In Search Of Biohappiness: Biodiversity And Food, Health And Livelihood Security (Second Edition)
In Search Of Biohappiness: Biodiversity And Food, Health And Livelihood Security (Second Edition)

Author: M S Swaminathan

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2015-04-29

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 981465695X

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In Search of Biohappiness deals with methods of converting agro-biodiversity hotspots into happy spots. This involves concurrent attention to conservation, and sustainable and equitable use. Bioresources constitute the feedstock for the biotechnology industry. The aim of the book is to promote an era of biohappiness based on the conversion of bioresources into jobs and income in an environmentally sustainable manner.The scope of Biohappiness extends to include all aspects of conservation such as in situ, ex situ and community conservation, and also covers conservation issues relating to mangroves and other coastal bioresources, whose importance has grown with the emerging possibility of significant sea-level increase from global warming. Concrete examples of how local tribal families have taken to the establishment of gene, seed, grain and water banks in villages — thus linking conservation, cultivation, consumption and commerce in a mutually-reinforcing manner — are provided in this book.Since the first edition, biohappiness is now universally considered to be the major objective of research and development in the field of biodiversity. This edition brings the position up-to-date, and furthers the cause of biohappiness through the inclusion of a new section on its latest developments.

Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture
Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture

Author: Kimberly Etingoff

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2017-01-06

Total Pages: 438

ISBN-13: 1315341581

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This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. This important compilation presents an in-depth view spanning past values and practices, present understandings, and potential futures, and covering a range of concrete case studies on sustainable development of organic agriculture. The book explores the very different facets of organic and sustainable agriculture. Part I of this book delves into the ways that people have approached organic agriculture in sociological, scientific, and economic terms. Part II looks ahead to the future of organic agriculture, presenting opportunities for further progress. Part III consists of an extensive bibliography chronologically developing the progress of organic and sustainable agriculture over two thousand years. The book Studies the cultural dimension of organic consumption Presents how sustainable agriculture can reduce and mitigate the impact of climate change on crop production Looks at the impact of agriculture on both famine and rural poverty in an ecofriendly and socially inclusive manner Examines six of the oldest grain-crop-based organic comparison experiments in the US, looking at the environmental and economic outcomes from organic agroecosystems, to both producers and policymakers Reviews the role of experimentation and innovation in developing sustainable organic agriculture Looks at the challenges of organic farmers Discusses ways to ensure sustainability and resilience of farming Looks at ways to change the mindset of farmers especially in traditional farming communities Explores the development of organic and sustainable agriculture through more than 500 years, ending with the early twenty-first century. Altogether, the chapters provide a nuanced look at the development of organic and sustainable agriculture, with the conclusion that organic is not enough to be sustainable.

The Democratic Predicament
The Democratic Predicament

Author: Jyotirmaya Tripathy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-03-14

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1317809416

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Both India and Europe have been undergoing a difficult process of negotiating cultural, religious and ethnic diversity within their democratic frameworks. In fact, recent incidents of xenophobic backlash against multiculturalism and minority communities in Europe, as well as myriad movements for constitutional recognition of castes, tribes and languages and the emergence of Islamophobic terror in India, question the conventional idea of democracy as the idyllic preserver of diversity. This volume contests the simplistic connection between democracy and diversity by proposing that democracy, in fact, produces, sediments and reinforces cultural heterogeneity. It argues that in democratic polities, disparate cultural practices are often converted into identity categories, with disturbing implications for national identity, constitutionalism, political governance and citizenship. While mobilizations on the plank of cultural differences are typically viewed as being born in undemocratic spaces with little toleration for diversity, they also find fertile soil in democracy insofar as democracy celebrates diversity and allows cultural dissent to thrive. Such dissent, while essential for democracy, has difficult consequences. Examining the fundamental conflict between constructions of particular cultural identities and mandates of a unifying democratic ethos, the book brings forth the complexities underlying the politics of identity recognition and national integration. In making a radical intervention in the discourse, this volume offers a critique of existing paradigms of multiculturalism. It will interest scholars and students of political science, sociology, and postcolonial and comparative studies.

Cosmopolitan Civility
Cosmopolitan Civility

Author: Ruth Abbey

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2020-02-01

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1438477384

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Prolific and pioneering, Fred Dallmayr has been an active scholar for over fifty years. His research interests include modern and contemporary political theory, hermeneutics, phenomenology, the Frankfurt School, continental political thought, democratic theory, multiculturalism, environmentalism, and cosmopolitanism. Dallmayr is also one of the founders of comparative political thought and his interest in non-Western political theory spans Chinese, Islamic, Indian, Buddhist, and Latin American traditions. In emulation of the vast interdisciplinary and international character of Dallmayr's work, this book draws upon senior and emerging scholars from an array of disciplines and countries, with essays that are philosophical (in the Western and non-Western traditions), cultural and/or political, and international. Dallmayr himself responds to the essays in a concluding chapter.

