NotesBenthic foraminiferal distribution in surface sediments along continental slope of the southern Okinawa Trough: dependance on water masses and food supply

Benthic foraminiferal analysis of 29 samples in surface sediments from the southern Okinawa Trough is carried out. The results indicate that benthic foraminiferal abundance decreases rapidly with increasing water depth. Percentage frequencies of agglutinated foraminifera further confirm the modern shallow carbonate lysocline in the southern Okinawa Trough. From continental shelf edge to the bottom of Okinawa Trough, benthic foraminiferal fauna in the surface sediments can be divided into 5 assemblages: (1) Continental shelf break assemblage, dominated by Cibicides pseudoungerianus, corresponds to subsurface water mass of the Kuroshio Current; (2) upper continental slope assemblage, dominated by Cassidulina carinata , Globocassidulina subglobosa, corresponds to intermediate water mass of the Kuroshio Current; (3) intermediate continental slope assemblage, dominated by Uvigerina hispi-da, corresponds to the Okinawa Trough deep water mass above the carbonate lysocline; (4) lower continental slope- trough bottom assemblage, dominated by Pullenia bulloides, Epistominella exigua and Cibicidoides hyalinus, corresponds to deep water mass of the Okinawa Trough; and (5) trough bottom agglutinated assemblage, dominated by Rhabdammina spp. , Bathysiphon flavidus, corresponds to strongly dissolved environment of the trough bottom. The benthic foraminiferal fauna in the southern Okinawa Trough are controlled jointly by water masses and food supply. Water temperature, oxygen concentration and carbonate dissolution of the water masses are important controlling factors especially for the continental shelf break and trough bottom assemblages. The food supply also plays an important role in these benthic foraminiferal assemblages along the western slope of the Okinawa Trough. Both the abundance and the 5 assemblages of benthic foraminifera correspond well to the organic matter supply along the continental slope and a lateral transport of TSM (total suspended matter) and POC (particulate organic carbon) from the shelf break to the deep water is also an important food supply for benthic fauna in this region.

Impact of COVID-19 Epidemic on the International Food Supply Chain and Countermeasures of Shandong Province

The COVID-19 epidemic has exerted an impact on the global food supply chain,and also has contributed to the tendency of food hoarding and short supply;strong food demand has led to a rapid rise in international food prices,which has put enormous pressure on China's food import,and domestic food price showed a rise trend accordingly.In order to ensure sufficient and stable supply of China's food market,it is necessary to adhere to the food security strategy of"food self-sufficiency"for a long term.In the spring agricultural production,Shandong Province has taken effective measures to stabilize food production and achieved good results.It has not been greatly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic;however,under the continuous spread of foreign epidemics,we must adhere to the dual hard core operation of epidemic prevention and production,and explore the establishment of technical specifications for agricultural production under normal conditions for epidemic prevention and control to ensure the food security.

Firm Size, Innovation and Vertical Integration Incentives： The Case of Food Supply Chain

This study aims to investigate and explore the relationship between vertical integration and the firm＇s innovativeness in food supply chain. For doing so, a two-stage least-squares model was used. It encompassed instrumental variables that attempt to describe the effective determinants of firm＇s vertical integration willingness. Results based on data concerning a set of 130 food-manufacturing firms, highlighted that vertical integration of a firm is strongly affected by internal incentives such as innovation rate and firm size. Moreover, it is simultaneously influenced by the economies of scale and some structure incentives. To conclude, results indicate globally that important and statistically significant differences exist across the studied firms and the small effective ones which acquire a high level of vertical integration.

The Impact of Climate Change on Sustainable Food Supply and Environmental Safety in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The resultant climate change on sustainable food supply has greatly affected agricultural production by the level of great volumes of gasses emitted into the atmosphere by human activities. The human factors that emit large amount of green house gases include industrialization, burning of fossil fuel and gas flaring. Increase in air temperature and consequent increase in the rates of evaporation also affect the level of food supply. Data for this study were collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary source were collected through field investigation and structured questionnaire. A total of 450 questionnaires were administered. Results revealed that varieties of crops ranging from tree crops to cereals were cultivated within the study area. The effect of climate change on food supply has resulted into change in crop yields, change in rainfall pattern, soil loss and has greatly affected planting period and harvesting. The study therefore recommended awareness campaigns on the causes and consequences of global climate change on food production, environmental education and afforestation campaign programmes on sustainable food supply and environmental safety must be intensified.

