1,721,042 research outputs found
Rethinking the food system for human health in the Anthropocene
No full textThe current global food system is becoming increasingly unsustainable and is having negative impacts on planetary and human health. It is essential that human health is placed at the centre of a redesigned food system, as that will also help ensure planetary health
Switching on plant genes by external chemical signals
No full textDuring the past decade there has been rapidly increasing interest in the role of plant volatiles in insect–plant interactions and the induction of plant defence systems by both pathogens and herbivores. Scientists are striving to link the proximate studies elucidating pathways and genes with the ultimate adaptive studies that attempt to explain their ecological role. However, we still do not know whether plants ‘talk’ to one another by employing ‘phytopheromones’
Meeting the demand for meat – analysing meat flows to and from the UK pre and post Brexit
No full textBackground: Global trade has grown at twice the rate of the economy since the 1990s. Today’s food system is a complex network of trade dependencies and supply chains which underpin global food security. International trade is a crucial element in providing UK consumers with meat-based produce in their diet. The international meat trade was estimated at $112.5 billion (£74.25 billion or €104.10 billion) in 2015 and UK imports are worth over 5% making the UK the 5th largest market. Understanding how Brexit might alter the landscape for UK meat imports is an important socio-economic issue.Scope and approach: Data was analysed from the Chatham House resourcetrade.earth database, which is open access and collated from a range of global sources, allows analysis of data for imports into the UK of beef, pork, lamb and poultry and of exports of these meat types from the UK have been completed using R-studio statistical package.Key findings and conclusions: The UK’s global market significance in each meat type ranges from 3% in beef to 9.9% in sheep, and most imports originate from the EU especially Pork (99.8% from EU) and Poultry (95.5%). Analysis of the Food Safety QUAD countries (USA, New Zealand, Canada and Australia) highlights that the USA has capacity to cover any loss of imports to the UK from Europe post Brexit, with New Zealand and Australia being able to replace the 11.1% of lamb, which comes from the EU. The Rotterdam Effect is also explored highlighting how countries like Thailand and Brazil may offer future imports of poultry and beef if trade with EU becomes disrupted. <br/
Can biological control benefit from genetically-modified crops: tritrophic interactions on insect-resistant transgenic plants
No full textThe use of recombinant DNA technology to develop genetically-modified crops is considered as a major breakthrough for agriculture by many scientists. However, some scientists, and an even larger proportion of the general public, are sceptical about the advantages and are even more concerned about the potential risk of this new technology. To evaluate this novel technology, cost-benefit analyses are needed in which the real risks are measured and judged against the benefits. A tiered risk assessment scheme is described herein. This allows comparisons to be made with other insect-control technologies (e.g. insecticides) and risks to be determined, rather than only hazards being identified. Recombinant DNA technology could allow plants to be designed that are well suited for use alongside biological control programmes. Unfortunately, plant breeders have continued to attempt to breed for total resistance, and biocontrol specialists have ignored the role of the plant in ensuring successful foraging behaviour by insect natural enemies. Although some scientists have highlighted the need to consider both the bottom-up (plant defence) and top-down (biocontrol) control of insect pests, there have been few serious attempts to combine these approaches. As more is understood about the proximate and ultimate causes of direct and indirect defences, the potential exists for engineering plants that combine both strategies. This new possibility for controlling insect pests, which will combine both 'nature's' own defences with man's ingenuity, may stack the odds in our favour in the continual struggle against insect pests
Trade and dietary preferences can determine micronutrient security in the United Kingdom
No full textFood production, dietary choices, climate change, trade tariffs and future responses to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are some of the factors affecting global food security. Here we examine how micronutrient security has varied in the United Kingdom from 1961 to 2017, before Brexit, taking supply and demand driver changes into account. We also introduce future scenarios to see how a more plant-based diet and/or differing trade arrangement post-European Union exit and COVID-19 pandemic could affect the supply of nutrients. Results show that trading agreements have affected several key micronutrients during the past 60 years and are likely to be influential in a post-Brexit United Kingdom. Changes in dietary patterns, which influence how much animal- and plant-based products are consumed, have also affected micronutrient security and are likely to do so in the future with increased interest in consuming a more plant-based diet
A simple, light clip-cage for experiments with aphids
No full textClip-cages are a useful experimental tool for confining small insects to leaves when aiming to study their behaviour and/or other biological parameters. Nonetheless, clip-cages are usually heavy and may damage the leaves, which renders them less useful for numerous research studies. We propose a very simple clip-cage, which is cheap, extremely light, and easy to make and handle, and which has less of the negative, damaging nature of traditional clip-cages. Each clip-cage was prepared using two discs of foam-floating tubes: one for support and one for confining the insects. On the upper surface of the latter, a rectangle of microperforated plastic flower sleeve (8cm2) was glued using a nontoxic glue stick. To bind the two parts to the leaf, four staples (23/13) were used. We tested the clip-cages by confining Myzus persicae to Brassica oleracea and Brassica rapa leaves and then compared the results obtained with those acquired using classic clip-cages. Each foam clip-cage was assembled in less than 2min. Our experiments confirmed the M. persicae escape rate of 6%, which compared favourably with the escape rate of 40% for the classic clip-cage. Furthermore, the clip-cages did not interfere with the growth rate of the aphids. The foam clip-cages are up to 200% cheaper than the classic clip-cages. They are light, durable, easily put together and transported, and have the potential to be easily used in field experiments.</p
Risk assessment of GM plants: avoiding gridlock?
