scholarly journals Asymmetries of cattle and crop productivity and efficiency during Brazil’s agricultural expansion from 1975 to 2006

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerd Sparovek ◽  
Vinicius Guidotti ◽  
Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto ◽  
Göran Berndes ◽  
Alberto Barretto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Rebound Effect ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Food Supply Chains ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Cattle Systems

Brazil has global importance for food production and conservation of natural resources. The country has plans to increase yields and commitments to decrease deforestation that require higher productivity. Plans and policies for the growth of Brazilian agriculture, however, have been made without an integrated analysis of the harvest and not supported by a universal metric regarding its efficiency. Applying methods to model flows of energy and matter along food supply chains for agricultural production from 1975 to 2006, we found that crop and cattle harvests and their productivity have increased during the last four decades in consolidated and deforestation frontier regions. Yet in 2006, crop protein production was 20 times larger than cattle protein, using an area 2.6 times smaller than pastures. Crop protein productivity was 0.25 ton.ha–1 with emissions of 2 ton GHG per ton of protein, while cattle productivity was 0.01 ton.ha–1 with emissions of 283 ton GHG per ton of protein. From 1975 to 2006, the portion of crop protein and energy going to feed increased while the portion going to direct human consumption decreased. Our findings suggest that more efficient food systems would be achieved by a combination of intensification of cattle systems, optimization of feed-meat systems and an increase in the share of the consumption of crops as a source of protein. We suggest an initial road map to the expansion of the cultivated area and intensification of agriculture for zero deforestation, efficient and sustainable land use and food systems where cattle pasture intensification is a transition that will last until the expansion of crops replace all pasture present on suitable arable land. During this transition, pasture area will decrease until it is limited only to marginal non-arable lands. Such change could be achieved by a robust strategy that combines penalties and incentives and prevents the risks of a rebound effect for the intensification of agriculture.

scholarly journals An integrated life cycle and water footprint assessment of nonfood crops based bioenergy production

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Fengyin Xiong ◽  
Zhuo Chen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Bioenergy Production ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Hybrid Pennisetum

AbstractBiomass gasification, especially distribution to power generation, is considered as a promising way to tackle global energy and environmental challenges. However, previous researches on integrated analysis of the greenhouse gases (GHG) abatement potentials associated with biomass electrification are sparse and few have taken the freshwater utilization into account within a coherent framework, though both energy and water scarcity are lying in the central concerns in China’s environmental policy. This study employs a Life cycle assessment (LCA) model to analyse the actual performance combined with water footprint (WF) assessment methods. The inextricable trade-offs between three representative energy-producing technologies are explored based on three categories of non-food crops (maize, sorghum and hybrid pennisetum) cultivated in marginal arable land. WF results demonstrate that the Hybrid pennisetum system has the largest impact on the water resources whereas the other two technology options exhibit the characteristics of environmental sustainability. The large variances in contribution ratio between the four sub-processes in terms of total impacts are reflected by the LCA results. The Anaerobic Digestion process is found to be the main contributor whereas the Digestate management process is shown to be able to effectively mitigate the negative environmental impacts with an absolute share. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to detect the impacts of loss ratios variation, as silage mass and methane, on final results. The methane loss has the largest influence on the Hybrid pennisetum system, followed by the Maize system. Above all, the Sorghum system demonstrates the best performance amongst the considered assessment categories. Our study builds a pilot reference for further driving large-scale project of bioenergy production and conversion. The synergy of combined WF-LCA method allows us to conduct a comprehensive assessment and to provide insights into environmental and resource management.

scholarly journals An Integrated Approach to a Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) Indicator for the Food Production–Consumption Chain

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Erisman ◽  
Allison Leach ◽  
Albert Bleeker ◽  
Brooke Atwell ◽  
Lia Cattaneo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Chain ◽  
Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Nitrogen Use ◽  
Use Efficiency

Reducing nitrogen pollution across the food chain requires the use of clear and comprehensive indicators to track and manage losses. The challenge is to derive an easy-to-use robust nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) indicator for entire food systems to help support policy development, monitor progress and inform consumers. Based on a comparison of four approaches to NUE (life cycle analysis, nitrogen footprint, nitrogen budget, and environmental impact assessment), we propose an indicator for broader application at the national scale: The whole food chain (NUEFC), which is defined as the ratio of the protein (expressed as nitrogen) available for human consumption to the (newly fixed and imported) nitrogen input to the food system. The NUEFC was calculated for a set of European countries between 1980 and 2011. A large variation in NUEFC was observed within countries in Europe, ranging from 10% in Ireland to 40% in Italy in 2008. The NUEFC can be used to identify factors that influence it (e.g., the share of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in new nitrogen, the imported and exported products and the consumption), which can be used to propose potential improvements on the national scale.

