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Increasing urbanization seen during the medieval period (7th to 16th centuries) is associated with adverse living conditions that may have negatively impacted childhood growth via the influence of infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies due to increasing population density and periodic food shortages. This study aims to compare the growth of non‐adults (less than 12 years of age) from urban, proto‐urban, and rural environments from medieval England to determine whether settlement type influenced child health, and by proxy overall population health, during this period. Tibial and femoral maximum diaphyseal lengths and dental age of non‐adults (0–12 years) from urban St. Gregory's Priory (n = 60), urban York Barbican (n = 16), proto‐urban Black Gate (n = 38), and rural Raunds (n = 30) were examined using z‐scores. The results reveal that non‐adults < 2 years from St. Gregory's Priory had the lowest growth values followed by Raunds, Black Gate, and York Barbican with the highest growth values. Further, non‐adults 2–12 years from York Barbican had the lowest growth values followed by Raunds, Black Gate, and St. Gregory's Priory with the higher growth values. The femoral and tibial diaphyseal growth values are explored within the context of breastfeeding and weaning practices, stability of economies, and environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between March 28 and June 1, 2022, Shanghai imposed lockdowns under the zero-COVID policy, which caused Shanghai residents to lack access to adequate food. The present study examined the relationship between temporary food insecurity, social capital, and mental health during the lockdowns. We conducted a quota sampling survey in April 2022, in which data of 1,064 respondents, aged 18–79 years, were used to estimate a mediated moderation model. The results show that temporary food insecurity predicted poor self-rated health and high depression levels. Both offline and online social capital positively related to self-rated health but negatively related to depression. When faced with severe food insecurity, people with high offline social capital maintained better self-rated health, whereas those with high online social capital were not immune to depression. The mediation effects of participation in voluntary activities on the relationship between social capital and mental health were not confirmed. Temporary food insecurity during the lockdowns resulted in detrimental outcomes to Shanghai residents’ health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study documents how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the livelihoods of women with disabilities in three low-income urban areas of Zimbabwe's Harare Metropolitan Province. A mixed-method approach was used to gather data through structured interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions with 104 women with disabilities and service providers working with women with disabilities in Caledonia, Hatcliffe, and Epworth. The study utilises the sustainable livelihood approach to analyse the dynamics ensuing during the pandemic and how they impinged on women with disabilities' livelihoods. Findings reveal that the pandemic, particularly the lockdowns, greatly and negatively impacted the livelihoods of women with disabilities, who mainly depend on the informal sector through vending, begging, and handouts. The study recommends the provision of targeted sustainable social safety nets for women with disabilities in times of shocks and stresses such as pandemics to cushion them from the devastating effects brought about by such eventualities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study addresses the capture of Hungarian civilians by Soviet troops in Northern Transylvania during September-November 1944. Approximately 20,000 Hungarian men and boys were forcibly taken. The ages of those captured ranged from 14 to 70 years. They were deported to several forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The duration of captivity was typically four years, but in some cases, it extended to 8-9 years. The prisoners were compelled to work under harsh conditions in various mines or logging operations. During the summer, they participated in agricultural work on nearby Soviet kolkhozes. Due to the severe working conditions, acute food shortages, and lack of medical care, the prisoners became extremely debilitated. Onethird of them died in captivity. This aspect of our contemporary history was a taboo subject during the Communist era. Only the 1989 Revolution brought about significant change in this regard. This study aims to provide an overview of this tragic event, based on the author’s two decades of research. The source material for the study includes archival data, specialist books, studies, memoirs, data and articles published in contemporary press, as well as interviews with survivors, most of which were conducted by the author. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dalla parte di lei by Alba de Céspedes explores the life of the protagonist, Alessandra, in Rome, from her childhood to the early years of her marriage, a period that spans the Fascist years through the Second World War and the Resistance, and ends shortly after the liberation. The narrative illustrates the painful effects of Mussolini's policy of autarky and food rationing and their burden on women. Food and food preparation constitute gendered signs that highlight the contrast between Alessandra's values and those of both Fascist and immediate post-Fascist society. Alessandra's resistance to gendered food labour carries political resonance. Food scarcity frames Alessandra's rejection of both male precedence and matriarchal authority, her critique of gender and class injustices, and her participation in the Italian Resistance. The food motif sheds light on Alessandra's gender performance and queer desires. This article focuses on three aspects of Alessandra's resistance: her resistance to traditional gender roles, her political awakening during the Second World War food shortages, and her sexual and emotional hungers and queer desire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive studies have been conducted on the link between armed conflict and agricultural production. However, the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. A better understanding of these mechanisms could unpack the subsequent effects of conflict‐induced food and welfare shortages, as well as identify promising policy interventions. We study the effects of terrorist violence on household agricultural production in Burkina Faso and explore the underlying mechanisms. To achieve this, we combine nationally representative five‐year panel data on plots and households with spatial conflict data. Our analysis reveals negative and significant effects of terrorist violence on agricultural productivity and total output. Despite reducing cereal crop output, increased intensity of terrorist violence is significantly associated with higher production of cash crops, which require fewer inputs in Burkina Faso. Further investigations uncover that the decline in household agricultural productivity results from a significant decrease in the number of farming plots, land size, and short‐term production investments, including chemical fertilisers and pesticides. These findings remain robust across various alternative empirical specifications and measures of violence, offering insights that can help policymakers faced with similarly scaled armed conflict. For instance, ensuring a secure environment and providing reliable access to essential production inputs, such as chemical fertilisers and pesticides, can help support conflict‐affected household agricultural production during and after the violence periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delineates a distinctly post-1960s expression of hunger and desire for food in Cuban and Egyptian cultural production. Hunger has always been present in aesthetic renditions of everyday life in both locales. Following the early-1960s socialist expansion of the role of the state, a new expression of hunger for animal protein emerged that relied on vegetarian