceberg

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is ravaging wildlife in many regions across North America. It’s part of a larger epidemic of neurological disease that is killing millions of people, wildlife and livestock around the world. Once again, wildlife are serving as the proverbial canary in a coal mine.

CWD is part of an incurable spectrum disease called transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). The operative word is “transmissible.” Mismanagement of pathogens associated with the disease are contributing to a broader epidemic of neurological disease among wildlife, livestock and people.

TSEs, including chronic wasting disease, are caused by a deadly protein called a prion (PREE-on). Prion disease is unstoppable. Prions defy all attempts at sterilization and inactivation. Victims can spread the disease even further via their bodily fluids and cell tissue. Victims often are contagious long before they appear sick. Their saliva, urine, blood and feces, for example, spread the pathogen further every day. Prions linger in the environment and on objects infinitely. They migrate, mutate, multiply and kill with unparalleled efficiency. Because of the dynamics, Canada has declared CWD unstoppable.

L'agricoltura ha caratteristiche uniche tra le attività umane: utilizza risorse naturali e organismi viventi; i suoi prodotti sono essenziali per la vita di ogni essere umano; è praticata ovunque nel mondo. In ragione di ciò, lo svolgimento delle attività agricole rappresenta il punto di equilibrio tra due bisogni essenziali dell'uomo: la sicurezza alimentare e la tutela delle risorse naturali. Se tale equilibrio si realizza l'agricoltura è sostenibile, in caso contrario, cessa di esserlo e scarica il suo peso sull'umanità e sulla natura. Negli ultimi decenni, l'affermazione dei modelli agroindustriali e degli oligopoli che li governano ha determinato gravi distorsioni che hanno seriamente compromesso la sostenibilità delle attività agricole. L'obiettivo del presente lavoro è fornire un'ampia rappresentazione del rapporto tra agricoltura e sostenibilità, evidenziando i diversi aspetti (economici, politici, sociali e ambientali) che, nel tempo, ne hanno determinato l'evoluzione.
L’agricoltura ha caratteristiche uniche tra le attività umane: utilizza risorse naturali e organismi viventi; i suoi prodotti sono essenziali per la vita di ogni essere umano; è praticata ovunque nel mondo. In ragione di ciò, lo svolgimento delle attività agricole rappresenta il punto di equilibrio tra due bisogni essenziali dell’uomo: la sicurezza alimentare e la tutela delle risorse naturali. Se tale equilibrio si realizza l’agricoltura è sostenibile, in caso contrario, cessa di esserlo e scarica il suo peso sull’umanità e sulla natura. Negli ultimi decenni, l’affermazione dei modelli agroindustriali e degli oligopoli che li governano ha determinato gravi distorsioni che hanno seriamente compromesso la sostenibilità delle attività agricole. L’obiettivo del presente lavoro è fornire un’ampia rappresentazione del rapporto tra agricoltura e sostenibilità, evidenziando i diversi aspetti (economici, politici, sociali e ambientali) che, nel tempo, ne hanno determinato l’evoluzione.

The global growth in the production of soy and its use for different types of foods has been, and continues to be, a major contributor to land use change in the Amazon and other regions in South America.

This Foodsource building block explores the connections between soy, land use change, and discussions on animal- versus plant-based protein sources.

There is no satisfactory legal remedy for farmers whose farm has been contaminated by genetically modified (GM) material. This is a deficiency of Australia’s Gene Technology Act 2000 and it has not been remedied. In the Marsh v Baxter case (2010-2016) an organic farm in Western Australia (WA) was contaminated with GM canola from a neighbouring farm. The organic farm lost its certification (along with the price premium for organic produce). The organic farmer (Marsh) sued the GM farmer (Baxter) for the agreed damages of A$85,000. The case was lost in the WA Supreme Court, then in the Court of Appeal, and finally it was rejected by the High Court of Australia. The legal fees were in the order of A$2,000,000, which is quite disproportionate to the agreed loss. A Parliamentary Inquiry (2017-2019) in WA examined “Mechanisms for compensation for economic loss to farmers in Western Australia caused by contamination by genetically modified material”. There were 121 submissions to the Inquiry and 22 public hearings. Seven ‘mechanisms’ were considered: (i) Do nothing; (ii) a GM Levy; (iii) a GM Technology Licence Bond; (iv) Non-GM farmer Insurance; (v) GM farmer Insurance; (vi) a Compulsory Third Party (CTP) GM Scheme; and, (vii) the Government pays. After its deliberations, the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs did not recommend any change from the present unsatisfactory state of affairs where reliance on the common law offers no effective protection for non-GM farmers against contamination by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (as witnessed in the Marsh v Baxter case). The ‘Do nothing’ option, which was supported by Monsanto and pro-GM farmer groups, prevailed. This paper explores the context and content of the Parliamentary Inquiry, presents the six proposed proactive options for compensation (of which only four appeared in the Inquiry Report), and the twelve findings of the Inquiry. Ultimately the Committee was timid where it might have been bold. The Inquiry was a lost opportunity for righting a known wrong. The Inquiry outcome will ensure that GM-farming remains a very contentious issue in WA and continues to lack any semblance of a social licence. However, the WA Parliamentary Inquiry (in toto, viz. the submissions, the hearings, and the Report) provides a rich trove of views and material for legislators and regulators in other jurisdictions who face the exact same issue of GM contaminations.

