When goliaths clash: US and EU differences over the labeling of food products derived from genetically modified organisms     

Andy Thorpe  Catherine Robinson 《Agriculture and Human Values》2004,21(4):287-298

There is a fundamental divergence of opinion between the EU and the US over how food products derived from genetically modified organisms should be labeled. This has less to do with safety, as moves towards the international harmonization of safety standards continue apace, and rather more to do with the consumers' right to know about the origins of the food they are consuming. This paper uses a framework drawn from the global public goods (GPG) literature of economics and the work by international relations theorists on formal international organizations (FIO) to explain why there is presently no global consensus on the manner (voluntary or mandatory) in which GM food products should be labeled.  相似文献   

Kilimanjaro ice core records: evidence of holocene climate change in tropical Africa   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Thompson LG  Mosley-Thompson E  Davis ME  Henderson KA  Brecher HH  Zagorodnov VS  Mashiotta TA  Lin PN  Mikhalenko VN  Hardy DR  Beer J 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2002,298(5593):589-593

Six ice cores from Kilimanjaro provide an approximately 11.7-thousand-year record of Holocene climate and environmental variability for eastern equatorial Africa, including three periods of abrupt climate change: approximately 8.3, approximately 5.2, and approximately 4 thousand years ago (ka). The latter is coincident with the "First Dark Age," the period of the greatest historically recorded drought in tropical Africa. Variable deposition of F- and Na+ during the African Humid Period suggests rapidly fluctuating lake levels between approximately 11.7 and 4 ka. Over the 20th century, the areal extent of Kilimanjaro's ice fields has decreased approximately 80%, and if current climatological conditions persist, the remaining ice fields are likely to disappear between 2015 and 2020.  相似文献   

Tracing the origin and fate of NOx in the Arctic atmosphere using stable isotopes in nitrate     

Morin S  Savarino J  Frey MM  Yan N  Bekki S  Bottenheim JW  Martins JM 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2008,322(5902):730-732

Atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NOx =NO+ NO2) play a pivotal role in the cycling of reactive nitrogen (ultimately deposited as nitrate) and the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. Combined measurements of nitrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios of nitrate collected in the Arctic atmosphere were used to infer the origin and fate of NOx and nitrate on a seasonal basis. In spring, photochemically driven emissions of reactive nitrogen from the snowpack into the atmosphere make local oxidation of NOx by bromine oxide the major contributor to the nitrate budget. The comprehensive isotopic composition of nitrate provides strong constraints on the relative importance of the key atmospheric oxidants in the present atmosphere, with the potential for extension into the past using ice cores.  相似文献   

Soil Test,Aerial Image and Yield Data as Inputs for Site-specific Fertility and Hybrid Management Under Maize     

Antoni Magri  Harold M. Van Es  Michael A. Glos  William J. Cox 《Precision Agriculture》2005,6(1):87-110

Several potential sources of information exist to support precision management of crop inputs. This study evaluated soil test data, bare-soil remote sensing imagery and yield monitor information for their potential contributions to precision management of maize (Zea mays L.). Data were collected from five farmer-managed fields in Central New York in 1999, 2000, and 2001. Geostatistical techniques were used to analyze the spatial structure of soil fertility (pH, P, K, NO₃ and organic matter content) and yield variables (yield, hybrid response and N fertilization response), while remote sensing imagery was processed using principal component analysis. Geographic information system (GIS) spatial data processing and correlation analyses were used to evaluate relationships in the data. Organic matter content, pH, P, and K were highly consistent over time and showed high to moderate levels of spatial autocorrelation, suggesting that grid soil sampling at 2.5–5.5ha scale may be used as a basis for defining fertility management zones. Soil nitrate levels were strongly influenced by seasonal weather conditions and showed low potential for site-specific N management. Aerial image data were correlated to soil organic matter content and in some cases to yield, mainly through the effect of drainage patterns. Aerial image data were not well correlated with soil fertility indicators, and therefore were not useful for defining fertility management zones. Yield response to hybrid selection and nitrogen fertilization rates were highly variable among years, and showed little justification for site-specific management. In conclusion, we recommend grid-based management of lime, P, and K, but no justification existed within our limited study area for site-specific N or hybrid management.  相似文献   

From the editor     

Harvey James 《Agriculture and Human Values》2007,24(4):423-424

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The role of informal contracts in the growth of small cattle herds on the floodplains of the Lower Amazon     

Frank D. Merry  Pervaze A. Sheikh  David G. Mcgrath 《Agriculture and Human Values》2004,21(4):377-386

In the absence of access to formal credit, informal contracts with independent investors give the small ranchers of the Lower Amazon an acceptable means through which to surmount the high investment hurdle of starting a cattle herd. These contracts – called sociedades – allow small ranchers to raise an outside investor's cattle in return for a portion of the offspring and are commonplace in the cattle production systems of the Amazon. But, notwithstanding a vast literature on cattle production in the Amazon, informal contracts have been largely overlooked. This paper presents the results of a field survey and financial analysis for informal contracts on small ranches in the Lower Amazon. In the results, we suggest that informal contracts are an important means of cattle herd start-up and herd production for small ranchers. Internal rates of returns in cattle production under these contracts are in the range of –7 to –12% for the small rancher and 12% for the investor. The net present value of the contract to the small rancher ranges from –R$1219 to –R$8599 and from R$1681 to R$8845 for the investor, for a 10-year period, depending on herd size. Financial returns contracts are sensitive to the contract design – e.g., to who pays health costs – and to beef prices. The small ranchers have a negative IRR, lose money, and bear all the risk of loss, yet persist in using this form of herd development. We surmise that this is due to the non-financial benefits of cattle ownership and the lack of access to formal credit structures. In conclusion, although outside the formal economy and apparently financially unrewarding, these contracts are an important mechanism by which the small ranchers on the Amazon Floodplains create cattle herds.  相似文献   