tropes and parodied official discourse. Expressions of this "new hunger" captured the contradictory state of being conditioned, through state food programs, to see the consumption of animal products as the epitome of a healthy diet that endows one with the status of being "developed" and "modern" while simultaneously not being afforded satisfactory access to those food items due to conditions beyond one's individual control. In such contexts, the average citizen is primarily vegetarian and not by choice, while those with access to power live the promised dream of carnivorous plenty. This article analyzes several political speeches, cartoons, jokes, and songs to map the rhetorical and aesthetic characteristics of such satiric expressions and demonstrate how they were informed by the growing gap between early revolutionary official promises of food for all and actual food shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in the global human population, particularly in Low-Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs), causes severe food shortages. Food shortages are complex and can be linked to economic, environmental, social, and political variables. Harnessing village chicken products serves as a cheap commercial chicken substitute to address food shortages. The consumption and sales of protein products from village chickens, such as meat, eggs, and internal organs, ensures food security and poverty alleviation in limited-resource communities. However, village chickens have poor-quality end products due to poor management and animal-rearing resources. Village chicken production challenges include the absence of high-quality feed, biosecurity, recordkeeping, housing, and commercial marketing of its end products. Management being based on cultural gender roles instead of the possession of formal poultry management training further limits village chicken production. To improve village chicken end-product quality, poultry management trainings for rural women are suggested due to studies showing that women mainly manage village chicken production. Furthermore, to create a formal market share of village chickens, sensory evaluations need to be conducted using mainstream poultry consumers. This review examined the potential contribution of village chickens in achieving Sustainable Development Goals—one, No Poverty and two, Zero Hunger—to benefit vulnerable groups in resource-poor communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on county-level grain production and food security in North China; selects 17 indicators from both climatic conditions and human activities; applies yield fluctuation coefficients, spatial econometric modelling, the random forest method, and factor analysis to study the characteristics of grain production in North China and the influencing factors; and evaluates the situation of food security in North China based on grain production capacity. The following results were obtained: (1) The spatial and temporal changes in grain production located in North China from 2000 to 2020 are obvious. The grain output in North China from 2000 to 2020 maintains fluctuating growth at a rate of 0.38 × 1011 kg/10a. The east and south are the key areas for grain production in North China. Grain output was relatively stable except for 2003. with the cold spots of grain production being mainly in the northwestern area and the hot spots in the central and southern areas. (2) The changes in grain production in North China from 2000 to 2020 were less affected by climate and mainly influenced by human activity indicators. (3) As time progresses, the area of food shortage zones decreases in size, becoming evenly distributed and dispersed from the initial concentration in northern Hebei and most of Shanxi; the change in the supply–demand equilibrium zones is not obvious; and the area of surplus grain zones increases markedly in size, with a tendency to expand from the south and centre of the study area to the west and north. The grain production capacity of counties in the northwest and north is generally low, and even counties located in surplus grain areas have potential food security risks. However, in the east and south, due to their high grain production capacity, the per capita grain supply situation may be alleviated even in counties located in grain shortage areas. This study can deepen the understanding of the characteristics of food production in North China and enrich the research on food security. Analyses of factors influencing food production will improve a deeper understanding of food security. Food security evaluation based on food production capacity will contribute to a more precise and comprehensive understanding of the food security pattern in North China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sakura shrimp Lucensosergia lucens are pelagic shrimp that reside in the North Pacific Ocean. In Japan, commercial fishing activities aimed at this shrimp species only occurs in Suruga Bay in Shizuoka prefecture, but there has been a dramatic decrease in the magnitude of the harvest in recent years. Because sakura shrimp reside in the deep sea, their food habits and feeding behaviors are not well understood. The objective of this study was to establish a method for efficiently raising sakura shrimp larvae to juvenile shrimp. When a newly hatched larva was cultured individually, it developed to the post-larval stage when fed a sufficient amount. However, when ten individuals were cultured together, the survival rate sharply declined after 10 days owing to the cannibalism by elaphocaris III-stage larvae. This cannibalism was not due to the shortage of food because the cannibalism rate significantly dropped when larvae density was decreased to less than 1 individual/mL. The longest lifespan of a larva was 97 days, which is the longest recorded time for a sakura shrimp larval culture. Our results suggested that sakura shrimp larvae can develop to the post-larval stage in a laboratory-scale culture if the expression of cannibalism is inhibited by decreasing the larva density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chondrichthyans form an important part of marine food webs as top predators and mesopredators. However, little is known about chondrichthyans in Namibian waters and the roles they play in ecosystem function. During efforts to disentangle Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus from fishing gear or plastic debris, 11 incidents of seals impaled by the dorsal spines of St Josephs Callorhinchus capensis (order Chimaeriformes) were recorded. These observations overlapped with mass die-offs of the seals owing to food shortages, as indicated by large numbers of emaciated seals and widespread miscarriages of seal foetuses. This suggests that the St Joseph is not a desirable prey species for Cape fur seals, though this chimaera may provide a source of food, especially when preferred prey species are unavailable. This is the first published record of Cape fur seals feeding on chondrichthyans in Namibian waters. Documenting these types of food-web linkages between pinnipeds and chondrichthyans will allow for a better understanding of how impacts on their populations may more broadly affect Namibia's marine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How people speak of hunger extends beyond statements about food adequacy; people's remarks may reflect experiences of poverty and feelings of vulnerability, and may be used to request help. In this article, we build on the idea of idioms of distress to conceptualize hunger talk as expressing more than an empty belly. We draw on ethnographic data gathered in two settings in South Africa: one a peri-urban area under traditional jurisdiction in the Eastern Cape Province; the other an inner-city suburb of the largest city, Johannesburg, in Gauteng. Hunger-related idioms of distress help illustrate the complex interplay of social, economic, and cultural factors, and allow people to speak of various affective and material aspects of their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the background of the exacerbating food shortage in the world, it is particularly important to diversify food resources in every possible direction. Among the