Genetic Discovery Promises High-iron Vegetables and Cereals November 15, 2023
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) A genetic breakthrough has opened new opportunities for iron-fortified vegetables and cereal crops to help address the global health issue of anaemia.
John Innes Centre researchers used a newly available map of the pea-genome to identify the underlying genetic sequence responsible for two high-iron mutations in peas.
Professor Janneke Balk, a group leader at the John Innes Centre and an author of the research said: “There are a number of intriguing opportunities arising from this research but probably the most exciting outcome is that knowledge of these mutations could inform gene editing strategies to increase iron in a wide range of crops.”
The discovery may help address the persistent problem of iron deficiency, a nutritional health issue that particularly affects girls and women in the UK and other parts of the world. This problem is likely to get worse as people eat less meat because of climate change concerns.
Iron deficiency anaemia is a condition where a lack of iron in the body leads to a reduction in the number of red blood cells which help store and carry oxygen.
How Could Global Food Production Break Down? November 15, 2023
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) Industrialized farming relies heavily on outside inputs, like synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, machinery, seeds, and animal feed. A new study published in Nature Food predicts how much yield would be lost from ‘input shocks’ that disrupt these supplies. ‘Very little is known about how shocks in agricultural inputs would impact crop yields and food availability on a large scale. We used machine learning and spatially gridded datasets to model, for the first time, the impacts globally in high resolution,’ says the study’s lead author, Aino Ahvo.
• Researchers at Aalto University examined the effect of different input shocks on the yield of various crops throughout the world at a resolution of ~10km.
• The predicted yield loss differs between regions and crops. Areas with the highest current yield would see the greatest reduction. The analysis predicts large decreases in many important agricultural regions, such as the United States, Argentina, Western Europe and Southern Africa, as well as parts of China and Thailand.
• A 50% shock in all inputs would reduce global maize production by 26% and wheat production by 21%. The most disruptive individual shock would be a reduction in fertilizer supply, which would drastically reduce yield. In fact, a shock in fertilizer supply would reduce the yield of most crops about as much as a shock in all inputs.
• This analysis can help us prepare not only for unexpected disruptions (eg, COVID, sanctions from the Ukraine war, or the blocking of the Suez Canal) but also for the transition to a green future, which will require reductions in inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides.
• Two of the authors, Vilma Sandstrom and Mika Jalava, will be presenting their work on sustainable food solutions on December 10 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP28). They will discuss how food production can be sustainably scaled to meet the needs of a growing population and what risks need to be avoided.
COP28 and the Path to Innovations in Agriculture by Paul Winters
December 2, 2023
Introduction:
(The Conversation) At present, agriculture provides enough food for the world’s 8 billion people, although many do not have adequate access. But to feed a global population of 10 billion in 2050, croplands would need to expand by 660,000 to 1.2 million square miles (171 million to 301 million hectare) relative to 2010. That would lead to more deforestation, which contributes to climate change. Further, some practices widely relied on to produce sufficient food, such as using synthetic fertilizers, also contribute to climate change.
Simply eliminating deforestation and these practices without alternative solutions would decrease the world’s food supply and farmers’ incomes. Fortunately, innovations are emerging that can help.
In a new report, the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture, founded by Nobel-winning economist Michael Kremer, identifies seven priority areas for innovation that can help ensure sufficient food production, minimize greenhouse gas emissions and be scaled up to reach hundreds of millions of people.
I’m an agriculture economist and executive director for the commission. Three innovations in particular stand out for their ability to scale up quickly and pay off economically.
What Should Kids Know About Factory Farming? by Kenny Torrella
December 8, 2023
Introduction:
(Vox) The 2000 children’s movie Chicken Run is one of the darker and more subversive films made for kids: The story follows a flock of lovable, though quite miserable, chickens who conspire to escape a farm before their impending slaughter.
Despite the grim subject matter, it’s charming and entertaining, fully earning its 97 percent critic’s rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The script reads like it was written by PETA, yet it was a box office hit and remains the highest-grossing stop-motion animated movie ever made.
