Sustainable Food Chains And Ecosystems

Unarguably, preserving the ecosystem, securing sustainability and understanding the dynamics of agro-food chains have all become vital policy objectives with several interlinked dimensions. The main objectives of this book are to draw the attention of researchers, policymakers and businesspeople to the relation between agro-food chains and the ecosystem, and to demonstrate the importance of building resilient agro-food chains that take into account climate change and environmental challenges. Agro-food chains as they function today can serve as powerful tools for promoting sustainable forms of agriculture, consumption and production that are embedded in a viable ecosystem. The book addresses a range of environmental, methodological and societal issues from a transaction perspective, while also providing extensive background information on the topic, and outlining future applications and research directions.

Sustainable Food Supply Chains: Planning, Design, and Control through Interdisciplinary Methodologies provides integrated and practicable solutions that aid planners and entrepreneurs in the design and optimization of food production-distribution systems and operations and drives change toward sustainable food ecosystems. With synthesized coverage of the academic literature, this book integrates the quantitative models and tools that address each step of food supply chain operations to provide readers with easy access to support-decision quantitative and practicable methods. Broken into three parts, the book begins with an introduction and problem statement. The second part presents quantitative models and tools as an integrated framework for the food supply chain system and operations design. The book concludes with the presentation of case studies and applications focused on specific food chains. Sustainable Food Supply Chains: Planning, Design, and Control through Interdisciplinary Methodologies will be an indispensable resource for food scientists, practitioners and graduate students studying food systems and other related disciplines. Contains quantitative models and tools that address the interconnected areas of the food supply chain Synthesizes academic literature related to sustainable food supply chains Deals with interdisciplinary fields of research (Industrial Systems Engineering, Food Science, Packaging Science, Decision Science, Logistics and Facility Management, Supply Chain Management, Agriculture and Land-use Planning) that dominate food supply chain systems and operations Includes case studies and applications

Presenting new approaches to studying food webs, this book uses practical management and policy examples to demonstrate the theory behind ecosystem management decisions and the broader issue of sustainability. All the information that readers need to use food web analyses as a tool for understanding and quantifying transition processes is provided. Advancing the idea of food webs as complex adaptive systems, readers are challenged to rethink how changes in environmental conditions affect these systems. Beginning with the current state of thinking about community organisation, complexity and stability, the book moves on to focus on the traits of organisms, the adaptive nature of communities and their impacts on ecosystem function. The final section of the book addresses the applications to management and sustainability. By helping to understand the complexities of multispecies networks, this book provides insights into the evolution of organisms and the fate of ecosystems in a changing world

In recent decades, practices like the cultivation of a few high-yielding crop varieties on a large scale, the application of heavy machinery and continued mechanization of agriculture, the removal of natural habitats, and the application of pesticides and synthetics have resulted in the simplification of agro-ecosystems. This has enabled a substantial increase in food production but has at the same time transformed landscapes. Indeed, there is a concern that a decline in biodiversity has affected microbiome activities that support processes across soils, plants, animals, the marine environment, and humans. Although they have increased food production, the above practices cannot be considered sustainable in long-term applications. Biodiversity, Functional Ecosystems, and Sustainable Food Production explore ecosystems in terms of crop and animal production, pest and disease control, nutrient cycling, and soil fertility. Chapters range from agro-biodiversity to antimicrobial use in animal food production to microbiome applications for sustainable food systems and the impacts of environment-friendly unit operations on the functional properties of bee pollen. By examining such topics about each other, the text emphasizes how food production, ecosystem function, food quality, and consumer health are all interconnected.

Sustainable Development and Pathways for Food Ecosystems: Integration and Synergies is a science-based reference which explores the roles played by agri-food ecosystems, their functions and needs, and the importance of the interdependencies among them. This book explores the relationships between food ecosystems, highlighting each entity’s role in transforming, preserving, and conserving the others. It is a vital resource of information on the ecosystems that surround the food supply chain and includes all processes, from primary production of food through consumption. The book covers the agricultural and farming phases; processing and transformation; storage and consolidation; packaging; transportation; the management of waste and losses; and the supply and conservation of enabling resources like materials, biodiversity, energy, and water. Sustainable Development and Pathways for Food Ecosystems: Integration and Synergies is a useful reference for academics, researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals involved within the agri-food sector management. Provides information on sustainability challenges, developments and solutions related to food ecosystems Discusses the impact of renewables toward sustainable and zero-carbon food ecosystems Summarizes the scientific literature on alternative valorization strategies to reduce biomass Defines boundaries of analysis of entities, input/output flows, constraints and performance goals to measure data

Agroecology is a science, a productive practice, and part of a social movement that is at the forefront of transforming food systems to sustainability. Building upon the ecological foundation of the agroecosystem, Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems, Third Edition provides the essential foundation for understanding sustainability i

Providing the theoretical and conceptual framework for this continually evolving field, Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems, Second Edition explores environmental factors and complexities affecting agricultural crops and animals. Completely revised, updated, and reworked, the second edition contains new data, new readings, new issues and case studies, and new options. It includes two completely new chapters, one on the role of livestock animals in agroecosystems and one on the cultural and community aspects of sustainable food systems. The author clearly delineates the importance of using an ecosystem framework for determining if a particular agricultural practice, input, or management decision contributes or detracts from sustainability. He explains how the framework provides the ecological basis for the functioning of the chosen management strategy over the long-term. He also examines system level interactions, stressing the need for understanding the emergent qualities of populations, communities, and ecosystems and their roles in sustainable agriculture. Using examples of farming systems in a broad array of ecological conditions, the book demonstrates how to use an ecosystem approach to design and manage agroecosystems for sustainability.

This book presents new approaches to studying food webs, using practical and policy examples to demonstrate the theory behind ecosystem management decisions.