choices available, edible insects have become an important alternative source of animal food with their high nutritional and functional (pharmacological) values, partially replacing normally consumed animal and livestock protein food sources. The utilization of edible insects has been an ancient custom since the dawn of civilization, attributed to their rich nutrition, alternate protein source, medicinal values, and presence of diverse secondary metabolites and alkaloids. This review provides an introduction to three key aspects of edible insects as food: freshness, long-term preservation, and medicinal value. It also provides details on the food source and products of edible insect species, their detailed nutritional composition and medicinal values, and their potential in producing alternative protein sources. Additionally, the review also encompasses rearing and producing technologies, resource utilization, and industrial development in China. Simultaneously, the problems and challenges faced in the artificial rearing and production development of edible insects, the production advantages over traditional livestock, and the farming evaluation and prospects of edible insects, as well as the lack of specific legislation on edible insects in China, are discussed. This review will be helpful in scientific knowledge propagation regarding edible insects for the public, guiding consumers to establish a diverse perception of sustainable agriculture and food sources in the world that has, as yet, been thwarted by food insecurity. Moreover, though edible insects could potentially serve as part of a commercial and industrial agri-enterprise that could generate a huge income, artificial rearing technology and edible insect product manufacturing and processing have not received sufficient attention from the government on a policy level, thereby leaving an open space for extensive research on edible insects as an alternate food source as well as an examination of the industrial prospects of edible insect products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the field of artificial intelligence (AI) through the lens of Stephen Hawking, who warned of its potential dangers. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of AI and its implications for food security using a qualitative approach and offering a contemporary perspective on the topic. The study explores the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in various fields with an emphasis on the global food reality. It also highlights the critical importance of striking a harmonious balance between technological progress and the preservation of local wisdom, cultural diversity, and environmental sustainability. In conclusion, the analysis argues that AI is a transformative force with the potential to address global food shortages and facilitate sustainable food production. However, it is not without significant risks that require rigorous scrutiny and ethical oversight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food stockpiling is a common strategy to cope with food shortages, especially during major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper investigates the effects of online shopping on household food stockpiling behaviour, using data collected from urban residents in China. Unlike previous studies considering only binary decisions, we take into account two-stage decisions (whether to stockpile and how much to stockpile). We employ a novel double-hurdle two-stage least square approach to model the sequential decision-making process and to address the endogeneity issue of online shopping. The empirical results show that online shopping significantly increases the probability that households choose to stockpile food and stockpiling ratio. Online shoppers in Eastern China are more likely to stockpile food, while their counterparts in the Western region tend to have a higher food stockpiling ratio. Online shopping significantly increases stockpiling ratio of perishable food such as fruits and vegetables relative to non-perishable food such as grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phosphoenol pyruvate–oxaloacetate–pyruvate-derived amino acids (POP-AAs) comprise native intermediates in cellular metabolism, within which the phosphoenol pyruvate–oxaloacetate–pyruvate (POP) node is the switch point among the major metabolic pathways existing in most living organisms. POP-AAs have widespread applications in the nutrition, food, and pharmaceutical industries. These amino acids have been predominantly produced in Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum through microbial fermentation. With the rapid increase in market requirements, along with the global food shortage situation, the industrial production capacity of these two bacteria has encountered two bottlenecks: low product conversion efficiency and high cost of raw materials. Aiming to push forward the update and upgrade of engineered strains with higher yield and productivity, this paper presents a comprehensive summarization of the fundamental strategy of metabolic engineering techniques around phosphoenol pyruvate–oxaloacetate–pyruvate node for POP-AA production, including L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine, L-phenylalanine, L-valine, L-lysine, L-threonine, and L-isoleucine. Novel heterologous routes and regulation methods regarding the carbon flux redistribution in the POP node and the formation of amino acids should be taken into consideration to improve POP-AA production to approach maximum theoretical values. Furthermore, an outlook for future strategies of low-cost feedstock and energy utilization for developing amino acid overproducers is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Bangladesh, vulnerable groups including women and food security are severely impacted by climate change. Due to their lack of means for unequal climate adaptation, the impoverished and marginalized in developing countries are more exposed and vulnerable. This research study looks at how Bangladesh's food security and the status of disadvantaged women are affected by climate change. Gender-based vulnerability is rising as a result of expanding catastrophe consequences, such as decreased agricultural productivity, rising costs, joblessness, food insecurity, post-hazardous illnesses, etc., according to the literature review findings. The assessment highlights the significant risks that climate change poses to Bangladesh's food security and vulnerable women, including increased susceptibility to food shortages and post-disaster issues, given that women in Bangladesh are more susceptible to these issues due to their social, economic, and political circumstances. The literature review demonstrates that disadvantaged groups, particularly women, are negatively impacted by climate change. Profound policy implications should propose for enhancing system performance, coordinating regional agricultural output, and fortifying resistance to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diurnal flight activity in otherwise strictly nocturnal bats has typically been linked to random disturbance from day roosts, an urgent need to balance food shortage caused by adverse weather during nighttime, or the absence of diurnal predators. However, migration may be another reason why bats fly during daylight, at least in some areas. Using community-science data collection, we obtained more than 500 records of over 15,000 bats displaying diurnal flight activity, suggesting that it is relatively common in Central Europe. The vast majority of sightings were of common noctules (Nyctalus noctula), with most records concentrated in spring and autumn. The seasonal dynamics of diurnal flights exactly coincided with migratory periods, and directional movements in autumn—when diurnal activity was most frequent and included highest numbers of observed bats—suggest that the behavior may ultimately be linked to migration ecology. The highest frequency of diurnal flights in autumn coincided with highest body mass in the studied territory, thereby refuting the hypothesis of early roost emergence due to poor body condition or decreased predation risk related to increased maneuverability. A shift from strictly nocturnal