Increasing the impact of science and technology to provide more people with healthier and safer food (original) (raw)
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Dictionary of Food Science and Technology
Nutrition Bulletin, 2006
As the world battles historic droughts, landscape-altering wildfires and deadly floods, a landmark report from global scientists says the window is rapidly closing to cut our reliance on fossil fuels and avoid catastrophic changes that would transform life as we know it. The state-of-the-science report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the world has rapidly warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, and is now careening toward 1.5 degrees-a critical threshold that world leaders agreed warming should remain below to avoid worsening impacts. Only by making deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, while also removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, can we halt the precipitous trend.
ICFC 2017 Book of Abstracts: Climate change and food safety: changes in the near future
Anthropogenic climate change is one of the more serious environmental challenges of the 21 st and following centuries. After a very brief survey of the scientific consensus on the climate change drivers and future projections its impact on food security is analysed. All aspects of food security, including food access, utilization and price stability are potentially affected by climate change. It will be shown that climate change is also likely to increase the risk of food contaminants through the tendency to increase the use of agrochemicals to balance the effects of more frequent extreme weather events and water scarcity in some regions.
Climate Change a Serious Threat to Food Production,
Climate change is an enormous happening which brings about changes in plants through altering their physiological processes, communities, specie distribution, density patterns, growth and reproduction. The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that the Earth's average surface temperature has risen by 0.76° C since 1850. The mains forcings which bring about climate changes include mainly the increase in the concentrations of green house gasses, out of which, long lived green house gasses; CH 4, CO 2, N 2 O; are the pivotal. This increase in the GHG concentration causes the rise in temperature, which in turn raises the water stress and drought occurs, this causes a huge damage to food production. According to IFPRI IMPACT simulations issued in July 1999, the developed countries will account for only 16% of increase in global cereal demand in 2020, while the developing countries will consume 85% of the additional net cereal production between 1995 to 2020. This entire scenario ultimately raises the issue of food security, and lesser food will be available to the world, in the upcoming years due to lower production of cereal crops. Hence we need to take immediate steps for mitigation and adaptations such as biotechnology, biofortification, change of diet and food requirements and altering bio-fuel requirements, in order to resist the threats being posed to food security.
A safe and nutritious food supply is a vital component of food security. The impacts of climate change on food production, prices, and trade for the United States and globally have been widely examined, including in the recent report “Climate Change, Global Food Security, and the U.S. Food System.” An overall finding of that report was that “climate change is very likely to affect global, regional, and local food security by disrupting food availability, decreasing access to food, and making utilization more difficult.” This chapter focuses on some of the less reported aspects of food security, specifically the impacts of climate change on food safety, nutrition, and distribution. There are two overarching means by which increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and climate change alter safety, nutrition, and distribution of food. The first is associated with rising global temperatures and the subsequent changes in weather patterns and extreme climate events. Current and anticipated changes in climate and the physical environment have consequences for contamination, spoilage, and the disruption of food distribution. The second pathway is through the direct CO2 “fertilization” effect on plant photosynthesis. Higher concentrations of CO2 stimulate growth and carbohydrate production in some plants, but can lower the levels of protein and essential minerals in a number of widely consumed crops, including wheat, rice, and potatoes, with potentially negative implications for human nutrition.
Climate Change and Food Safety
Food Safety - New Insights [Working Title], 2023
Climate change causes an increase in global temperatures and a shift in weather patterns. Increased carbon emissions are one of the leading causes of climate change. Temperature and humidity increases are conducive to the growth of potentially toxin-producing microorganisms and may favor invasive alien species detrimental to the health of plants and animals. This is causing foodborne illness outbreaks. The acidification of ocean and sea water, the proliferation of toxic phytoplankton, and the contamination of seafood are all caused by rising ocean temperature. The degradation of water and soil quality has led to over 600 million cases of waterborne and infectious diseases. Extreme temperatures and increased precipitation also result in decreased fodder, overcrowded livestock accommodation, an increase in morbidity, and an increase in the use of pharmaceuticals, specifically antibiotics. Pathogens from effluent and heavy metals contaminate the water and soil, and the increased absorption of heavy metals by fish is correlated with ocean warming, hypoxia, and increased salinity. Bioaccumulation of heavy metals higher up the food chain poses a larger threat to human health. The threat of climate change can be mitigated by reducing greenhouse gas emissions or by modifying human behaviour to account for inevitable climatic changes.
Feeding the World Today and Tomorrow: The Importance of Food Science and Technology
Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 2010
Just as society has evolved over time, our food system has also evolved over centuries into a global system of immense size and complexity. The commitment of food science and technology professionals to advancing the science of food, ensuring a safe and abundant food supply, and contributing to healthier people everywhere is integral to that evolution. Food scientists and technologists are versatile, interdisciplinary, and collaborative practitioners in a profession at the crossroads of scientific and technological developments. As the food system has drastically changed, from one centered around family food production on individual farms and home food preservation to the modern system of today, most people are not connected to their food nor are they familiar with agricultural production and food manufacturing designed for better food safety and quality.
Emerging (Food) Technology as an Environmental and Philosophical Issue in the Era of Climate Change
Food, Environment and Climate Change, 2019
This is an uncorrected page proof. The chapter reviews high-technology approaches intended to address global food production in an era of climate change, arguing that resistance to these technologies must be viewed as reasonable (and not irrational) even as opposition to them may be based on insufficient understanding of the genuine contribution that such tools might make to poor and under-served farming people. A more nuanced and ethically justifiable approach will require a more detailed knowledge of the social context in which technologies will be implemented, and sensitivity to the way that oppressed groups bear disproportional risks as a result of social institutionalization.