High Linoleic Acid in the Food Supply Worldwide-What are the Consequences?

The macronutrient composition of food supply in China has altered dramatically in the past 70 years.Fat(oil)has increased more than 4.2-times while the carbohydrate content has declined by 34%.Vegetable oils are the major component of the fat intake and since these oils are rich in linoleic acid,there has been a significant rise in the consumption of this fatty acid(as much as a 4-fold rise).Linoleic acid has essential functions in the body in skin and as a precursor of prostaglandins and related compounds.The current intakes of linoleic acid are well in excess of the minimum requirements.In this review,the effects of a food supply rich in linoleic acid on pain in arthritis and headache,non-alcoholic fatty liver and neural function are explored,with emphasis on lipid mediators derived from linoleic acid and other long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.The current world food systems have created an imbalance of dietary linoleic acid in relation to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids,and an imbalance in the lipid mediators derived from these polyunsaturated fatty acids which may be contributing to sub-optimal health status.

Sustainability of Local Food Supply Chain in the New Theory Agriculture

World food production and its economic have rapidly grown over a decade; and number of supply chain management research has also increased in this field. However, this development relates to natural resources depletion and deterioration of quality of life in rural population, especially in smallholder farmers. Thailand has practiced the New Theory Agriculture （NTA）, one application aligned with sufficient economy. This theory not only remedies damaged natural resources but also helps smallholder farmers to improve quality of life; and it is analogous to local food supply chain theory, that is well-known in western countries. However, NTA has not been measured its sustainability. Following sustainable food criteria and sustainable agriculture criteria, this paper uses an Indicator of Sustainable Agricultural Practice （ISAP） to measure sustainability at farm level of small rural community＇s network called Inpaeng, a case study that has practiced NTA. The result of assessment in this case implies that NTA yields sustainability to local food supply chain more than monocrop system.

Slackening of Food Supply Chain during COVID-19 and Affecting Livelihood - A Global Concern

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought about another age on world as the human civilization is restricted in many aspects of everyday lives.There is no exception in the sector of food production and the supply chain of food.Due to constraints on demand,shutting of food production facilities,financial limitations,enterprise operations and delivery of different food items have been interrupted in the food supply chain.Every nation must comprehend the importance of the situation according to the spreading scenario of the ongoing pandemic.The probability of transmission via the food sector is regarded inconsequential,and the public authorities do not believe it necessary to follow COVID into workplaces.The unfavourable effects on the climate,the food framework and the people of the foodstuffs network are evident.An installation for the food supply chain should focus on amenities such as maintaining the safety and health of employees and changing working circumstances.This paper aims at discussing the effects of COVID-19 on the socio-economic status of human being including the negative impacts on the agriculture and food supply chain.

Assessing the Impact of Catastrophic Electricity Loss on the Food Supply Chain

The food supply chain’s heavy reliance on electricity poses signifcant vulnerabilities in the event of prolonged and widespread power disruptions.This study introduces a system-dynamics model that integrates fve critical infrastructures-electric grid,liquid fossil fuels,Internet,transportation,and human workforce-to evaluate the resilience of food supply chains to major power outages.We validated the model using the 2019 Venezuelan blackouts as a case study,demonstrating its predictive validity.We then explored how more extreme electricity losses would disrupt the supply chain.More specifcally,we modeled the impact of a large-scale cyberattack on the US electric grid and a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse(HEMP)event.A cyberattack severely damaging the US electric grid and allowing for recovery within a few weeks or months would lead to substantial drops in food consumption.However,it would likely still be possible to provide adequate calories to everyone,assuming that food is equitably distributed.In contrast,a year-long recovery from a HEMP event afecting most of the continental United States could precipitate a state of famine.Our analysis represents a frst attempt at quantifying how food availability progressively worsens as power outages extend over time.Our open-source model is made publicly available,and we encourage its application to other catastrophic scenarios beyond those specifcally considered in this work(for example,extreme solar storms,high-lethality pandemics).