to partly diurnal activity may balance increased energetic demands imposed by migration, which is temporally synchronized with periods of cold nights when prey density is limited. Common noctule diurnal activity during the migratory period may be beneficial as they can acquire energy by foraging on daily abundant prey while saving nighttime for long endurance flights—alternatively, they may forage on the way to their migratory destination, thereby saving time. Predation risk from diurnal predators may be significantly decreased by choosing high flight altitudes, as observed particularly during autumn. We suggest that observations on the geographic distribution of diurnally flying noctules may help identify migration corridors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread destruction and the devastating humanitarian toll caused by the ongoing war on Gaza have transformed this besieged Strip into a place of death and despair. This review will explore the implications of this war for food security, focusing on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, which seeks to fight malnutrition and food insecurity and achieve zero hunger by 2030. This work is based on a review of grey literature, such as reports from government and nongovernmental agencies, as well as recent scientific journal publications. Our results show that the ongoing war on Gaza has exacerbated the already acute food insecurity that Gazans have been struggling with since the blockade was imposed in 2007. Restless bombardment and ground operations have damaged or even razed agricultural land and all food production infrastructure (such as bakeries, mills, and food processing facilities), destroying Gaza's food system. Facing catastrophic levels of hunger, some families, especially in northern Gaza have recently been resorting to eating animal feed and weeds to survive. With the starvation of civilians being used as a method of warfare, many experts and human rights organizations argue that Gaza is now the world's worst hunger crisis and its population is on the verge of famine, if not already there. Moreover, this unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza could have significant consequences on global food security in its six pillars, jeopardizing the implementation of SDG 2. While international organizations are making efforts to mitigate the catastrophic food shortage and famine, more comprehensive and sustainable solutions are needed to address the root causes of food insecurity in Gaza and ensure that all residents have access to an adequate and nutritious diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brigandage in Nigeria has been examined from various dimensions. However, little has been done about the effects that crime has on food security. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of brigandage on food security, with a focus on the Nahuche community in Zamfara State. The study was premised on the theory of routine activities. An exploratory research design was adopted for the study. Data were elicited from farmers, and traders using semi-structured interviews, and thereafter subjected to thematic analysis. A purposive sampling technique was adopted in the selection of respondents for the study. Findings show that brigandage was intense in the study area. Farmers were attacked and kidnapped from their farms for ransom, resulting in the abandonment of farmlands. It was also found that farmers were forced to pay harvest fees to the brigands before they were allowed to harvest their crops. Consequently, a significant drop in farmers' output and the associated shortage of food were experienced in the community. The study concludes that brigandage caused food insecurity in Nahuche community that hitherto enjoyed food security. Regrettably, the security personnel seems to be overwhelmed as the crime continues to worsen. By implication, the community stands to experience food insecurity as long as brigandage persists. Among others, the study recommends that brigands be made to perceive the risk of apprehension as high through the intensification of law enforcement. Farmers and traders should avoid predictable daily routines that expose them to victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deforestation, forests diminution, and scarcity of natural food are widely regarded as the primary factors contributing to the presence of brown bears in urban areas of Romania, and human-bear conflicts. Public misunderstanding regarding forest and bear management practices often leads to skepticism of expert information, worsened by misinformation in the media and social networks. This article aims to offer insight into deforestation and human-bear conflicts in Romania. It analyzes national and international official data, to assess the percentage of forested areas, primary causes of deforestation, brown bear population and density, and the number of human-bear conflicts. It also compares Romanian data with other European countries to explore the potential correlation between forested area percentage and human-bear conflicts. Between 2000 and 2020, Romania's forest area comprised 29.02% of its land, while Poland, France, and Italy had percentages of 29.89%, 30.04%, and 30.65%, respectively. Interestingly, the proportion of forest cover did not consistently correlate with the frequency of conflicts. Countries with similar forest percentages to Romania experienced fewer conflicts, whereas countries with higher percentages, like Slovenia (61.65%) and Slovakia (39.86%), faced numerous human-bear conflicts due to the dense brown bear population. The management of bears served as a valuable indicator of the extent of damage caused by these animals. In Croatia, Sweden, Slovakia, and Slovenia, where 10- 16% of the bear population was harvested annually, lower levels of damage were reported. In contrast, Romania, with an annual harvest of only 2-3% of the bear population, experienced higher levels of damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Careful and focused decision-making in the food sector reduces the challenges threatening food systems' stability. Besides, it can optimally control any changes that result in food shortages. The present study aimed to identify identifiable factors' effects on food insecurity using a dynamic system with an emphasis on consumption behaviors. A dynamic model was developed to understand the long-term interaction between individual characteristics, average cost, average income, and hygiene status, and a dynamic model was then validated and operationalized among 1,000 Alborz Province's households randomly using a questionnaire. The base scenario for predicting food insecurity changes revealed that food insecurity had increased over ten years, resulting in changes in social and economic status and vulnerability of urban society. Four additional scenarios indicated that the average cost and income could directly affect the food insecurity status in Iran by indirectly influencing policies to increase food security, health, and hygiene. Individual characteristics and food security also influence food insecurity and reinforce the relationship between these variables. The study revealed that dynamic systems modeling could be a valuable tool for assessing food insecurity policies and their factors in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-Health is an umbrella term that integrates the health of the environment, humans and non-human animals. This approach is applied here to elucidate the impact of non-native invasive species on aquaculture and food security. Despite inherent biases against these species, a better understanding of their characteristics allows for the identification of those of greatest concern, minimizing the risk of food shortages and infectious diseases. This review summarises the positive and negative impacts of non-native species, delineating the specific areas they may impact. Additionally, this review gives an insight to the expertise and stakeholders that would need to be included if a "One-Health" approach were to be implemented by policymakers to better control non-native species. Detailed examples illustrate the consequences of non-native species on trophic dynamics, ecosystem