An integrated approach to identifying and characterising resilient urban food systems to promote population health in a changing climate

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 2498-2508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah W James ◽  
Sharon Friel
Keyword(s):  
Population Health ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Urban Food Systems

AbstractObjectiveTo determine key points of intervention in urban food systems to improve the climate resilience, equity and healthfulness of the whole system.DesignThe paper brings together evidence from a 3-year, Australia-based mixed-methods research project focused on climate change adaptation, cities, food systems and health. In an integrated analysis of the three research domains – encompassing the production, distribution and consumption sectors of the food chain – the paper examines the efficacy of various food subsystems (industrial, alternative commercial and civic) in achieving climate resilience and good nutrition.SettingGreater Western Sydney, Australia.SubjectsPrimary producers, retailers and consumers in Western Sydney.ResultsThis overarching analysis of the tripartite study found that: (i) industrial food production systems can be more environmentally sustainable than alternative systems, indicating the importance of multiple food subsystems for food security; (ii) a variety of food distributors stocking healthy and sustainable items is required to ensure that these items are accessible, affordable and available to all; and (iii) it is not enough that healthy and sustainable foods are produced or sold, consumers must also want to consume them. In summary, a resilient urban food system requires that healthy and sustainable food items are produced, that consumers can attain them and that they actually wish to purchase them.ConclusionsThis capstone paper found that the interconnected nature of the different sectors in the food system means that to improve environmental sustainability, equity and population health outcomes, action should focus on the system as a whole and not just on any one sector.

scholarly journals Inter-annual and seasonal trends of vegetation condition in the Upper Blue Nile (Abay) Basin: dual-scale time series analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 617-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Teferi ◽  
S. Uhlenbrook ◽  
W. Bewket
Keyword(s):  
Trend Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Seasonal Trends ◽  
Modis Ndvi ◽  
Vegetation Condition ◽  
Gimms Ndvi

Abstract. A long-term decline in ecosystem functioning and productivity, often called land degradation, is a serious environmental challenge to Ethiopia that needs to be understood so as to develop sustainable land use strategies. This study examines inter-annual and seasonal trends of vegetation cover in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) or Abbay Basin. The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)-based Global Inventory, Monitoring, and Modeling Studies (GIMMS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used for long-term vegetation trend analysis at low spatial resolution. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI data (MOD13Q1) were used for medium-scale vegetation trend analysis. Harmonic analyses and non-parametric trend tests were applied to both GIMMS NDVI (1981–2006) and MODIS NDVI (2001–2011) data sets. Based on a robust trend estimator (Theil–Sen slope), most parts of the UBN (~ 77 %) showed a positive trend in monthly GIMMS NDVI, with a mean rate of 0.0015 NDVI units (3.77 % yr−1), out of which 41.15 % of the basin depicted significant increases (p < 0.05), with a mean rate of 0.0023 NDVI units (5.59 % yr−1) during the period. However, the MODIS-based vegetation trend analysis revealed that about 36 % of the UBN showed a significant decreasing trend (p < 0.05) over the period 2001–2011 at an average rate of 0.0768 NDVI yr−1. This indicates that the greening trend of the vegetation condition was followed by decreasing trend since the mid-2000s in the basin, which requires the attention of land users and decision makers. Seasonal trend analysis was found to be very useful to identify changes in vegetation condition that could be masked if only inter-annual vegetation trend analysis was performed. Over half (60 %) of the Abay Basin was found to exhibit significant trends in seasonality over the 25-year period (1982–2006). About 17 and 16 % of the significant trends consisted of areas experiencing a uniform increase in NDVI throughout the year and extended growing season, respectively. These areas were found primarily in shrubland and woodland regions. The study demonstrated that integrated analysis of inter-annual and intra-annual trends based on GIMMS and MODIS enables a more robust identification of changes in vegetation condition.

How an Innovative Sugarcane Biofuel System can Prevent a Clash between Food and Energy in Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (01) ◽  
pp. 1950005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilson de Paula ◽  
Wellington Pereira ◽  
Mary Jane Parmentier
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Industrial Transformation ◽  
Food Commodities ◽  
Second Generation Ethanol

Food commodities have been used worldwide for both human consumption and energy, amid concerns of environmental degradation and damaging effects on local food systems. Presently, strategies of rural development have encompassed the use of green resources to produce biofuels and an agenda of food security. We argue that by the strengthening of a Sectorial System of Production and Innovation involving farming activity, industrial transformation and institutional support, production for food and for energy can be balanced. Our discussion contributes to the resolution of the potential conflict between agro-energy and food production and the role of public policies in stimulating second-generation ethanol based on remaining biomass. Based on the current literature and empirical evidences, the prospects for sugarcane ethanol in Brazil are examined, bearing in mind the development of a system able to produce second-generation ethanol, as a strategy able to mitigate negative effects on food security.

