Food System Dynamics (E-Journals)
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The Role of Innovation Poles in Agri‐food System Development: The Case of Abruzzo’s Model
Get PDFThe Innovation Poles represent a new industrial policy instruments to support the competitiveness of companies that favor the sharing of knowledge between companies and the convergence of investments on trajectories of innovation. This paper provides an indepth analysis of the case of Abruzzo Innovation Pole “Agire” Consortium, a cluster that includes food companies and joint research, innovation and strategic services. Results showed that requirements of companies to improve their competitiveness are not only devoted to research and innovation in strictly sense (product/process) but also to the exigence of general improvement of services oriented to market development, internationalization / export and support in participation in calls for projects proposal; companies’ point out the high cost of innovation as the main limitation; a general strategy improving internal and external policies could overcome or limit this barrier and facilitate the symbiosis process
Can Healthier Food Demand be Linked to Farming Systems’ Sustainability? The Case of the Mediterranean Diet
Get PDFPromoting healthier diets is strategic to solve the global societal challenge of excessive and unhealthy calorie intake that causes obesity and overweight and is responsible for chronic diseases that burden healthcare systems. The relationship between food and personal health is well established and in recent years it has originated a number of dietary recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) focused on encouraging healthier diets. The environmental impact of food intake and of particular diets is a growing research area. However, neither researchnor public policies, in particular, have been able so far to establish a link between promoting healthier diets and their impact on enhancing environmentally healthier farming systems and the sustainability of rural landscapes. This paper addresses this gap by presenting a multidisciplinary literature review which combines evidence from nutrition and health sciences with that from environmental, agrarian and sustainability studies on the impacts of foods and dietary patterns on the environment, ecosystems and rural landscape. This integrate d review,complemented with data analysis, highlights the Mediterranean diet as a healthier dietary pattern whose promotion could be beneficial to recover or maintain the sustainability of Mediterranean rural landscape. Hence, the second part of the paper focus on discussing the role of public policies in enabling the link between enhancing healthier diets and healthier farming systems in order to sustain rural landscapes since these play a key role in the sustainability of Mediterranean rural areas
Intercultural Challenges in Consumer Research in the Food Sector: The Case of Japanese Rice
Get PDFWithin the study, we show that it is quite demanding to conduct consumer surveys abroad, in particular, if the targeted society differs in so many ways compared to the domestic market. This contribution presents results of a study analyzing consumer behavior in the Japanese rice market. The main focus was set on the evaluation ofpreferences of Japanese consumers when buying rice. Amongst others, one core attribute was origin which is actually a prominent attribute in Western European food markets. To approximate the impact of relevant attributes influencing consumers’ purchasing decision (origin, brand, quality seals and price), we conducted a discrete choice experiment with Japanese consumers, mainly living in urban areas
Preserving Ecosystem Services via Sustainable Agro-food Chains
Get PDFToday, agro-food chains constitute a focal point of critique from multiple perspectives – economic, environmental and societal – for their powerful yet quiescent role in promoting a secure path towards sustainable development. Effective and sustainable food systems accompanied by responsible use of ecosystem resources/services and societal concern can successfully meet current and future challenges. The need for sustainability, from both the demand and the production point of view, is situated at the core of policy objectives for the development of agro-food chains. In this context, the 164th EAAE Seminar organized in Chania, Greece, 5-7 September 2018, covered the topic “Preserving Ecosystem Services via Sustainable Agro-food Chains”, focusing on the necessity for sustainable food chains in a viable ecosystem analyzing their wide spectrum of interlinkages
Benefits of Regional Food Quality Labels for Czech Producers
Get PDFThe objective of this paper is to evaluate the benefits of regional food quality labels for producers using the example of the Czech quality label, Regionální potravina (Regional Food). To do so, a telephone survey was carried out on a sample of 208 Czech food producers who have acquired the Regionální potravina quality label for some of their products. The results show that the producers have seen a positive improvement in sales following acquisitionof the quality label, although they have not noticed greater interest in their products during campaigns to support awareness of the Regionální potravina quality label
Potato Breeding by Many Hands? Measuring the Germplasm Exchange Based on a Cultivated Potatoes Database
Get PDFIn science, collaboration is sometimes understood as synonymous with co‐authorship. However, it also can be measured through the exchange of information and materials. In agriculture, potato late blight is still a challenge to the breedingprograms. Accessing different materials, which can be used as sources of resistance, is the key to successful disease control.This article maps the germplasm exchanges carried out by potato breeding in the world as a way to measure collaborationbetween countries. Cultivars of potato resistant to late blight were selected based on a European database and somecountries stood out from others. This was mainly the case of Germany and the Netherlands. Most of the countries havegreater links with themselves than with other countries, with reinforces the idea that national breeding programs workmore closely within their own country than with other countries. The hegemony of some countries, the prioritization ofnational research and the high costs of developing a resistant cultivar can be obstacles to greater collaboration
Delphi-Based Foresight of Global Olive Oil Market Trends
