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Does information about environmental considerations affect Chinese and UK consumers’ purchase intentions for traced foods? A path analysis
No full textConsumers are increasingly focused on making sustainable food choices, necessitating transparent and trusted systems for providing sustainability information. This can be implemented, for instance, through application of traceability systems that “carry” sustainability information about production and distribution. Currently, the literature on traceability mainly addresses consumer perceptions regarding the benefits of traceability concerning food safety and recalls. This research assessed consumers’ perceptions of the benefits of tracing food sustainability information in relation to purchase decisions. Data were collected using online surveys in China (n=1515) and the UK (n=1656). Path analysis indicated that higher perceived benefits of tracing sustainability information had small positive impacts on purchase intentions in both countries, with these being more pronounced for traced beef compared to milk and apples. The impacts of perceived environmental benefits on purchase intentions were partially mediated by perceptions of improved food safety and quality. This indirect influence was more prominent among UK respondents, implying potentially stronger safety and quality “halo” effects associated with environmental sustainability information compared to Chinese respondents. Stronger pro-environmental attitudes and greater perceived environmental threats linked to food production correlated with higher perceived environmental benefits of tracing food sustainability information and purchase intentions for traced foods in both countries. Positive correlations between pro-environmental attitudes and perceived environmental threats were only observed for UK respondents, suggesting that environmental issues related to food production might be more integrated into the general environmental attitudes of UK respondents. Implications
for marketing strategies and policymaking are proposed considering diverse consumer responses to traced foods between the UK and China, food categories, and socio-demographic groups
Increased monetary equity and health wellbeing benefits for marginal urban socioeconomic groups from access to green space
Get PDFHealth benefits from access to nature are well known and increasingly cited as a supporting argument for the conservation of biodiversity, particularly in cities. However, calculating the benefits from access to nature in economic terms is challenging due to a lack of data linking benefits, number of beneficiaries, and monetary values. This study used mobile phone �ping� data to estimate the use of large biodiverse green spaces (e.g., metropolitan National Parks) surrounding Adelaide, the World�s second National Park City. This ping data was combined with park user and general population data to calculate a health benefit from access to green spaces for citizens across socio-economic groups in the city. Additional data on health burden costs was then used to calculate reduced health costs from access to nature in 20 metropolitan National Parks by 2,842,503 visitors in 2018�19. Across all socio-economic groups, an estimated AU140 million worth of reduced healthcare costs was generated through access to biodiverse green spaces adjacent to the city. This is equivalent to around 4� of the total South Australian healthcare budget. Importantly, citizens from the relatively lowest 40� of socio-economic areas in the metropolitan area received a disproportionately high reduced health cost from access to public green space, despite the additional private cost of accessing National Parks. This study thus provides an opportunity to frame both health and biodiversity conservation decisions at a city and state scale
SUDSnet 2024 -celebrating 2 decades of enhancing multiple benefits from water management Event Dates and Location: Event Description
Get PDFSUDSnet 2024 will provide fantastic networking opportunities and bring you up to date with advances in SuDS and research on contemporary sustainable water management topics. Themed sessions will allow delegates and presenters to explore and discuss topics in detail. We will celebrate partnership working to deliver better water management in a wide variety of situations. Our speakers will communicate case studies and research results from SUDS and Green Infrastructure. The conference provides researchers, practitioners and stakeholders with an ideal opportunity to present, discuss and network. Delegates will be able to develop and expand their own knowledge and practice as well as explore ways that we can collectively advance the field of sustainable surface water management by designing, implementing and communicating effectively about our projects. Who should attend: Conference delegates will include practitioners, consultants, contractors, agencies, engineers, natural and social scientists, academics/educators, planners, and local authorities with an interest in managing stormwater, enhancing water quality, and providing multiple benefits to society, environment and economy through using SUDS, Green infrastructure, Low impact development and nature-based solutions. We encourage early career researchers to attend and to contribute to the event. Register now on via our web page: SUDSnet 2024 Conference (abertay.ac.uk
Wildflower strips enhance pest regulation services in citrus orchards
Get PDFContemporary approaches to agriculture must be reimaged to include ecological techniques that maximise
ecosystem services, so that food can be produced sustainably whilst simultaneously meeting yield demands. Pest
regulation services, harnessed through the conservation of natural enemies in the agri-environment are an
economically important service degraded by conventional citrus production practices. For the first time, a sown
wildflower strip composed of native forbs and tussock-forming grasses has been investigated for its influence on
natural enemies and their pest regulation services in citrus orchards. A novel management strategy was applied,
using the predicted generation times of Aonidiella aurantii Maskell (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), a key pest in citrus,
to determine whether cutting the wildflower strips could force spill-over of natural enemies onto the adjacent
crop, enhancing pest regulation services. Three treatments applied to orange orchard alleyways were compared:
i) a control treatment, the standard orchard practice of regular cutting to 5 cm throughout the year, ii) a sown
wildflower treatment managed with cutting once a year in February to a height of 10 cm (standard management
wildflower treatment, SMWT), and iii) the same sown wildflower treatment but managed with two additional
cuts in May and June (active management wildflower treatment, AMWT). Orange tree canopies were sampled for
natural enemies, and pest regulation services were quantified using sentinel prey cards baited with Ephestia
kuehniella eggs. Natural enemy richness was greatest in canopies with SMWT, supporting a greater relative
abundance of primary parasitoids and lower relative abundances of antagonists (ants) compared to the control.