The Soil Underfoot
The Soil Underfoot

Author: G. Jock Churchman

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2014-04-21

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 1466571578

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The largest part of the world's food comes from its soils, either directly from plants, or via animals fed on pastures and crops. Thus, it is necessary to maintain, and if possible, improve the quality-and hence good health-of soils, while enabling them to support the growing world population. The Soil Underfoot: Infinite Possibilities for a Finite

Diversifying Food and Diets
Diversifying Food and Diets

Author: Jessica Fanzo

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-06-26

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1136461469

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Currently 868 million people are undernourished and 195 million children under five years of age are stunted. At the same time, over 1 billion people are overweight and obese in both the developed and developing world. Diseases previously associated with affluence, such as cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular disease, are on the rise. Food system-based approaches to addressing these problems that could enhance food availability and diet quality through local production and agricultural biodiversity often fall outside the traditional scope of nutrition, and have been under-researched. As a consequence, there remains insufficient evidence to support well-defined, scalable agricultural biodiversity interventions that can be linked to improvements in nutrition outcomes. Agricultural biodiversity is important for food and nutritional security, as a safeguard against hunger, a source of nutrients for improved dietary diversity and quality, and strengthening local food systems and environmental sustainability. This book explores the current state of knowledge on the role of agricultural biodiversity in improving diets, nutrition and food security. Using examples and case studies from around the globe, the book explores current strategies for improving nutrition and diets and identifies key research and implementation gaps that need to be addressed to successfully promote the better use of agricultural biodiversity for rural and urban populations and societies in transition.

Agrobiodiversity
Agrobiodiversity

Author: Karl S. Zimmerer

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2019-04-30

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 0262038684

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Experts discuss the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and conservation, integrating disciplines that range from plant and biological sciences to economics and political science. Wide-ranging environmental phenomena—including climate change, extreme weather events, and soil and water availability—combine with such socioeconomic factors as food policies, dietary preferences, and market forces to affect agriculture and food production systems on local, national, and global scales. The increasing simplification of food systems, the continuing decline of plant species, and the ongoing spread of pests and disease threaten biodiversity in agriculture as well as the sustainability of food resources. Complicating the situation further, the multiple systems involved—cultural, economic, environmental, institutional, and technological—are driven by human decision making, which is inevitably informed by diverse knowledge systems. The interactions and linkages that emerge necessitate an integrated assessment if we are to make progress toward sustainable agriculture and food systems. This volume in the Strüngmann Forum Reports series offers insights into the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and sustainability and proposes an integrative framework to guide future research, scholarship, policy, and practice. The contributors offer perspectives from a range of disciplines, including plant and biological sciences, food systems and nutrition, ecology, economics, plant and animal breeding, anthropology, political science, geography, law, and sociology. Topics covered include evolutionary ecology, food and human health, the governance of agrobiodiversity, and the interactions between agrobiodiversity and climate and demographic change.

Family Farming
Family Farming

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789332703421

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Contributed articles presented in Asia Pacific Regional Consultation on the Role of Family Farming in the 21st Century: Achieving the Zero Hunger Challenge by 2015, held at Chennai on August 07-10, 2014.

The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera L.) - Research and Development Perspectives
The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera L.) - Research and Development Perspectives

Author: V. Krishnakumar

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-02-15

Total Pages: 850

ISBN-13: 9811327548

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Since the publication of "The coconut palm - A monograph" in 1960, considerable information has been accrued on the crop through work at research institutes, international organisations and development agencies. Although coconut cultivation is spread over 93 countries, providing employment and creating livelihood opportunities to 64 million families around the globe, smallholder coconut farmers are now facing numerous challenges. The wide gap between the potential and actual yield is a major concern, and as such it is necessary to disseminate knowledge in order to implement research findings. Coconut research in India, one of the leading coconut producing countries, is celebrating its centenary, making this an opportune time to review the research and development advances and the relevant technologies. This detailed, comprehensive book covers all aspects of coconut, from the origins to cultivation, breeding, physiology and value addition, as well as subjects of topical interest like nutrition and health, biotechnology, and climate change and carbon sequestration. Written by leading experts in the fields it emphasises that the livelihood of the small coconut landholders is the ultimate aim of scientists and developmental agencies, and outlines various important strategies to make coconut farming more remunerative globally. It discusses work in all the major coconut growing countries and outlines suggestions for international cooperation. Research work on the crop is comparatively difficult because of its perennial nature, longevity, height, long juvenile phase, large sized nuts, cross pollination and seed propagation. As these special features necessitate greater investment of resources, time and land, it is all the more imperative that research is not duplicated and the information and experience becoming available around the world is shared so that it can be fully utilised. In this context periodic publications, compiling all the available information on coconut assume greater significance. This book is therefore of great value to researchers, students, extension workers, developmental agencies and progressive farmers.