Blockchain adoption or contingent sourcing? Advancing food supply chain resilience in the post-pandemic era

In the post-pandemic era, food supply chains and firms therein are facing unprecedented severe challenges, because once infection is detected, numerous products must be recalled or abandoned, and both suppliers and retailers in the supply chain suffer enormous loss. To survive under the pandemic, retailers have adopted different sourcing strategies, such as contingent sourcing, which, in turn, affect the upstream suppliers and hence the resilience of the whole supply chain. With the rapid development of digital technologies, retailers nowadays can utilize blockchain as a reliable and efficient way to reduce product risk and hence advance the resilience of food supply chains by improving product traceability and inspection accuracy, and making sourcing transparent. In this paper, we develop a game-theoretic model to investigate the interrelation between the retailer’s decisions on blockchain adoption and sourcing strategies. We consider that a retailer originally orders from a risky supplier while conducting an imperfect inspection to detect infected products before selling. The retailer may speculatively keep on ordering from the risky supplier or adopt contingent sourcing by ordering from an alternative safe supplier. The retailer also has an option to implement blockchain to improve the inspection accuracy and product traceability. We derive the optimal retail prices under different sourcing strategies with and without blockchain adoption and then analyze the incentives for sourcing strategy and blockchain adoption. Then, we identify the conditions of an all-win situation for food retailer, supplier, supply chain resilience, and consumers with/without government subsidy. Finally, we extend to consider the situation that some consumers have health-safety concerns and preferences for blockchain adoption.

Enabling affordances of blockchain in agri-food supply chains:A value-driver framework using Q-methodology

The application of blockchain beyond cryptocurrencies has received increasing attention from industry and scholars alike.Given predicted looming food crises,some of the most impactful deployments of blockchains are likely to concern food supply chains.This study outlined how blockchain adoption can result in positive affordances in the food supply chain.Using Q-methodology,this study explored the current status of the agri-food supply chain and how blockchain technology could be useful in addressing existing challenges.This theorization leads to the proposition of the 3TIC value-driver framework for determining the enabling affordances of blockchain that would increase shared value for stakeholders.First,we propose a framework based on the most promising features of blockchain technology to overcome current challenges in the agri-food industry.Our value-driver framework is driven by the Q-study findings of respondents closely associated with the agri-food supply chain.This framework can provide supply chain stakeholders with a clear perception of blockchain affordances and serve as a guideline for utilizing appropriate features of technology that match organizations’capabilities,core competencies,goals,and limitations.Therefore,it could assist top-level decision-makers in systematically evaluating parts of the organization to focus on and improve the infrastructure for successful blockchain implementation along the agri-food supply chain.We conclude by noting certain significant challenges that must be carefully addressed to successfully adopt blockchain technology.

A STUDY ON DECISION-MAKING OF FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN BASED ON BIG DATA

As more and more companies have captured and analyzed huge volumes of data to improve the performance of supply chain, this paper develops a big data harvest model that uses big data as inputs to make more informed production decisions in the food supply chain. By introducing a method of Bayesian network, this paper integrates sample data and finds a cause-and-effect between data to predict market demand. Then the deduction graph model that translates products demand into processes and divides processes into tasks and assets is presented, and an example of how big data in the food supply chain can be combined with Bayesian network and deduction graph model to guide production decision. Our conclusions indicate that the analytical framework has vast potential for supporting support decision making by extracting value t^om big data.