Get PDFForecasting of supply and demand in the olive oil value chain remains a hot topic partly due to the lack of comprehensive and consensual estimates at the international level. The aim of this study is to contribute to overcome this weakness by providing a foresight of global supply and demand for olive oil for the upcoming years, using an iterative consensus-building Delphi approach. Therefore, we estimate the expected annual growth rates in the olive oil production and consumption worldwide as well as their likely impact on Spanish exports. Another key objective of the study is to elicit expert judgements on the factors that are likely to shape the predicted changes as well as the international challenges ahead. Results point to substantial future increases in production in new-producing countries, in parallel with a slower growth in the EU traditional suppliers whose focus will increasingly be placed on the quality and sustainability rather than the quantity of olive oil produced. Likewise, a significant growth in the world demand for olive oil is expected mostly in non-traditional markets, which will be spurred by greater awareness and appreciation of the product’s health benefits, combined with the changes in lifestyles and the increasing purchasing power of several consumer segments. These emerging markets represent valuable opportunities for marketing and promoting olive oil as a highly valued product, and offer promising prospects for the international expansion of olive oil companies. Findings support decision-making and long-term strategic planning along the olive oil value chain. Researchers can use the results as a reference point for further study of the dynamics of world supply and demand for olive oil
Sunflower oil innovation, claim assessment and consumer’ motivations to accept this food
Get PDFThe food product innovation is advancing under pressure of: 1.st the growing request of innovations in foods products and processing challenging new consumers’ needs; 2.nd, the advance in nutrigenomics and its contribution to increase knowledge about the relation between nutrition and food, iii) biotechnologies contribution to create customized food products to satisfy a variety of customers’ needs (Hobbs, 2002). An emerging food product category is the nutraceutic food, contributing to satisfy ‘nutrients’ and ‘medical needs; beside it is easier with genomic techniques the original food composition to challenge the customers’ needs it must be considered the consumers’ adverse reaction for any technique used to change the food product composition. Purpose of this research is to suggest a modification of the sunflower oil composition obtained with genomic technique to change the product from bulk commodity to enhanced specialty food with health claims. The traditional bulk commodity market is based on uniform quality standard, higher volume of production priced at the minimum marginal cost. The specialty market segment demands products with distinctive attributes of higher quality and safety standards, more varieties and sustainability, supported by marketing mix strategies to set up higher prices and better margins according with customers’ preferences. A growing importance in consumers’ preferences are the combination of nutritional, health and environmental attributes that must be properly communicated with ad hoc messages describing the product’s claim. To test the consumers’ awareness about healthy claim and willingness to accept these enhanced food products, an explorative SEM analysis is conducted with a questionnaire. The results suggest that the consumer is in favor of the health and environmental care, nevertheless it is opportune to examine in deeper the causes (health claim, technology and environmental impact, communication, culture and others) to convince the consumers to adopt these functional product. The first part of the research is dedicated to analyze the innovations and demonstrate the scientific evidence of the health claims of the modified sunflower oil, describing the role of PUFA (Poly-unsaturated fatty acids). It is discussed the metabolic pathway of the eico-esanoid EPA and DHA generated from modified sunflower oil, responsible of benefic effects on the human metabolism. The second part is dedicated to the inference about the consumers’ acceptance of this functional sunflower oil using SEM model. It is our conviction that this procedure will open new perspectives of food innovation in creation of nutrition and healthy food to satisfy the growing population in the world.
Modeling of Integrated Supply-, Value- and Decision Chains within Food Systems
Get PDFThis paper presents a work in progress on the development of a mental model of a food system using system analysis. The aim is to be able to use this model to create a mathematical simulation model that can be used to identify policy intervention opportunities, specifically focusing on the resilience, integrity and sustainability of food supply networks. The traditional view of food systems as supply chains with a downstream physical flow of products is extended to include the associated upstream flow of money and the decision chains that link these flows. Central to this work is the idea that supply systems are driven by profit and regulated by market dynamics and that these factors generate the underlying feedback structure of the system. Studying the structure of such systems as integrated supply-, value- and decision chains has underscored their complexity and the need for further, more food system specific research
Measuring GHG Emissions Across the Agri-Food Sector Value Chain: The Development of BIO - a Bio-economy Input-Output Model
Get PDFSustainable intensification is one of the greatest challenges facing the agri-food sector which needs to produce more food to meet increasing global demand, while minimising negative environmental impacts such as agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Sustainable intensification relates not just to primary production, but also has wider value chain implications. An input-output model is a modelling framework which contains the flows across a value chain within a country. Input-output (IO) models have been disaggregated to have finer granular detail in relation to agricultural sub-sectoral value chains. National IO models with limited agricultural disaggregation have been developed to look at carbon footprints and within agriculture to look at the carbon footprint of specific value chains. In this paper we adapt an agriculturally disaggregated IO model to analyse the source of emissions in different components of agri-food value chains. We focus on Ireland, where emissions from agriculture comprise nearly 30% of national emissions and where there has been a major expansion and transformation in agriculture since the abolition of milk quota restrictions. In a substantial Annex to this paper, we describe the modelling assumptions made in developing this model. Breaking up the value chain into components, we find that most value is generated at the processing stage of the value chain, with greater processing value in more sophisticated value chains such as dairy processing. On the other hand, emissions are in general highest in primary production, albeit emissions from purchased animal feed being higher for poultry than for other value chains, given the lower direct emissions from poultry than from ruminants or sheep. The analysis highlights that emissions per unit of output are much higher for beef and sheep meat value chains than for pig and poultry meat value chains