Routledge Handbook of Food and Nutrition Security
Routledge Handbook of Food and Nutrition Security

Author: Bill Pritchard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-31

Total Pages: 543

ISBN-13: 1317596250

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The concept of food and nutrition security has evolved and risen to the top of the international policy agenda over the last decade. Yet it is a complex and multi-faceted issue, requiring a broad and inter-disciplinary perspective for full understanding. This Handbook represents the most comprehensive compilation of our current knowledge of food and nutrition security from a global perspective. It is organized to reflect the wide scope of the contents, its four sections corresponding to the accepted current definitional frameworks prevailing in the work of multilateral agencies and mainstream scholarship. The first section addresses the struggles and progression of ideas and debates about the subject in recent years. The other sections focus on three key themes: how food has been, is and should be made available, including by improvements in agricultural productivity; the ways in which politico-economic and social arenas have shaped access to food; and the effects of food and nutrition systems in addressing human health, known as food utilisation. Overall, the volume synthesizes a vast field of information drawn from agriculture, soil science, climatology, economics, sociology, human and physical geography, the nutrition and health sciences, environmental science and development studies.

Baobab
Baobab

Author: John Rashford

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-06-28

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 3031264703

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Modern humans, descendants of a founding population that separated from chimpanzees some five to eight million years ago, are today the only living representative of a branching group of African apes called hominins. Because of its extraordinary size and shape, the baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) has long been identified as the most striking tree of Africa’s mosaic savanna, the landscape generally regarded as the environment of hominin evolution. This book makes the case for identifying the baobab as the tree of life in the hunter-gatherer adaptation that was the economic foundation of hominin evolution. The argument is based on the significance of the baobab as a resource-rich environment for the Hadza of northeastern Tanzania, who continue to be successful hunter-gatherers of the African savanna.

Mathematical Sciences with Multidisciplinary Applications
Mathematical Sciences with Multidisciplinary Applications

Author: Bourama Toni

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-08-19

Total Pages: 654

ISBN-13: 3319313231

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This book is the fourth in a multidisciplinary series which brings together leading researchers in the STEAM-H disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Mathematics and Health) to present their perspective on advances in their own specific fields, and to generate a genuinely interdisciplinary collaboration that transcends parochial subject-matter boundaries. All contributions are carefully edited, peer-reviewed, reasonably self-contained, and pedagogically crafted for a multidisciplinary readership. Contributions are drawn from a variety of fields including mathematics, statistics, game theory and behavioral sciences, biomathematics and physical chemistry, computer science and human-centered computing. This volume is dedicated to Professor Christiane Rousseau, whose work inspires the STEAM-H series, in recognition of her passion for the mathematical sciences and her on-going initiative, the Mathematics of Planet Earth paradigm of interdisciplinarity. The volume's primary goal is to enhance interdisciplinary understanding between these areas of research by showing how new advances in a particular field can be relevant to open problems in another and how many disciplines contribute to a better understanding of relevant issues at the interface of mathematics and the sciences. The main emphasis is on important methods, research directions and applications of analysis within and beyond each field. As such, the volume aims to foster student interest and participation in the STEAM-H domain, as well as promote interdisciplinary research collaborations. The volume is valuable as a reference of choice and a source of inspiration for a broad spectrum of scientists, mathematicians, research students and postdoctoral fellows.

Diversifying Food and Diets
Diversifying Food and Diets

Author: Jessica Fanzo

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-06-26

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 1136461450

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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.

Orphan Crops for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security
Orphan Crops for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security

Author: Stefano Padulosi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-22

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 1000450422

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Orphan Crops for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security discusses the issues, challenges, needs and opportunities related to the promotion of orphan crops, known also as neglected and underutilized species (NUS). The book is structured into six parts, covering the following themes: introduction to NUS, approaches, methods and tools for the use enhancement of NUS, integrated conservation and use of minor millets, nutritional and food security roles of minor millets, stakeholders and global champions, and, building an enabling environment. Presenting a number of case studies at the regional and country levels, the chapters cover different but highly interlinked aspects along the value chains, from acquisition and characterization of genetic diversity, cultivation and harvesting to value addition, marketing, consumption and policy for mainstreaming. Cross-cutting issues like gender, capacity building and empowerment of vulnerable groups are also addressed by authors. Representatives from communities, research for development agencies and the private sector also share their reflections on the needs for the use enhancement of NUS from their own perspectives. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food security, sustainable agriculture, nutrition and health and development, as well as practitioners and policymakers involved in building more resilient food and production systems.

Biopesticides
Biopesticides

Author: Timothy O. Adejumo

Publisher: Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH

Published: 2021-04-10

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 3832552642

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Biopesticides have readily available sources, they are effective and easily biodegradable, exhibit various modes of action, cheaper, inherently less toxic to humans and the environment. They do not leave harmful residues, and are usually more specific to target pests. The use of biopesticides is markedly safer for the environment and users, and more sustainable than the application of chemicals, and are therefore used as potential alternatives to synthetic pesticides, especially as components in Integrated Pest Management strategies. The book Biopesticides: Botanicals and Microorganisms for Improving Agriculture and Human Health is a collection of articles, up to date reviews and research contributions from both developed and developing countries. It emphasises the current issues of importance and the progress made in the fields of agricultural, environmental and soil microbiology, plant pathology and ethnobotany, and aims to bring together all available and relevant information on biopesticides. It comprises 12 Chapters on emerging issues on biopesticides from important and useful botanicals to beneficial microorganisms that show great potential in both agriculture and human health. The book will be of immense help to both the undergraduate and postgraduate students, biologists and agriculturists, who would like to broaden their knowledge and gain substantial experience about biopesticides in agriculture and health, this will enable them to contribute significantly in making the world a safer and healthier place.

Biodiversity in Ecosystems
Biodiversity in Ecosystems

Author: Juan A. Blanco

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2015-04-17

Total Pages: 644

ISBN-13: 953512028X

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The term biodiversity has become a mainstream concept that can be found in any newspaper at any given time. Concerns on biodiversity protection are usually linked to species protection and extinction risks for iconic species, such as whales, pandas and so on. However, conserving biodiversity has much deeper implications than preserving a few (although important) species. Biodiversity in ecosystems is tightly linked to ecosystem functions such as biomass production, organic matter decomposition, ecosystem resilience, and others. Many of these ecological processes are also directly implied in services that the humankind obtains from ecosystems. The first part of this book will introduce different concepts and theories important to understand the links between ecosystem function and ecosystem biodiversity. The second part of the book provides a wide range of different studies showcasing the evidence and practical implications of such relationships.

Handbook of Cucurbits
Handbook of Cucurbits

Author: Mohammad Pessarakli

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2016-02-22

Total Pages: 595

ISBN-13: 1482234599

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The Handbook of Cucurbits: Growth, Cultural Practices, and Physiology contains information on cultural practices, nutrition, and physiological processes of cucurbits under both normal and stressful conditions. It presents the history and importance of cucurbit crop production as well as exhaustive information on growth responses of cucurbits to var