health, water chemistry, and human health, emphasizing the importance of managing them within a multidimensional framework. The "One-Health" approach is explained, and suggestions are made on how certain non-native species could be used to contribute to food security in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore, recommendations are made to promote a more inclusive management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moecnh) is a versatile crop that is widely grown in western Ethiopia, despite that it is less researched. This study, therefore, investigates the traditional knowledge, nutritional, and morphological characteristics of two commonly grown okra varieties (Kenketse and Sharma) in west Ethiopia. A semi‐structured questionnaire, checklist, and observations were used to collect primary data from households, key informants, and farms. In addition, proximate composition parameters like moisture content, total ash, crude fat, crude protein, crude fiber, utilizable carbohydrates, and gross energy fruits were measured through laboratory analysis. Fruit morphological traits, including fruit dimensions such as length and width, were determined using a digital Vernier caliper. For data analysis, SPSS software was used. The results revealed that the entire plant is used for both food and ethnomedicinal purposes. Curing ailments such as stomach pain, constipation, wound/cut, heart discomfort, back pain, malaria, diarrhea, and amoebae were among the medical benefits of okra. The proximate composition (%) on a dry matter basis of okra fruits differed significantly (p <.05) by cultivar type and drying method. Moisture (3.69%–5.24%), total ash (6.60%–8.01%), crude fat (4.87%–8.58%), crude protein (4.06%–5.23%), crude fiber (12.85%–15.26%), utilizable carbohydrate (56.42%–67.63%), and gross energy contents (326–341 kcal) were the ranges of the various proximate and energy levels. Morphological characteristics of fruit and leaf length, width, and length‐to‐width ratio varied with cultivar type, where Sharma had more than double the length of Kenketse (70.1 vs. 187.1 mm). Despite being an undervalued native vegetable crop in Ethiopia, the study's findings show that okra is a multipurpose vegetable for promoting human health and ensuring food and nutritional security. Therefore, stepping up its production, marketing, and consumption could help alleviate the food shortage and improve human nutrition and health in the study areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periods of acute climate stress – the convergence of low subsistence yields due to poor climate conditions and ineffective buffering strategies due to climate variability – critically reduces peoples' ability to subsist and mitigate food shortages, thereby creating conditions that could result in profound social change. Here, paleoclimate reconstructions are used to identify periods of acute stress at three large Ancestral Pueblo villages in the US Southwest. These periods are examined in relation to occupation histories at each village showing that in certain instances, acute climate stress played a primary role in people's decisions to leave communities. However, not all of the communities reacted to stress in the same way indicating that distinct patterns of climate and social context played an important role in influencing how acute climate stress was experienced by different groups. Results from this study highlight the importance of community‐specific histories when considering the impact of climate stress on past people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a book review of "Opinie, prudenţă şi cenzură: Filmul de actualitate în România comunistă (1965-1989)" by Ion Indolean. The book explores the topic of "actuality cinema" during the Ceausescu regime in Romania. It provides unpublished factual information and analyzes the creation, production, and censorship of films during this period. The author argues that these films can be seen as historical documents that document the societal transformations of Romania under communism. The review praises the book for its comprehensive analysis and precise writing style. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examined how data mining may analyse food security data and anticipate community activity constraints. Studies have shown that IRCA measures interrupt agricultural operations, diminish crop yields, risk food shortages, raise food costs, increase food poverty, and deplete nutrients. Data mining can handle huge, complicated information, find hidden patterns and relationships, and anticipate food security outcomes. These enable evidence-based decision-making and proactive actions. However, challenges related to data quality, biases, and reliance on historical data must be addressed. Future directions include integrating real-time data sources, such as satellite imagery and social media data, to capture timely information. Additionally, advanced analytics techniques like deep learning and natural language processing can be utilized to analyze unstructured data. Overcoming challenges related to data integration, privacy concerns, interpretability, and transparency will enhance the effectiveness of data mining. In summary, this analysis highlighted the significance of data mining in analyzing food security and predicting the impact of IRCA measures. By leveraging data mining's strengths and addressing its limitations, valuable insights can inform decision-making and promote resilient food systems. Advancements in real-time data integration and advanced analytics techniques hold promise for further enhancing the effectiveness of data mining in addressing food security challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐2019) pandemic and other factors have significantly increased the number of people suffering from food shortages worldwide in 2020. As many as 720–811 million people, which is nearly 10% of the global population, are facing hunger. Thus, the need for substances that fulfil human nutritional requirements is growing to address this issue. Arthrospira platensis (A. platensis), commonly or commercially called spirulina, is an ideal product that contains various functional ingredients. Given them, various health benefits of A. platensis are proven gradually, including anti‐oxidant, immune regulation, anti‐inflammation, hypoglycaemia, anti‐bacterial and anti‐radiation properties. In recent years, functional ingredients of A. platensis are showing the potential to be functional foods. This paper gives an overview on the functional ingredients and the resulting health benefits of A. platensis summarises the research progress of A. platensis as functional foods in recent years and looks forward to its application development prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Botanical pandemics cause enormous economic damage and food shortages around the globe. However, since botanical pandemics are here to stay in the short-medium term, domesticated field owners can strategically seed their fields to optimize each session's economic profit. In this work, we propose a novel epidemiological-economic mathematical model that describes the economic profit from a field of plants during a botanical pandemic. We describe the epidemiological dynamics using a spatiotemporal extended susceptible-infected-recovered epidemiological model with a non-linear output economic model. We provide an algorithm to obtain an optimal grid-formed seeding strategy to maximize economic profit, given field and pathogen properties. We show that the recovery and basic infection rates have a similar economic influence. Unintuitively, we show that a larger farm does not promise higher economic profit. Our results demonstrate a significant benefit of using the proposed seeding strategy and shed more light on the dynamics of the botanical pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the global food crisis and resulting food insecurity have made sustainable food supply a challenge for many countries, sparking global geopolitical competition. In regard to the geopolitization of food, this study proposes strategies to enhance food security. The model has been developed using grounded theory and data have been collected through interviews with 17 experts and review of 43 official reports and papers. Research findings reveal that food access has declined due to food shortages and unfair distribution in recent decades; as a result, food has become a source of competition and power struggles among countries. Therefore, food has been raised as a geopolitical issue. Changes such as the scarcity of water and soil resources, climate change, environmental degradation, insufficient investment in agriculture, and consumerism in societies have all contributed to the geopolitical importance of food worldwide. A number of strategies have been developed by countries in response to the geopolitization of food to improve their citizens' food security, including sustainable agriculture development, overseas cultivation, importing virtual water, reducing food waste, and diet modification. The success of these strategies, on the one hand, is influenced by the natural, human, technological, economic, political and military potentials of countries, and on the other hand, the conditions of the global environment. The most important achievements of the principled management of geopoliticization of food include enhancing food security, community health, reducing socio-cultural problems, improving political stability, reducing dependence on foreign countries, and preventing the destruction of natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the effect of price support policies on market price distribution and its dynamics in the Indian wheat market. The analysis uses a quantile autoregression model that provides a flexible representation of price dynamics and the 2001–2020 monthly wholesale market price data. The analysis is conducted conditional on the net stock level held in the previous period. The results reveal that the net purchase by the government prevented very low market prices for wheat but resulted in price spikes. It has a price‐enhancing effect as well. The associated moments of price distribution show that public stockholding reduced variation in market price distribution. However, the government's release of stock did not prevent price rises. Findings show that dynamic adjustments tend to be qualitatively different across regimes. Government intervention in the grain market reduced stability through dynamic adjustments in wheat market prices. The results have policy implications for India and other countries in Southeast Asia in the context of the WTO's negotiations on public stockholdings and using public stockholdings as an instrument in addressing price volatility and food shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption of wild edible plants (WEPs) is a traditional practice in many rural areas of Sudan and elsewhere in the world. We investigated the traditional uses of WEPs in six villages in Babanosa and Lagawa districts of West Kordofan State, Sudan using guided field walks, direct observations, semi-structured questionnaires and group discussions to collect data on names, characteristics, and uses of WEPs from 150 respondents. We quantified the relative importance of WEPs through use value (UV), fidelity level (FL), and direct matrix ranking (DMR). We recorded a total of 22 WEPs belonging to 21 genera and 15 families. Fabaceae was the dominant family with four genera (19%) and four species (18%), and 11 families contributed one species each. Life forms consisted of shrubs (45.45%), trees (40.9%), herbs (9.09%), and grasses (4.54%). 77% of WEPs exhibited edible fruits that are generally consumed without processing. We recorded the three highest FLs and UVs for Adansonia digitata (94% and 0.87), Balanites aegyptiaca (92.6% and 0.80), and Ziziphus spina-christi (94% and 0.73). Boscia senegalensis was the only species that was consumed as an emergency food to mitigate food shortage. DMR prioritized the medicinal use-category over the other use categories, including food which came in third place. We conclude that domestication of WEPs could secure health, nutrition, and livelihoods for the local population as well as contribute to ecosystem conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primates can respond to food availability shortages by increasing the energy they invest in searching for alternative food resources or by conserving energy by altering their diet while reducing movement. To gain information on the ecological flexibility of Beni titi monkeys (Plecturocebus modestus), we assessed seasonal variation in the behavior and ranging and feeding patterns of two focal groups across a year. We recorded group behaviors using instantaneous group scan sampling and used all occurrence sampling to collect ranging and feeding data (1,178 observation hours in the dry season, and 1,202 in the wet season). We collected data on food availability via monthly phenology monitoring. We found that during the fruit-scarce dry season, these frugivorous primates significantly reduced their monthly investment in moving and increased their consumption of flowers. They also showed some decrease in fruit consumption, home ranges and daily path length. Our observations of a diet shift to a high intake of alternative foods and reduction of time spent on moving suggest that the P. modestus groups that we studied used an energy-area minimizing strategy when fruits were less available. While we found that P. modestus could find food in the naturally fragmented forests, high levels of ongoing anthropogenic forest fragmentation may lead to reductions in important food resources, threatening the survival of these Endangered primates. This study shows the ecological flexibility of primates and provides important information to be incorporated in the design of specific effective conservation actions for this threatened an endemic species, as well as highlights the importance of mitigating the current threats to these forest ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic restrictions on access to food have brought on a food crisis in Russian-occupied territories. Blocking free access to food by occupation, economic pressure, reduced production and destruction of infrastructure risks social conflicts and escalating violence. Food shortages have led to deterioration of physical and economic health, increased mortality, social disorganisation and threats to personal security; many victims experience post-traumatic stress disorder. We draw comparisons with the Holodomor of 1933–4 and the Dutch Hongerwinter of 1944–5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolomics is the study of small, endogenous metabolites that participate in metabolic reactions, including responses to stressors. Anthropogenic and environmental changes that alter habitat and food supply can act as stressors in wild waterfowl. These alterations invoke a series of physiological processes to provide energy to restore homeostasis and increase survival. In this study, we utilized fecal metabolomics to measure metabolites and identify pathways related to a 6-day feed restriction in captive mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos, n = 9). Fecal samples were collected before (baseline) and during feed restriction (treatment). H¹ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was performed to identify metabolites. We found that fecal metabolite profiles could be used to distinguish between the feed-restricted and baseline samples. We identified metabolites related to pathways for energy production and metabolism endpoints, and metabolites indicative of gut microbiota changes. We also demonstrated that mallard ducks could utilize endogenous reserves in times of limited caloric intake. Fecal metabolomics shows promise as a non-invasive novel tool in identifying and characterizing physiological responses associated with stressors in a captive wild bird species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, striking a delicate balance between sustaining economic activity and safeguarding public health has become a crucial concern. The border closures for COVID-19 prevention have further intensified concerns for North Korea, which conducts over 90% of its trade with China and Russia, countries sharing its borders. Methods: This study aims to scrutinize North Korea's response to these competing imperatives by examining the impact of border closures on the country's trade dynamics with China and Russia. This study employed the difference-in-difference (DID) method to analyze transformations in North Korea's economic activity before and after the border closures, utilizing trade data and nighttime satellite imagery captured in 2019 and 2020. Results: The results reveal that North Korea actively reoriented its trade priorities towards Russia and accorded precedence to its epidemic prevention system over its economy during the pandemic. A noticeable increase in imports of food and pharmaceuticals was observed, indicating a significant rise in the inflow of these essential commodities. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea placed significant policy emphasis on preserving public health. However, due to economic hardships and food shortages, if the pandemic persists in the long term, it indicates the possibility of partial or complete lifting of border closures to mitigate these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: An individual's ability to obtain enough nutritious and healthy food to sustain a healthy lifestyle is a crucial indicator of food security. This study estimated food insecurity's prevalence and levels among parents/guardians of secondary school students in Basrah and describe its consequences. Materials and Methods: The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) was implemented through a questionnaire survey to evaluate food insecurity. The relationship between financial factors, attitudes, and psychological impacts regarding food accessibility and affordability was studied in detail. The eight food insecurity questions' responses were measured using the Rasch model approach. Results: Two hundred and fifty-two parents/guardians took part in the survey. The prevalence of food insecurity was estimated as 24% (with a 95% confidence interval of 18.9%-29.8%). Around 50% of the parents/guardians stated that their typical income is middle-income. 28% of respondents reported having sufficient food but not their preferred choices, while 35% paired food shortage with financial instability, 32% could not afford nutritionally balanced meals, and 21% of the parents admitted to cut or skipped their meals to other family members. 21% of parents/guardians were affected by inadequate food supply during the COVID-19 pandemic. The level of food insecurity included that 50% of the respondents exhibited mild food insecurity, 19.4% had moderate food insecurity, and 4.3% were classified as having severe food insecurity. According to the Rasch analysis of the FIES data, the likelihood of experiencing severe food insecurity is linked to consuming unhealthy food, having food run out, and eating unbalanced meals. Conclusion: The study found that financial constraints, food safety concerns, and limited access to nutritious food explain the widespread food insecurity reported. Significant efforts are required to alleviate chronic food shortages in Basrah, including job creation, strengthening agricultural production, and implementing safety-net policies for affected families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the future of Christians in the Holy Land after five months of war. In Gaza, Christians represent a small minority of about 1,000 faithful in a population of 2.3 million. They have sought refuge in the Holy Family parish, which has provided them with food, water, and medical attention. In the West Bank, the closure of borders prevents them from accessing their jobs in Jerusalem, and tourism has come to a halt. Emigration puts the survival of Christians in the region at risk, as many no longer see a future there. The situation in Gaza is desperate, with shortages of food, fuel, and medical care. The reconstruction after the war is estimated to last until 2093. Christians residing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are facing a desperate situation due to the war in Gaza and the escalating tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. The region is experiencing a widespread economic crisis, with a record unemployment rate of 72%. The lack of pilgrims has left the local economy in ruins, affecting sectors such as religious tourism and the sale of souvenirs. Christians in the Holy Land are struggling for their survival and are calling for international solidarity to preserve the sacred sites. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced a second emergency aid package for Christians affected by the war in Gaza, which includes medicine, food vouchers, and support for education and housing. ACN will also support training programs for young Christians, providing them with new skills and employment opportunities. [Extracted from the article]

Ensuring food security and increasing crop production in the face of climate change and environmental obstacles pose a pressing concern for smallholder farmers in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Through a combined approach of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods-which includes key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and household surveys—this paper examines the methods employed by smallholder farmers to bolster resilience and reduce vulnerability to environmental shifts. The results suggest that climate change exerts effects on both the village farming system and households by the following percentages of impact: food shortages (38.7% village/farming system, 29.0% household); infestation of uncommon pests (30.6% village/farming system, 27.4% household); diminishing rainfall/drought (22.6% village/farming system, 17.7% household); and crop failure (24.2% village/farming system, 29.0% household). The household farming methods practised by farmers encompass a range of strategies that include: agroforestry (37.1% adoption rate), which promotes the interspersing of trees with crops to enhance biodiversity and provide ecosystem services; and zero/minimum tillage (9.7%) practices, which reduce soil erosion and improve soil health. The challenges smallholder farmers face in adapting to climate change include the lack of appropriate tools, unfamiliarity with techniques, and inadequate support: all of which exacerbate the uncertainty surrounding the future of farmers and agriculture. By building adaptive capacity and promoting climate-smart agricultural practices, the region can improve food security, reduce vulnerability, and enhance the livelihoods of farming communities. Sustained efforts should prioritize smallholder farmers’ active participation and empowerment in climate change adaptation initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes visible the productive-reproductive work of an organized group of women coffee growers in Chiapas with the theory of constructivist ecofeminism through a plate of good food that comes from three productive systems: orchard, cornfield, and coffee plantation in the context of pandemic by the COVID-19 virus, food shortages and the impact on the environment and health by processed foods. The research is qualitative and involves semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops using feminist ethnography. The consumption of local food contributed to strengthening the immune system of the families and therefore the community health, as they were unharmed by the virus, the women were in charge of the care of life in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food shortages due to population growth and climate change are expected to occur in the near future as a problem that urgently requires solutions. Conventional breeding techniques, notably crossbreeding and mutation breeding, are known for being inefficient and time-consuming in obtaining seeds and seedlings with desired traits. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel methods for efficient plant breeding. Breeding by genome editing is receiving substantial attention because it can efficiently modify the target gene to obtain desired traits compared with conventional methods. Among the programmable sequence-specific nucleases that have been developed for genome editing, CRISPR-Cas12a and CRISPR-MAD7 nucleases are becoming more broadly adopted for the application of genome editing in grains, vegetables and fruits. Additionally, ST8, an improved variant of MAD7, has been developed to enhance genome editing efficiency and has potential for application to breeding of crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A distant thunder reverberates across the world, echoing a deepening crisis that extends far beyond the realm of hunger. The global food crisis, with its multifaceted dimensions, strikes at the core of societies, politics, and ethics, exposing the complex interplay of forces shaping our modern world. This crisis, as depicted in Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's evocative work Distant Thunder symbolizes the impending danger and urgency surrounding the issue of food shortage. This research paper therefore interrogates the hunger paradox and offers insights into the food crisis probing into food insecurity, socio-economic disparities, the intricate relationship between geopolitics and famine through a critical examination of how cultural representations depict relationships within and between human societies, exploring these connections any ways in which these interactions influence and are influenced by the social relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security has become a concerning issue because of global climate change and increasing populations. Agricultural production is considered one of the key factors that affects food security. The changing climate has negatively affected agricultural production, which accelerates food shortages. The supply of agricultural commodities can be heavily influenced by climate change, which leads to climate-induced agricultural productivity shocks impacting crop prices. This paper systematically reviews publications over the past ten years on the factors affecting the prices of a wide range of crops across the globe. This review presents a critical view of these factors in the context of climate change. This paper applies a systematic approach by determining the appropriate works to review with defined inclusion criteria. From this, groups of key factors affecting crop prices are found. This study finds evidence that crop prices have been both positively and negatively affected by a range of factors such as elements of climate change, biofuel, and economic factors. However, the general trend is towards increasing crop prices due to deceasing yields over time. This is the first systematic literature review which provides a comprehensive view of the factors affecting the prices of crops across the world under climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large segments of Austria-Hungary’s population were affected by an escalating food shortage during World War I, leading to widespread undernourishment, particularly in urban areas. This paper argues that this impending crisis significantly empowered scientific experts. Operating between civil society and the imperial state, these experts multiplied and strengthened their connections to both spheres during the war, emerging as major producers of policy advice. This was true even in the realm of biopolitics, where decisions were made about whom to let live and whom to let die. Focusing on eugenics and its scientific proponents, this paper traces their growing interactions with voluntary associations providing food aid and civil administration at central, municipal, and local levels. Spanning four distinct urbanized contexts in the Habsburg Empire – Vienna, Budapest, Northern Bohemia, and Prague – the analysis reveals that eugenic ideas increasingly permeated discussions about food provisioning during the war in each of these locations. By the conflict’s end, eugenics had become a pivotal discourse framing public debate on the hunger crisis, depicting it in racialized terms as an intergenerational biological threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Africa (EA), a region facing food shortages, has very little irrigation adoption compared to the rest of the world. Increasing irrigation has been shown to increase food cultivation, so governments and private organizations have been attempting to introduce irrigation products into the EA market. Despite this support, irrigation adoption rates remain low, reflecting that existing solutions do not meet the needs of medium-to-small-scale farmers. Meeting these needs is challenging due to the diversity of farmers in EA and the minimal exploration of these differences in the literature. This study sought to elucidate some of these differences and explore whether new opportunities exist for irrigation products targeting EA farmers. An interview-based market assessment was first conducted to identify key market segments and unique values that farmers in each segment may hold for an irrigation system for each segment. Then, a techno-economic feasibility analysis was used to reveal which combinations of irrigation methods and energy sources present promising opportunities for each segment. Four distinct market segments were found. Broadly, the traditional smallholder would likely most value a system that uses photovoltaic (PV) power and manual irrigation. The semi-commercial smallholder may find promising opportunities in a system that uses PV power and butterfly sprinklers. Both the medium-scale contract farmer and the remote farm owner would likely value PV panel- and drip irrigation-based systems. These identified opportunities can guide innovation for irrigation designers as they create new systems to directly serve the needs of specific market segments, with the aim of increasing irrigation and food security in EA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change presents a variety of doomsday scenarios for human society, including more extreme and frequent storms, droughts, heatwaves and fires, the heating and acidification of oceans, rising sea levels, biodiversity decline, food shortages, as well as exacerbating geopolitical tensions and conflicts.While many corporations and communities are already anticipating and planning for various climate impacts, we argue that much management research is in denial of the profound consequences of a worsening climate crisis. This is evident in the relative neglect of climate change in our research and teaching and we argue reflects how management theories legitimize the continuation of business as usual. We suggest that if the management academy is to maintain relevance in a context of worsening climate change, then we need to rethink the focus of our research and engage with newand emerging literatures and concepts that will better enable societies to undertake the complex processes of climatemitigation, adaptation, and the limitation of human suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate water, electricity, and food are essential for sustainable development. Regional conflicts intensified by global water, energy, and food shortages necessitate a rethinking of the security and interdependence of these resources. However, most earlier scholars concentrated on the subsystems of the water-energy-food nexus (WEF nexus), lacking holistic studies. Therefore, to understand the history and current state of research on the WEF nexus and predict future research directions, this study analyzed 1313 journal articles from the Web of Science database between 2007 and 2022 using the bibliometric analysis and Citespace software. The findings in this study indicate that (1) the progress of the WEF nexus research can be classified into three stages between 2007 and 2022: the early stage (2007–2010), the fast-developing stage (2011–2015), and the steady and in-depth stage (2016–2022). The WEF nexus has become a hot zone for academic research. (2) Map of the network of countries, institutions, and author collaborations implies tight academic collaboration among countries, institutions, and writers. (3) Climate change, integrated WEF nexus, sustainable development, and security are research hotspots in this field. Meanwhile, energy security, circular economy, and resource allocation are advanced subjects in this field. These key findings can provide managers and researchers with valuable information for decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]