Impact of changes in precipitation pattern on food supply in a monsoon interlacing area and its mechanism:A case study of Yunnan Province

Following climate change,changes in precipitation patterns and food security are major challenges faced by humans.However,research on how these changes in precipitation pattern impacts food supply is limited.This study aims to elucidate this impact and response mechanisms using precipitation data of a climate change-sensitive confluence zone of the southwest and southeast monsoons in Yunnan Province from 1988 to 2018.The results revealed that the precipitation pattern could be divided into three periods:abundant precipitation(Stage I,from 1988 to 2004),decreased precipitation(Stage II,from 2005 to 2015),and drought recovery(Stage III,from 2016 to 2018).Following the transition from Stage I to Stage II and from Stage II to Stage III,the area of precipitation changed significantly,accounting for 15.07%,13.87%,and 16.53%of Yunnan’s total area,for Stages I,II,and III,respectively.At the provincial level,a significant positive correlation was observed between precipitation and food production(r=0.535,P<0.01),and the correlation coefficient between precipitation and grain yield was higher than that between precipitation and meat and milk production.Based on a precipitation–grain yield transect and breakpoint detection method,key precipitation thresholds affecting grain yield were estimated as 700 and 1500 mm,respectively;when precipitation was<700,700–1500,and≥1500 mm,the correlation coefficients between precipitation and grain yield were 0.448(P<0.01),0.370(P<0.01),and–0.229(P>0.05),respectively.Based on the precipitation thresholds,Yunnan Province can be divided into precipitation surplus,precipitation equilibrium,and precipitation deficit regions,corresponding countermeasures to stabilize grain yield were proposed for each of these regions.The threshold effect of precipitation on grain yield is controlled by molecular-level water–crop mechanisms,in which reactive oxygen species,a by-product of plant aerobic metabolism,plays a key regulatory role.

Traceability implementation in food supply chain: A grey-DEMATEL approach

Numerous incidents of food adulteration,fraudulence and foodborne disease outbreaks have shaken the consumer confidence towards the food they consume.These incidents compel the Food Supply Chain(FSC)partners to implement an appropriate traceability system in their respective supply chains to sustain the consumer confidence.The objective of this research is to identify the drivers(major factors)which play a significant role in the successful implementation of the traceability system in FSC and evaluate the causal relationships developing therein.Twelve drivers are identified towards implementation of the traceability system in FSC through literature review and supported with expert’s opinion.The grey-based DEMATEL approach is identified to evaluate these relationships among the drivers according to their net effect.Further,these drivers ranked based on the prominence and effect score.The finding of this research shows that the drivers are clustered into two groups namely:influential(cause)and influenced(effect)group.Four drivers belong to the influential group,and remaining eight are from the influenced group.The most influential driver is the “food safety and quality”which provide a significant effect on the implementation of a traceability system.This research can be a building block to develop a framework to implement the traceability system within FSC and assist the policymakers,and practitioners to identify and evaluate drivers related to the implementation of traceability system in FSC.This paper also provides a useful insight&support to the practitioners and managers in decision making for traceability implementation related issues。

Changes in the food supply capacity of alpine grassland ecosystem:A dialectic synthesis of natural and anthropogenic drivers

Grassland-based animal husbandry and livestock production is the main contributor to livelihood creation for herdsmen.By using the structural dynamics method,this study quantified the changes in the food supply capacity(FSC)of alpine grassland ecosystem and sensitivity to significant variables.The findings indicated that:i)Natural factors were the dominated forces affecting FSC,and their contribution was 71.3%.Of these natural elements,the net primary productivity(NPP)and precipitation were the largest contributors,accounting for approximately 35%.The sensitivity index of the FSC to NPP and precipitation during grassland growing season were 4.1 and 1.9 respectively.On the contrary,human factors like warm shed area,density of road,capacity for access to information,contributed to 28.7%of the total FSC.ii)More intense snow disaster had a larger negative impact on FSC.Snow disaster can cause dramatic reduction in FSC,with a loss rate of 27.6%and with none intense disaster more negative impacts,iii)The continuing increase of FSC in the past 30 years from 1984 to 2014 was due to the significant increase of precipitation and NPP in the growing season of alpine grassland.Evidently,successful adaptation to climate change was critical to combat the climatic adversely impact on FSC.Typically,strengthening information dissemination,road accessibility and knowledge popularization of local residents'disaster reduction should be place high priority for improving FSC。

