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Sustainable transitions in agrifood systems: A bibliographic analysis of the role of firms and industries
No full textThere is a growing consensus that the modern food system lies at the center of the grand challenges facing humanity and requires urgent and profound changes in the way that food is produced, processed, distributed and consumed. This systematic review analyses the sustainability transitions literature within agrifood systems, focusing on the role of firms and industries in transitions as defined by the Sustainable Transitions Research Network (STRN). The only previous systematic review on agrifood sustainability transitions identified this STRN research theme as a marginal topic in the agrifood transitions literature. This paper conducts a systematic literature review using bibliometric analysis and visualization tools to assess the current state of research on the role of firms and industries in agrifood sustainability. The findings reveal a significant increase in publications related to firms and industries within agrifood sustainability transitions, constituting 20% of the overall literature by 2023. However, this research is geographically concentrated in the European Union, particularly the Netherlands and Germany and based at two key institutions. This Eurocentric orientation emphasizes mostly issues within European agrifood firms and industries. The study identifies two primary theoretical clusters through co-citation: one aligns with general sustainability discourse, and the other focuses more specifically on agriculture, ecology, and rural studies. Three thematic clusters emerge from bibliographic coupling analysis, emphasizing innovation, ecological aspects, and targeted interventions in agrifood sustainability transitions. This study confirms that there is an increased focus on "industries and firms" in agrifood sustainability transitions, offering insights into geographical and thematic patterns, journal preferences, and theoretical frameworks. These findings provide a greater understanding of the current literature landscape, laying a foundation for future research directions in sustainable agrifood transitions within the theme of firms and industries
Environmental policy and planning communication in rural Aotearoa New Zealand focusing on Te Tai Tokerau Northland : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Planning at Lincoln University
No full textThe communication of policy and planning documents to rural communities is explored through a case study of Te Tai Tokerau Northland. Based on document analysis, surveys and interviews, this research explores how rural communities receive and interpret these documents and if there is a lack of effective communication with rural communities. The research also touches on trust as well as how this is influenced by communication around and of policy and planning
Indigenous peoples' authority, rights and engagement in impact assessment: Experiences and perspectives from Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textIndigenous peoples’ inherent authority, along with their internationally-recognized rights, give rise to state responsibilities in impact assessment (IA). Some state laws and constitutions enshrine recognition of Indigenous rights, and in some jurisdictions, relationships between Indigenous peoples and colonizing states are governed by treaties. Upholding Indigenous rights, including those recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, means that assessment authorities and practitioners should seek to co-design engagement and collaboration processes, respecting Indigenous peoples’ right to grant or withhold their free, prior and informed consent. Using experiences in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand as examples, this chapter examines Indigenous engagement processes, and explores the spectrum of ways that Indigenous nations and communities may participate in rights-based IA processes
Quantification of vernalisation for six forage brassica crops : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Bachelor of Science (Honours) at Lincoln University
No full textThe vernalisation response of six forage brassica crops was studied. The experiment examined phyllochron, days and thermal time to bud, and the thermal time between bud and flower over 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks of duration of vernalisation treatments of 4°C, 8.1°C, 12°C and 18°C. There was a range of phyllochron values for each crop, where lower vernalisation temperatures and longer durations of exposure resulted in a shorter phyllochron. For ‘Mainstar’ rape, the range was 35.2 to 88.4°Cd/leaf. For ‘Hawkestone’ swede, the range was 55.8 to 137°Cd/leaf. For ‘Firefly’ kale, the range was 75.2 to 178°Cd/leaf. For ‘Endurance’ radish, the range was 48.3 to 133°Cd/leaf. For ‘Hunter’ leafy turnip, the range was 22.0 to 80.8°Cd/leaf. For ‘CC Pallaton’ raphanobrassica, the range was 116 to 149°Cd/leaf. Rape, swede and kale had an obligate vernalisation requirement. A minimum of six weeks at 4°C was required for all plants to develop buds in rape and swede, while kale required the same treatment for any amount of plants to develop buds. Radish, leafy turnip and raphanobrassica indicated a facultative vernalisation response. Buds formed in all radish plants, and in some leafy turnip and raphanobrassica plants, without vernalisation. Three weeks at 4°C were required for all leafy turnip plants to develop buds, while no vernalisation treatment resulted in all raphanobrassica plants with buds. The thermal time to bud decreased with longer durations of colder vernalisation treatments. However, the effect diminished as thermal time approached a crop-specific minimum threshold for bud development. The 18°C temperature treatment did not reduce the thermal time to bud, so it could be beyond the range of inductive temperatures for vernalisation. The thermal time between bud and flower was consistent among durations within the same temperature treatment in kale (303°Cd), leafy turnip (163°Cd), and raphanobrassica (275°Cd). Variation was observed in rape, swede and radish and was likely attributable to the location of temperature measurements and the frequency of data collection. There is an indication that if vernalisation and photoperiod requirements are saturated, raphanobrassica may not have an overlap in flowering time with rape or leafy turnip and could be planted without isolation
How connected is the oil-bank network? Firm-level and high-frequency evidence
No full textBy introducing a new generalized forecast error variance decomposition (GFEVD) approach that splits the same into its contemporaneous and lagged components, we investigate the risk spillover effects of different order moments, derived from intraday data, for the top 10 banks and top 10 oil and gas companies in the U.S., covering the period from December 29, 2017 to December 30, 2022. The study finds that, first, the dynamic total connectedness of all order moments is heterogeneous over time driven by economic events. Second, except realized volatility spillovers, the vast majority of overall spillovers are attributable to contemporaneous spillovers, while only a tiny fraction is associated with lagged spillovers. Finally, realized skewness (crash risk) and realized kurtosis (extreme events) in banks and oil and gas companies originate mainly from intra-industry rather than inter-industry transmission
Effect of succinylation on oxidation–aggregation of low-density lipoprotein and formation of off-flavors in heated egg yolks
Get PDFThis study examined the effect of succinylation on protein oxidation–aggregation and the formation of off-flavors in heated egg yolks (EYs). The sensory evaluation, content of volatile compounds, stability of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles, and oxidation of lipid and protein at six levels of succinylated EY (0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 5%, and 10%, w/w) were determined. The results showed that the succinylated thermal EY’s concentration of volatiles and off-flavors was reduced. Oil exudation and lipid and protein oxidation decreased with the improved succinylation degree. Succinylation also reduced the LDL particle size and changed the secondary structure (decreased the β-sheets and increased the α-helices) of protein in LDL particles. Meanwhile, succinylation could effectively change the thermal oxidation–aggregation of LDL protein by introducing succinyl groups with negative charges, thus increasing the stability of LDL particles in succinylated EY during heating. These results further revealed the relationship between the oxidation–aggregation of LDL and the formation of off-flavors in heated EY. These results also help improve the flavor quality of heat-treated EY and expands the application scope of egg products
Bite back: Is buying gluten-free still a challenge for New Zealand and European consumers?