Next week, Netflix is releasing a sequel — Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget — with the same theme but updated to reflect our increasingly dystopian animal farming system.
This time around, instead of escaping a farm, the same chickens are breaking into one to rescue one of their flock members (which also happens to be the strategy of some animal rights activists).
The farm in question is Fun-Land Farms (tagline: “Where chickens find their happy endings”), an enormous, futuristic poultry operation in which a mad scientist has created a device that, when worn around the chickens’ necks, makes them happy to be slaughtered.
Transforming Food Systems: Role of Novel Protein Alternatives by Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
December 8, 2023
Introduction:
(United Nations Environmental Program) My thanks to the Government of Belgium for funding the What’s Cooking report. This new UNEP assessment explores how novel alternatives to conventionally produced animal products such as meat and dairy could slow the triple planetary crisis – the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss and the crisis of pollution and waste.
What and how we eat impacts planetary, human, and animal health. Food systems contribute over 30 per cent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with animal agriculture being a major player. We see the conversion of nature, through damaging processes such as deforestation to rear livestock and grow feed, pollution of soil and water, and risks of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance. There are also human health concerns about over-consumption of red and processed meat. These problems and more are all captured in the One Health approach, which treats the improvement of human, animal, plant and ecosystem health as one linked challenge.
Nobody is saying that animal products are bad, but it is well understood that switching to a more diverse diet would benefit people, nature, the climate and animals themselves. To see this understanding in action, look no further than this COP, where two-thirds of the food being served is plant-based.
So, we must look at our options, which is what this report does by exploring novel plant-based meats, cultivated meat from animal cells and alternatives produced through rapid fermentation. The assessment shows that these products could address a number of issues I already outlined, particularly in high- and middle-income countries. There are caveats. There are gaps in understanding of the full nutritional benefits and drawbacks. Evidence on cultured meat and fermentation is limited. Cost, taste and social acceptability will have a big say on whether these products are accepted or not.
(Eurekalert) As presented at the Society for Risk Analysis 2023 Annual conference, Patrycja Sleboda from Baruch College – CUNY and her colleagues from the University of Southern California conducted a national food choice experiment to determine how people respond to labels such as “vegan” and “plant-based” compared to “healthy,” “sustainable,” or “healthy and sustainable.”
Research has shown that limiting meat and dairy intake and eating more fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Diets with less meat and dairy are also more environmentally sustainable because they have a smaller carbon footprint.
In this study, all participants (n=7341) chose between a food gift basket without meat and dairy and another with meat and dairy. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions, in which the gourmet food gift basket without meat and dairy was labeled as “vegan,” “plant-based,” “healthy,” “sustainable,” or “healthy and sustainable.”
The food gift basket without meat and dairy was less likely to be chosen when its label focused on its content (stating “vegan” or “plant-based”) rather than its benefits (stating “healthy”, “sustainable” or both):
• Only 20% of participants chose the food basket without meat and dairy when it was labeled “vegan,” while 27% chose it when it was labeled “plant-based.”
• In contrast, 42% of participants chose the food basket without meat and dairy when it was labeled “healthy,” 43% chose it when it was labeled “sustainable,” and 44% chose it when it was labeled “healthy and sustainable.”
AI Could Improve Your Life by Removing Bottlenecks Between What You Want and What You Get by Bruce Schneier
December 21, 2023
Introduction:
(The Conversation) Artificial intelligence is poised to upend much of society, removing human limitations inherent in many systems. One such limitation is information and logistical bottlenecks in decision-making.
Traditionally, people have been forced to reduce complex choices to a small handful of options that don’t do justice to their true desires. Artificial intelligence has the potential to remove that limitation. And it has the potential to drastically change how democracy functions.
AI researcher Tantum Collins and I, a public-interest technology scholar, call this AI overcoming “lossy bottlenecks.” Lossy is a term from information theory that refers to imperfect communications channels – that is, channels that lose information.
Multiple-choice practicality
Imagine your next sit-down dinner and being able to have a long conversation with a chef about your meal. You could end up with a bespoke dinner based on your desires, the chef’s abilities and the available ingredients. This is possible if you are cooking at home or hosted by accommodating friends.