2009 年莫拉克風災重建已十年有餘，幾千名原鄉居民無奈選擇異 地安置，本研究檢視災後離鄉的原住民族人如何調適生計策略，聚焦紅 藜新興經濟之興起相關的傳統農耕產業化過程，然離鄉農人們面對耕地 不足的災後處境，如何突破限制參與這門好生意?紅藜從輔助作物轉型 為強調營養價值的超級穀物，原鄉小農採取哪些調適戰略來回應市場價 格起伏不定和技術挑戰?一片搶種競爭中，紅藜真是原鄉永續好生意 嗎?本研究看待離鄉耕耘為一複雜的自然-社會技術組合來理解屏東原 鄉族人參與農耕產業化發展所涉及的災後移動、競爭與潛在矛盾，指出 企業契作生產實踐不易的困境，並嘗試提問新興農作中的「小農」製造 過程。

(The role of information technology in farms). В статье рассмотрена постановка вопросов об компьютеризации управления фермерским хозяйством. Предложены технологии возделывания сельхоз культуры и управление на основе компьютерной системы, а также предложен опыт из мировой практики, использованные автоматизированные рабочие места (АРМ) фермера.
In this manuscript the problems computerization of farmer economy was envisaged. Technology of agricultural plants’ cultivation and management on the basis of computer system was offered. The experience of world practice of using automatically farmer’s workers places was suggested too.

In July 2014 the Food Justice: Knowing Food/Securing the Future workshop at the University of Reading, UK brought together over 60 academic and civil society delegates to discuss the contemporary state of food justice.  While food is essential to the growth, development and health of human life, and to social well-being (Riches 2018), an array of contemporary challenges demonstrates that our food system does not ensure freedom from want and oppression, or environmental sustainability (Allen 2008). Indeed, when we consider the number of malnourished children that live in countries with food surpluses it becomes clear that a more equitable and healthy food system is substantively not an issue of production but, rather, of access and justice.

Problems regarding the use of inorganic fertilizers resulted to harmful effects such as water eutrophication, heavy metal accumulation, and nitrate accumulation that have strong carcinogenic effects based on toxicological examinations. Korean Natural Farming (KNF) is a holistic system which utilizes different recipes as alternative to chemicals such as Water-Soluble Calcium Phosphate (WCaP) fertilizer that uses chicken bones in cultivating various crops. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of WCaP on Phaseolus vulgaris on the following morphological characteristics: plant height, leaf length, foliage count, fruit count, and flower count. Chemical analysis of bones was tested using the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC) methods: N-AOAC 955.04; P-AOAC 931.01; K-AOAC 983.02; and Ca-AOAC 965.09 (modified) 19th Edition. Potential hydrogen of soil was determined using Ferry-Morse soil pH device. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments and three replications. Significant differences between the treatments were determined using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed bones containing 5.86 ± 0.03 %N (w/w), 18.68 ± 0.18 %P2O5 (w/w), 0.1616 ± 0.02 %K (w/w), and 29.40 ± 0.83 %Ca (w/w). Statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences in fruit count and flower count. However, the plant height was significantly increased by WCaP fertilizer (250g chicken bones + 250mL vinegar + 2.5-L H2O). Leaf length, foliage count, and pH level were significantly affected by M (250g chicken bones + 250mL WCaP). After the Post Hoc Analysis (Scheffe Test), WCaP and M did not differ in potential hydrogen level but were able to achieve the soil pH requirement of string bean plant after 8 weeks (pH = 6.5 and pH = 6.3 respectively). This implies that adding WCaP with CB greatly influenced the growth and development of the string bean plant.