No full textCoeliac disease and gluten sensitivity are significant health concerns in New Zealand and Europe. In New Zealand, around 1 in 70 people have coeliac disease, though many remain undiagnosed. Europe has seen similar rates, with up to 1% of the population affected in some countries. The growing demand for gluten-free products reflects the importance of addressing these conditions in public health and food industries
Social media, mental health and equestrian events
Get PDFMany studies have investigated the benefits and drawbacks of social media, but the impact it has on amateur sports participants who use it as part of their practice has been largely overlooked. This study addresses this gap, investigating the impacts of social media on the mental health of women participating in amateur sport activities – specifically, equestrian events through a mixed methods survey of 221 female amateur equestrians in the UK. Themes included the pressure to present a ‘perfect’ image to an external audience, the stress of comparison to others, and constant judgement around the performance of a participant. We also found issues of distorted reality and false representation. We conclude by highlighting a need for better assistance for athletes both while they are competing at events and at other times, particularly pre/post event
Behavioural patterns of lambs detected with tri-axial ear-mounted accelerometers while grazing endophyte-infected perennial ryegrass
No full textThe infection of the endophytic fungus (Epichloë festucae var. lolii) within perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) pastures can produce toxic alkaloids, including lolitrem B and ergovaline which can negatively impact animal welfare and behaviour through causing ryegrass staggers as well as poor growth and increased sensitivity to heat stress. Wearable 3-axis acceleration sensors can provide an alternative to automatically monitor individual grazing livestock who need essential treatment to minimise the impact of grazing pastures infected with an endophyte. The objective of this study was to categorise changes in ruminating, eating and other behavioural activities of grazing lambs exposed to endophyte-infected perennial ryegrass via commercial accelerometer sensors. Lambs were fitted with the ear-mounted accelerometer sensors (CowManager SensOors, Agis, Harmelen, the Netherlands) and allocated randomly within live-weight strata to graze either endophyte-free (Control) or wild−type endophyte-infected (Endophyte) perennial ryegrass pasture. Live weight change, behaviour and incidence of staggers were monitored over a 2-month grazing period. Moderately severe staggers (score 4/5) occurred in 40% of lambs in the Endophyte treatment with a mean staggers score of 2.33 ± 0.41 across the group. Compared with control lambs, endophyte-infected lambs compensated for reduced eating (−36.0 min/day) and inactive (−43.7 min/day) duration in favour of increased ruminating (+40.2 min/day) and active (+29.9 min/day) duration. The sensors also identified diurnal adaptations in behaviour of lambs which were affected by endophyte staggers, presenting significant effects of endophyte challenge by hour interaction on the diurnal eating duration (P < 0.001), diurnal ruminating duration (P < 0.001), diurnal inactive duration (P < 0.001), diurnal active duration (P < 0.001) and diurnal highly active duration (P < 0.001). In conclusion, these sensors were able to detect subtle changes in the behaviour of grazing sheep that can be used to detect subclinical symptoms of ryegrass staggers when consuming ryegrass staggers
Carbon sorption from common agroforestry trees species to pasture soils - implications for climate mitigation
No full textIncreasing soil carbon (C) storage could be an effective climate mitigation strategy and agroforestry is suggested as a strategy to achieve this. For soils to act as an effective C sink, a focus should be put on processes that result in C becoming stabilised as mineral-associated C where it can persist in soils for centuries. Sorption of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on soil mineral surfaces is one of the primary processes leading to C stabilisation within soils. However, the capacity for different soils to adsorb C substrates depends not only on soil mineral properties but also on substrate chemistry. Therefore, the quality of leaf litter of different agroforestry trees could impact the potential for increasing soil C storage at a given site. To test this, we extracted carbon from the leaves of different tree species to create species-specific DOC solutions. We then conducted a batch sorption experiment using the different DOC solutions to test the interaction of each solution with soils of contrasting mineral properties, and high and low C saturation deficits. This experiment was performed using a fully factorial design enabling all possible interactions to be tested. We found that highly weathered soils with higher iron and aluminium oxide contents adsorbed more C than poorly weathered soils. Differences were also observed in the adsorption potential of the species-specific DOC solutions. Preliminary findings suggest that even in weakly weathered soils, selecting trees for their litter quality has the potential to increase soil C sorption. Therefore, establishing appropriate tree species in agroforestry systems could result in increased stable SOC stocks, contributing to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions