Suchergebnisse

"Food security, food safety, healthy consumption habits, and environmental sustainability are
essential to the well-being of societies worldwide. Yet, progress in fostering sustainability in the global agrifood system has been slow at best and significant challenges remain. First, food
insecurity remains a problem for millions of people, while its range and consequences have been
aggravated by the recent food crisis (FAO 2008b). Second, repeated food scandals and health
scares constitute additional challenges for food governance (World Bank 2005). Food is the
number one cause of premature death in the western world due to the increasing consumption of
fattier, saltier, and sweeter foods and drinks (Popkin 2002). Even in many Asian countries
obesogenic diets are becoming more prevalent (Florentino 2002; IOTF 2005). Third, threats to
the provision of adequate amounts of nutritious food are expected to multiply as a result of
climate change (European Commission 2008a). At the same time, the food sector itself is a major
contributor to direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (FAO 2008a). Fourth, alternative
food products – while promising environmental and health benefits in relation to their
conventional equivalents – are also associated with costs. In India, thousands of farmers have
reportedly committed suicide, partly as a result of debt due to unfair biotech deals (Nagaraj 2008).(...)" [authors remark]

"Do political variables influence long-term environmental transitions? The discussion on the determinants of the environmental performance of countries has been dominated by a focus on the Environmental Kuznets curve. This concept concentrated primarily on the role of economic factors, in particular per capita income levels. By contrast, we outline both conceptually and empirically how political factors can affect long-term carbon trajectories. Our findings from an error-correction model suggest that political factors are an important explanatory variable for carbon emissions in over 100 countries during the period 1970-2004. The results show that political capacity reduces carbon emission in OECD countries whereas political constraints, democracy
and the Kyoto Protocol reduce long-term carbon emission in the group of all countries as well as in non-OECD countries." [author's abstract]