scholarly journals Multitemporal Geospatial Evaluation of Urban Agriculture and (Non)-Sustainable Food Self-Provisioning in Milan, Italy

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Pulighe ◽  
Flavio Lupia
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Ancillary Data ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
The City

Urban agriculture in Global North cities is strongly promoted as a sustainable solution to achieve different goals, such as food production, quality of life, and well-being. Although several attempts have been made to evaluate urban agriculture production, few studies have investigated food production in a multitemporal geospatial way and considered per capita population needs, gender, and age strata consumption. This study presents a spatiotemporal quantification of urban agriculture in the city of Milan (Italy) for assessing food self-provisioning potential. We utilized high-resolution Google Earth images and ancillary data to create a detailed cadaster of urban agriculture for the years 2007 and 2014. Based on four scenarios of food production and statistical data on vegetables and cereals consumption, we estimated current total production and requirements for the city dwellers. Our results showed that the actual extension of vegetable gardens (98 ha) and arable land (2539 ha) in the best scenario could satisfy approximately 63,700 and 321,000 consumers of vegetables and cereal products, respectively. Overall, current urban agriculture production is not able to meet vegetables and cereal consumption for more than 1.3 million city residents. Scenario estimates suggest rethinking land use promoting horticultural production to achieve more sustainable food systems.

scholarly journals Carp (Cyprinidae) Fisheries in Swedish Lakes: A Combined Environmental Assessment Approach to Evaluate Data-limited Freshwater Fish Resources as Food

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-242
Author(s):  
Sara Hornborg ◽  
Anton Främberg
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Dietary Advice ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Seafood Consumption ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Per Capita

AbstractThe role of aquatic resources to food security is both promising and constrained since the global seafood consumption is increasing while marine fisheries approach the limit of what it can produce. In Sweden, the seafood consumption per capita is higher than the European and world average but the current dietary advice is to increase consumption. Freshwater fisheries have in general been paid less attention in food security discussions. Carp fishes (Cyprinidae) in Sweden have lost their historical value and are currently, both understudied and underutilized. Here we use a combined environmental assessment approach to examine the environmental sustainability of current and potential cyprinid fisheries. We found that current commercial fisheries for Swedish cyprinids in lakes have an average carbon footprint of 0.77 kg CO2e per kg of edible product, substantially smaller than most of the popular marine and terrestrial protein sources consumed in Sweden today. This could be even lower if cyprinid resources were better utilized than currently. The cyprinids however exhibited different vulnerability to fishing pressure and are today associated with data deficiencies. Hence, it is currently uncertain how much food for human consumption they can contribute to. Improved consumer interest and management attention is needed, but to the Swedish diet, cyprinids offer a promising opportunity for future more sustainable and nutritious food systems.

scholarly journals A multiscale integrated analysis of the factors characterizing the sustainability of food systems in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 271 ◽  
pp. 110944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan José Cadillo-Benalcazar ◽  
Ansel Renner ◽  
Mario Giampietro
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Integrated Analysis

scholarly journals Impacts of feeding less food-competing feedstuffs to livestock on global food system sustainability

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (113) ◽  
pp. 20150891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Schader ◽  
Adrian Muller ◽  
Nadia El-Hage Scialabba ◽  
Judith Hecht ◽  
Anne Isensee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Reference Scenario ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Human Food ◽  
By Products

Increasing efficiency in livestock production and reducing the share of animal products in human consumption are two strategies to curb the adverse environmental impacts of the livestock sector. Here, we explore the room for sustainable livestock production by modelling the impacts and constraints of a third strategy in which livestock feed components that compete with direct human food crop production are reduced. Thus, in the outmost scenario, animals are fed only from grassland and by-products from food production. We show that this strategy could provide sufficient food (equal amounts of human-digestible energy and a similar protein/calorie ratio as in the reference scenario for 2050) and reduce environmental impacts compared with the reference scenario (in the most extreme case of zero human-edible concentrate feed: greenhouse gas emissions −18%; arable land occupation −26%, N-surplus −46%; P-surplus −40%; non-renewable energy use −36%, pesticide use intensity −22%, freshwater use −21%, soil erosion potential −12%). These results occur despite the fact that environmental efficiency of livestock production is reduced compared with the reference scenario, which is the consequence of the grassland-based feed for ruminants and the less optimal feeding rations based on by-products for non-ruminants. This apparent contradiction results from considerable reductions of animal products in human diets (protein intake per capita from livestock products reduced by 71%). We show that such a strategy focusing on feed components which do not compete with direct human food consumption offers a viable complement to strategies focusing on increased efficiency in production or reduced shares of animal products in consumption.

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