This was associated with enhanced pest regulation services (depletion of sentinel prey from baited cards),
especially during the early summer months, which coincides with a critical period to control A. aurantii and other
key citrus pests. In contrast, AMWT did not enhance natural enemy richness, and pest regulation services were
diminished. This study suggests that leaving wildflower strips uncut throughout the season, as in SMWT, may
help to mitigate pest incidence through enhanced pest regulation services. Further studies are now required to
determine how this would influence populations of target pests
Towards the identification of transmission pathways and early detection of Enterococcus cecorum infection in broiler chickens
Get PDFEnterococcus cecorum (EC) infection is
an emerging endemic disease in UK and global broiler
poultry with major economic impact and welfare concerns. There are significant research gaps with regards
to EC pathogenesis, source of infection, transmission
routes and early detection of disease, which this study
aimed to address. In this prospective study, 725 environmental samples were collected from 4 broiler farms (A
−D) the day before chick placement (d 1) and through
the subsequent crop (d 7, 14, and 21). Cecal swabs were
collected from birds that died of natural causes during
the study period. A sample of birds that had been found
dead or were culled for health reasons, were presented
for post-mortem and samples were taken from lesions for
EC culture. DNA was extracted from all environmental
samples and EC detected using a qPCR and MALDITOF. Two EC isolates from diseased birds were inoculated on concrete slabs and incubated at 23°C and 32°C
followed by swabbing of concrete culturing and
determination of EC cfu at defined time points. Alongside environmental and bird sampling commercially
available, smart camera systems were installed in
selected houses on each farm to monitor bird activity
and distribution. No EC outbreak occurred during the
study, however, it was detected by qPCR in 215/725
(29.7 %) of all samples collected. Also, EC DNA was
detected on average in 37% of samples collected on d 1,
with approx. 88% of samples from chick paper being positive. Despite this, it was only cultured from 3 ceca samples and joint fluids of two infected birds from farm B on
d 14 and 21. The survival experiments using isolates
from infected chickens showed EC can survive on concrete for at least 21 d. This study provides invaluable
insights into transmission pathways and tenacity of EC.
Further studies are needed to determine strain characteristics in relation to their ability to cause disease and
to further elucidate the sources of infection on poultry
farms
Culture Clash? What cultured meat could mean for UK farming.
Get PDFIt may one day be possible to substitute meat grown through cell culture
imperceptibly for meat from livestock.
Farmers’ concerns about cultured meat go beyond the impact on their bottom line,
including that it is:
■ Uncertain: there are still too many unanswered questions.
■ Unreliable: unbiased data is hard to come by.
■ Unrealistic: work is needed to map how new supply chains could work in practice.
■ Unintended: having many potential knock-on effects.
■ Unfair: questioning who benefits from this further industrialisation of our food system.
■ Unnatural: in contrast to the ‘real’ food the farmers produced.
Factors such as business diversification, tenure, assets and contractual relationships
affect farmers’ resilience or precarity to this potentially disruptive technology.
Yet, under the right circumstances, cultured meat could present opportunities for some
UK farmers:
■ Sharpening their competitive edge for selling high-value ‘real meat’.
■ Developing potential new markets such as supplying animal cells or raw materials.
■ Generating income from processing crop or animal by-products as ingredients.
■ Harnessing private investment to produce cultured meat on their own farm.
■ Developing new, fairer supply-chain relationships.
Initial analysis suggests that using crop and animal by-products as amino acid sources
for cultured meat production could reduce its cost and environmental footprint, while
farm-scale production would cost about 30% more than factory-scale.
While some farmers were interested in exploring these possibilities further, caring
for livestock remained central to their identity.
Moving beyond a polarised debate would benefit the cultured meat industry, but it may
also benefit farming. Advocates of cultured meat can support this through more inclusive
communication: acknowledging uncertainties, celebrating farmer innovation and working
with honest brokers.
The cultured meat industry and farmers could build common ground through:
■ Joint research and innovation, particularly into waste valorisation and
on-farm production.
■ Developing practical partnerships and mechanisms for continued dialogue, such as a
platform for interested farmers to connect with cultured meat businesses and a short
guide to cultured meat for farmers.
■ Investors expecting cultured meat companies to include farmers in their
Environmental, Social and Governance commitments to support a ‘just transition’
Validating costly protected area restoration after (increasing) disasters
Get PDFProtected areas such as national parks constitute an increasing land mass globally, but these areas are under increasing threat from climate change events such as drought, flooding, and bushfires. The recent Yosemite National Park fires in California provide an example of this issue. After any such disaster, authorities will need to restore those protected areas to their former state at significant costs within any public funding cycle. To corroborate that request, clear economic assessments of total costs and benefits will be required. However, in previous studies of these issues a complete set of government cost and/or benefit data may not be provided, skewing assessment results accordingly. Using South Australia’s Kangaroo Island protected areas—which were significantly destroyed by bushfire in 2019–20—as a case study with a unique set of State government cost data we calculate a set of analyses via economic methods. Despite significant restoration costs the study found the discounted net present value of returning tourists to the Island is 3.15 over ten years for park tourism and regional economic impacts, providing an internal rate of return of 22%. The rebuild work is also expected to support around 430 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs during construction, with a return to full tourism supporting another 744 FTEs across relevant sectors (e.g. accommodation, retail) of the Kangaroo Island economy. This robust assessment makes it far easier for protected area managers to argue their funding case
Farmer preference for macadamia varieties and constraints to production in Malawi
Get PDFMacadamia nuts constitute a vital component of both nutrition and livelihoods for smallholder producers in Malawi. We conducted a comprehensive mixed-methods study, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, to explore varietal preferences and production challenges among these farmers. Leveraging cross-sectional data from 144 members of the Highlands Macadamia Cooperative Union Limited, our study underscores several significant findings. Our findings reveal that the majority of smallholder macadamia farmers (62%) are aged over 50, with farming as their primary occupation. Varied preferences are driven by yield-related traits, including high yield potential (38%), nut quality (29%), and extended flowering patterns (15%). Among the macadamia varieties, the top five choices, grown by over half of the farmers, include HAES 660 (18%), 800 (10%), 791 (9%), 816 (8%), and 246 (7%). Additionally, our study identifies five primary constraints faced by smallholder macadamia farmers: insect pests (81%), diseases (34%), limited market access (33%), wind damage (25%), and inadequate agricultural advisory services (17%). Based on these findings, we propose two policy recommendations to enhance smallholder macadamia production and productivity in Malawi and other regions. Specifically, we advocate for informed breeding programs that align with farmer preferences to promote greater adoption of macadamia varieties. Additionally, we emphasize the crucial role of the Malawian government in the macadamia value chain, suggesting active participation in providing extension services and marketing support, akin to its support for other cash crops
Catchment land use effect on mercury concentrations in lake sediments: A high-resolution study of Qinghai Lake
No full textMercury (Hg) contamination in aquatic environments presents a significant ecological and human health concern. This study explored the relationship between catchment land use and Hg concentrations within Qinghai Lake sediment, the largest lake in China, situated on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. The study entailed detailed mapping of Hg sediment concentrations and a subsequent environmental risk assessment. Considering the complex nature of the plateau landform and surface vegetation, the study area was delineated at a 100 km radius centered on Qinghai Lake, which was divided into 30 sectors to quantify relationships between land use and the sediment Hg concentration. The results revealed a mean sediment Hg concentration of 29.91 μg/kg, which was elevated above the background level. Kendall's correlation analysis revealed significant but weak associations between sediment Hg concentrations and three land use types: grassland (rangeland and trees) (rs = 0.27, p < 0.05), crops (rs = −0.37, p < 0.05), and bare ground (rs = −0.25, p < 0.1), suggesting that growing areas of grassland correlated with higher Hg levels in the lake sediment, in contrast to bare ground or crops area, which correlated with lower Hg concentrations. Multiple linear regression models also observed weak negative relationships between bare ground and crops with sediment Hg concentration. This research methodology enhances our understanding of the impact of land use on Hg accumulation in lake sediments and underscores the need for integrated watershed management strategies to mitigate Hg pollution in Qinghai Lake
EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEGUME MANAGEMENT OPTIONS ON CROP ESTABLISHMENT AND NITROGEN AVAILABILITY IN THE SUBSEQUENT BARLEY CROP
Get PDFBiological nitrogen fixation can offer an alternative to the reliance of cereal production systems on synthetic nitrogen applications. The use of synthetic nitrogen is threatened due to the high greenhouse gas emissions associated with its manufacture and use. To reduce reliance on synthetic nitrogen, legume fallows can be included in crop rotations. Field trials found that legume fallows with a higher proportion of sown legume species in proportion to grass and herbs had higher soil nitrate levels and improved initial establishment of the following barley crop. The difference in soil nitrate levels in the top 5-15cm and 15-25cm became less pronounced as the winter after the legume mixes were destroyed progressed, and by February the number of barley plants and the soil nitrate levels did not differ between the previous species sown