No full textCultivation of genetically modified crops is presently based largely on four crops containing few transgenes and grown in four countries. This will soon change and pose new challenges for risk assessment. A more structured approach that is as generic as possible is advocated to study consequences of gene flow. Hazards should be precisely defined and prioritized, with emphasis on quantifying elements of exposure. This requires coordinated effort between large, multidisciplinary research teams
Dataset in support of the thesis 'An Investigation of Overlooked Complexities Affecting UK Vitamin C Security and the Potential for Local Crops to Address Insecurities: A Case of UK Strawberries'.
No full textFisher, David (2025). Dataset for the thesis titled 'An Investigation of Overlooked Complexities Affecting UK Vitamin C Security and the Potential for Local Crops to Address Insecurities: A Case of UK Strawberries'.
The project is structured into six chapters, each with its own data, analysis scripts, and figures. The README provides:
- An overview of the repository structure
- A summary of each chapter’s key data
- Guidance on file naming, usage, and dataset documentation </span
Examining change in complex social-ecological systems using multiple long-term records: the New Forest – a case study
No full textSocial-ecological systems (SES) are complex, dynamic systems with strong interdependencies between their ecological components and the social actors that depend upon and shape them. They are characterised by resilience, multiple stable states and adaptive capacity. These characteristics vary across space and time as does the supply of the ecosystem services (ES) they provide.Whilst such systems and their characteristics are well documented from a conceptual and theoretical standpoint, the quantitative examination of social-ecological interdependencies and their impacts on system dynamics has been less extensive. Furthermore, studies of historical ES delivery are rare, as most provide a ‘snapshot in time’ of present-day ES provision. Thus, little information exists on the impact of past cultural and natural influences on service delivery.We use an ‘evolutionary’ approach to explore system change and ES delivery in the New Forest, a SES with a millennia-long history of human-environment interaction. This method uses palaeo-ecological records, documentary evidence, direct observations and land-cover time series to examine system dynamics and ES provision across space and time to better comprehend contemporary processes and dynamics.Using this approach, we aim to answer the question: ‘Can the New Forest SES support multiple and potentially conflicting uses whilst remaining resilient to (undesirable) environmental and societal changes?’ Preliminary results indicate that actions aimed at enhancing the supply of one or more services often affect the delivery of others as well as system resilience
Fertilizer affects the behaviour and performance of Plutella xylostella on brassicas
No full text1 Foliar nitrogen concentration, which can be manipulated in crop plants by fertilizer supply, has long been recognized as a major factor in phytophagous insect abundance and performance. More recently, the type of fertilizer supplied has been shown to influence the abundance of some herbivore species. The diamondback moth Plutella xylostella is a global pest of Brassica crops. Although it has been the subject of numerous studies on host-plant resistance and pest control, few studies have addressed the effect of abiotic factors, such as nutrient supply, on its performance and behaviour.2 We assessed oviposition preference, larval feeding preference and larval performance of P. xylostella on two cultivars of Brassica oleracea. Plants were grown using two fertilizer types, John Innes fertilizer and an organic animal manure, at high and low concentrations.3 Plutella xylostella laid more eggs on cultivar Derby Day than Drago. Derby Day was also the cultivar on which larval performance was maximized. However, differences in larval performance between cultivars were only found when plants were grown in compost with John Innes fertilizer, and not when fertilized with animal manure.4 Foliar nitrogen concentration was greater in plants grown in high fertilizer treatments but did not differ between cultivars. The concentrations of three glucosinolate compounds (glucoiberin, sinigrin and glucobrassicin) were greater in the high fertilizer treatments. Glucosinolate concentrations were higher in the Drago than the Derby Day cultivar.5 These results are discussed in relation to the preference-performance hypothesis, and the assessment of plant resistance differences between cultivars using different types of fertilizer
- …