Quality control in food supply chain with dynamic quality characteristics

Food adulteration in recent years has attracted wide media and public attention.Preventing and controlling risk factors that harm the quality and safety of the food supply chain and reducing the probability of food safety incidents have become important concerns for all main participant groups in the food supply chain.In this study,we use a differential game model to examine the strategic quality control behaviour of participants in a food supply chain comprising two food raw material suppliers and one food manufacturer.We study two cases,one of the centralised system and one of the decentralised system,and fully characterise the equilibrium quality control decisions of all participants in both cases.The findings show that under the centralised setting,the quality control of the raw material suppliers and the manufacturer reaches the optimal level.More importantly,the system can reach coordination through participants sharing their quality cost.

The prospects for China＇＇s food security and imports： Will China starve the world via imports？

China＇s food supply and demand have significant implications for both China＇s own national food security and that of the world. This study reviews China＇s food security prospects and their implications, focusing on international trade in the coming decade. The results show that China＇s policies for ensuring food security will be enhanced and China will move to sustainable agriculture. Most studies anticipate that China will increase its food and feed imports in the coming decade. China＇s overall food self-sufficiency is likely to fall from 94.5% in 2015 to around 91% by 2025. The greatest increases in imports are likely to be soybean, maize, sugar, and dairy products. However, within the production capacity of the major exporting countries and of many food-importing developing countries, China＇s additional imports of 3 to 5% of its total food consumption in the coming decade are unlikely to threaten global food security. Indeed, the projected imports of feed and several foods could provide opportunities for many exporting countries to expand their production and save global resources.

Poverty reduction through the development of inclusive food value chains

Propelled by urbanization,rising incomes,and changing diets,food markets have been expanding in Africa and South Asia,creating the vast potential for job and income opportunities along food supply chains and,hence,for poverty reduction.The novel coronavirus(COVID-19)that spread to a pandemic in early 2020 provokes enormous setbacks to this expansion.This,however,should provide lessons regarding the importance of resilient and inclusive food systems.Emergency responses to COVID-19 should consider interventions towards that end and leverage the opportunities provided by food markets growth as economies recover from the present economic recession.This paper assesses options of how this could be done by facilitating the better functioning and interconnectedness of the many small and medium-sized enterprises that are proliferating along the"hidden middle"of food value chains in storage,logistics,transportation,and wholesale and retail distribution.It also explores how policies can help smallholder farmers connect to this"hidden middle"in more gainful ways and help them climb out of poverty as well.

Finite State Automaton for Food Traceability

To model the operation of food traceability, features of food supply chain are studied. The aim of the paper is to build an abstract model of food traceability, and to gain better understanding of food traceability and food safety. Based on the analysis of consumers＇ behavior of searching for traceability information, a finite state automaton for food traceability is presented by using automata theory. The states of the food supply chain are represented by a state transition diagram. The automaton in this paper simulates the entire food supply chain and provides a theoretical basis for the behavior description and structural design of a food traceability system.

A Food Traceability System Based on Blockchain and Radio Frequency Identification Technologies

The frequent occurrence of food safety accidents at the global level has triggered consumer sensitivity. Establishing a food traceability system can effectively guarantee food safety and increase consumer confidence and satisfaction. Existing food traceability systems often ignore environmental factors that affect food quality at all stages of the supply chain, and the authenticity of the information obtained through traceability is difficult to guarantee. In this study, a food supply chain traceability model was established based on blockchain and radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies. The model focused on the traceability of environmental data during the various stages of the food supply chain and combined a centralized database and blockchain for data storage. The lot identification data of the various supply chain stages were stored in a centralized database, while the environmental data were stored in a blockchain. Thereby, the authenticity and accuracy of the traceability data were ensured. The blockchain part of the model has been simulated in the Ethereum test environment, and the experiment has achieved traceability of temperature data.