Additional extract:
The possibilities
…By storing rich representations of people’s preferences and histories on the demand side, along with equally rich representations of capabilities, costs and creative possibilities on the supply side, AI systems enable complex customization at scale and low cost. Imagine walking into a restaurant and knowing that the kitchen has already started work on a meal optimized for your tastes, or being presented with a personalized list of choices.
Life-saving Antibiotics in Jeopardy from Growing Use in Factory-farmed Animals by Scott Faber and Anne Schechinger
December 21, 2023
Introduction:
(EWG) The sale of medically important antibiotics in farm animals grew by 12 percent between 2017 and 2022, further jeopardizing the effectiveness of these life-saving drugs.
The overuse of antibiotics in farm animals makes bacteria more resistant and antibiotics less effective, leading to almost 3 million illnesses and 35,000 deaths a year in the U.S.
But sales of these crucial drugs for use in factory-farmed animals soared from 5.6 million kilograms, or kg, in 2017 to 6.2 million kg in 2022, an Environmental Working Group analysis found. And sales of medically important antibiotics for use on farms grew by 4 percent in 2022 alone, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The fastest growing rate of this antibiotic sold for use across animal types was for swine, rising from 2 million kg in 2017 to 2.7 million kg in 2022, up 31 percent.
The amount of these antibiotics – vital for protecting human health – sold for use for cattle also increased, from 2.3 million kg to 2.6 million kg, or by 10 percent.
Harnessing Sensors, Smart Devices, and AI Could Transform Agriculture January 4, 2024
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) Biosensing engineer Azahar Ali, assistant professor of animal sciences and biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech, is bracing for the arrival of a fourth agricultural revolution.
It’s an era predicted to tap into the transformative potential of the connective technologies that have arisen in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To Ali, three technologies stand out for their potential to advance climate-smart, precision agriculture: wearable agriculture sensors, Internet of Things-enabled — or “smart” — devices, and artificial intelligence (AI).
In a review article published by Advanced Intelligent Systems, Ali and colleagues Matin Ataei Kachouei of the School of Animal Sciences and Ajeet Kaushik of Florida Polytechnic University wrote that merging these cutting-edge technologies could create a paradigm shift in how the agricultural sector monitors food safety and quality and plant health and productivity worldwide.
For Ali, prioritizing rapid, accurate, early monitoring will be critical to sustainably and safely feeding the fast-growing global population, which is expected to be nearly 10 billion by 2050 and will require 50 percent more food to maintain the world’s food supply chain, according to the article.
According to the 2023 Global Agricultural Productivity, or GAP, Report, released through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the growth of global agricultural productivity has significantly contracted and current efforts to sustainably expand production are inadequate
How We Found Out What's Done to the Oceans When Nobody Is Watching by Jennifer Raynor
January 7, 2024
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Humans are racing to harness the ocean’s vast potential to power global economic growth. Worldwide, ocean-based industries such as fishing, shipping and energy production generate at least US$1.5 trillion in economic activity each year and support 31 million jobs. This value has been increasing exponentially over the past 50 years and is expected to double by 2030.
Transparency in monitoring this “blue acceleration” is crucial to prevent environmental degradation, overexploitation of fisheries and marine resources, and lawless behavior such as illegal fishing and human trafficking. Open information also will make countries better able to manage vital ocean resources effectively. But the sheer size of the ocean has made tracking industrial activities at a broad scale impractical – until now.
A newly published study in the journal Nature combines satellite images, vessel GPS data and artificial intelligence to reveal human industrial activities across the ocean over a five-year period. Researchers at Global Fishing Watch, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea, led this study, in collaboration with me and our colleagues at Duke University, University of California, Santa Barbara and SkyTruth.
We found that a remarkable amount of activity occurs outside of public monitoring systems. Our new map and data provide the most comprehensive public picture available of industrial uses of the ocean.
Conclusion:
Healthy oceans underpin human well-being in a myriad of ways. We expect that this research will support evidence-based decision-making and help to make ocean management more fair, effective and sustainable.