Book review: <Emphasis Type="Bold">Genetically Modified Foods: Debating Biotechnology</Emphasis>Edited by Michael Ruse and David Castle. Amherst,New York: Prometheus Books, 2002, 355 pp., ISBN 1-57392-996-4     

David A. Cleveland 《Agriculture and Human Values》2004,21(4):421-422

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Adventurous food futures: knowing about alternatives is not enough,we need to feel them     

Michael Carolan 《Agriculture and Human Values》2016,33(1):141-152

This paper investigates how we can enact, collectively, affording food systems. Yet rather than asking simply what those assemblages might look like the author enquires as to how they might also feel. Building on existing literature that speaks to the radically relational, and deeply affective, nature of food the aims of this paper are multiple: to learn more about how moments of difference come about in otherwise seemingly banal encounters; to understand some of the processes by which novelty ripples out, up, and through social bodies; to speak to, and suggest ways to resolve, ontological asymmetries within the agrifood literature pertaining to Cartesian dualisms; and to offer ways forward that allow agrifood scholars to talk about phenomena such as feelings and structures/barriers in the same sentence. The empirical flesh of the paper comes from an admittedly unconventional case study. On December 10, 2012, Amendment 64 was added to Colorado’s constitution making it legal for adults to consume marijuana for recreational purposes. The case examined is not about pot, however. The paper, rather, is about hopeful, hydroponic-inspired, agrifood futures; novel doings, feelings, and thinkings sparked by, among other things, food grown in basements and spare bedrooms.  相似文献   

Estimation of the rootzone depth above a gravel layer (in wild blueberry fields) using electromagnetic induction method     

Fahad S. Khan  Qamar U. Zaman  Young K. Chang  Aitazaz A. Farooque  Arnold W. Schumann  Ali Madani 《Precision Agriculture》2016,17(2):155-167

Wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) fields in the north east Canada are naturally grown in a course textured thin layer of soil and below this layer is a soilless layer of gravel. The root zone depth of this crop varies from 10 to 15 cm. Investigating the depth to the gravel layer below the course textured soil is advantageous, as it affects the water holding capacity of the root zone. Water and nutrient management are the two primary determinants of crop yield and the amount of leaching. The objective of this study was to estimate the depth to the gravel layer using DualEM-2 instrument. A C++ program written in Visual Studio 2010 was used to develop mathematical models for estimating the depth to the gravel layer from the outputs of DualEM-2 sensor. Two wild blueberry fields were selected in central Nova Scotia, Canada to evaluate the performance of DualEM-2 instrument in estimating the rootzone depth above the gravel layer. The mid points of squares created by grid lines were used as the sampling points at each experimental site. The actual depth to the interface was measured manually at selected grid points (n = 50). The apparent ground conductivity (EC_a) values of DualEM-2 were recorded and the depth to the interface was estimated for the same sampling points within the selected fields. The fruit yield samples were also collected from the same grid points to identify the impact of the depth to the gravel layer on crop yield. After calibrations, comprehensive surveys were conducted and the actual and estimated depths to the interface were established. The interpolated maps of fruit yield, and the actual (z_in) and estimated (\( {\text{z}}_{\text{in}}^{*} \)) depths to the interface were created in ArcGIS 10 software. Results indicated that the z_in was significantly correlated with \( {\text{z}}_{\text{in}}^{*} \) for the North River (R ² = 0.73; RMSE = 0.27 m) and the Carmel (R ² = 0.45; RMSE = 0.20 m) sites. Results revealed that the areas with shallow depth to the gravel layer were low yielding, indicating that the variation in the depth to the gravel layer can have an impact on crop productivity. Non-destructive estimations of the depth to the gravel layer can be used to develop erosion control strategies, which will result in an increased crop production.  相似文献   

The ecoresponsive genome of Daphnia pulex     

Colbourne JK  Pfrender ME  Gilbert D  Thomas WK  Tucker A  Oakley TH  Tokishita S  Aerts A  Arnold GJ  Basu MK  Bauer DJ  Cáceres CE  Carmel L  Casola C  Choi JH  Detter JC  Dong Q  Dusheyko S  Eads BD  Fröhlich T  Geiler-Samerotte KA  Gerlach D  Hatcher P  Jogdeo S  Krijgsveld J  Kriventseva EV  Kültz D  Laforsch C  Lindquist E  Lopez J  Manak JR  Muller J  Pangilinan J  Patwardhan RP  Pitluck S  Pritham EJ  Rechtsteiner A  Rho M  Rogozin IB  Sakarya O  Salamov A  Schaack S  Shapiro H  Shiga Y  Skalitzky C  Smith Z  Souvorov A  Sung W 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2011,331(6017):555-561

We describe the draft genome of the microcrustacean Daphnia pulex, which is only 200 megabases and contains at least 30,907 genes. The high gene count is a consequence of an elevated rate of gene duplication resulting in tandem gene clusters. More than a third of Daphnia's genes have no detectable homologs in any other available proteome, and the most amplified gene families are specific to the Daphnia lineage. The coexpansion of gene families interacting within metabolic pathways suggests that the maintenance of duplicated genes is not random, and the analysis of gene expression under different environmental conditions reveals that numerous paralogs acquire divergent expression patterns soon after duplication. Daphnia-specific genes, including many additional loci within sequenced regions that are otherwise devoid of annotations, are the most responsive genes to ecological challenges.  相似文献