Although research has demonstrated the positive nutritional value and environmental benefits associated with edible insect consumption, several factors challenge the growth and development of the edible insect industry for human consumption in the US and Canada. Cultural and psychological factors account for much of the aversion US and Canadian consumers display. The absence of specific regulation also constitutes a structural barrier to more widespread production and sale of edible insects. Compared to the US, the European Union has a more developed edible insect industry and has enacted legislation that removes some of the barriers. As consumer awareness of the putative health benefits of edible insects increases, more comprehensive regulations may emerge to keep pace with the growth of this industry. Overall, a multi-disciplinary approach that addresses both benefits and barriers to consumption is needed to facilitate a robust market for edible insects in the US and Canada.

Faced with a society that demands the reduction of negative environmental impacts of agriculture while producing high-value, healthy food for local and export markets, Argentina is currently in a debate on the alternative paths toward sustainability in agricultural production. Argentina is ranked second in the world in terms of land under organic certification. Extensive sheep production in Patagonia natural grasslands accounts for most of this area and harvested organic area remains a very small fraction of total harvested land (0.6%). This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of opportunities and limitations in organic farming as an ecological intensification alternative for Argentina's Pampas. A case study was conducted on Pampa Orgánica Norte. This is a group of nine organic farmers that manages field crops and livestock-certified organic production. Farmers interviewed in this study considered different criteria including economic and environmental attributes when choosing to produce organically. However, the main drivers for conversion to organic production are related to environmental factors, in particular ecosystem protection. The main limitations in organic production are related to crop management practices, primarily weed control. To achieve the goal of increasing organic production a more active role of the public sector in technology generation and transfer was demanded by farmers.

This study uses choice experiments to assess fresh produce and hay/forage grower preferred drought management strategies, the level of drought at which growers adopt specific management strategies and the level of drought at which they choose to exit farming in the arid west. Results show preferred strategies differ by drought level and across grower groups. Using logit models, we find that fresh produce growers prefer adopting a water-saving technology (cover crops, manure/mulch application, etc.) and hay/forage growers prefer switching to a more efficient irrigation system. Growers would only exit farming in extreme circumstances such as loss of all water resources. Policies aimed at assisting growers with drought adaptation should focus on preferred strategies to ensure effectiveness. Incentives to offset adoption costs are also recommended. Additionally, growers may benefit from information related to productivity changes under various drought management strategies and drought scenarios.

Experimental findings on rotational grazing (RG) trials have generally differed from producer observations of RG outcomes on commercial scale ranches. Factors such as small plot size, short duration trials and relatively rigid grazing management that lacks responsiveness to the dynamic and complex social-ecological systems in grazing trials could all contribute to this disparity in outcomes. These differences call for a better understanding of producer perceptions of RG benefits. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed 4500 producers from the Northern and Southern Great Plains of the USA. Among the 875 respondents, 40.5% reported that they used continuous grazing (CG), 52.7% implemented RG management in an extensive manner, while 6.8% adopted management intensive grazing. Compared with CG users, adopters of RG in its extensive and intensive form reported an average annual increase of grazing season by 7.6 and 39.3 days, respectively. When controlling for producer demographics, ranch management goals and other rancher characteristics, we found soil and climate heterogeneity significantly affected the perceived relative benefits of RG vs CG strategies. Therefore, instead of focusing on whether RG outperforms CG per se, future research could focus on comparison of RG benefits under different management intensity levels and identifying soil and climate conditions where RG benefits are more noticeable.

This study examines the effect of cereal and livestock production-induced greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) across high-, middle- and low-income countries from 2002 to 2016. A structural equation formulated within an environmental modeling framework is tested using the balanced panel-corrected standard errors estimation procedure. The findings showed that total food production is strongly correlated with methane and nitrous oxide in high-income countries and nitrous oxide emissions in middle-income countries. After disaggregating total food production into cereal and livestock production, the findings revealed that cereal production is positively and statistically significantly correlated with nitrous oxide emissions in high- and middle-income countries. The findings also confirmed that livestock production is positively and statistically significantly correlated with methane and nitrous oxide emissions in high-income countries. Incomes, industrial expansion, forest cover and education are other strong common determinants of GHGs in all three income categories of countries. The prime policy implication of this finding is the need for the food producers to transit toward environmentally cleaner and sustainable food production systems that mitigate GHGs and improve environmental performance and comply with the broader objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 12, 13 and 15 (United Nations, 2015a, p. 3) relating to sustainable production, climate action and life on land, respectively.

In France, hypermarkets are the main shopping sites for food products. Therefore, the food-purchasing profiles of their regular customers may be a relevant indicator of the sustainability and health potentials of consumed diets. Knowing this information can be a step to address the issue of global health. The main objective of this study was to assess the sustainability and health potential of food-purchasing behaviors among regular adult customers, with or without children, of a leading French retailer. Secondarily, the cost of a sustainable food shopping cart was evaluated as regards the regular one, as calculated in this study. Purchasing receipts corresponding to 38,168 different food products were collected during one consecutive month for each four seasons in 2019 to assess compliance with a newly developed holistic indicator of food system sustainability, i.e., the 3V rule, recommending food consumption to be ‘Vegetal’/plant-based (≈15% animal calories/day), ‘Vrai’/real (max. 15% ultra-processed food calories/day, UPF) and ‘Varié’/varied. Participants were 708 regular buyers (aged ≥18 with different socio-economic profiles, with and without children) in 122 French hypermarkets. The plant rule was based on the animal and plant origin of food ingredients, including mixed products; the ‘real’ rule was evaluated with the Siga score according to the degree of processing to identify UPFs. The varied rule was defined based on a combination of food ‘categories × families’. The effect of children and season on the purchased animal and UPF calories and on the variety index was also evaluated. Multivariate and decision tree analyses were applied to compare consumers for their 3V rule profile similarities and differences, and to look for impacts of the presence or absence of children. Customers' purchases were far from the 3V rule, with a median of 41% animal and 61% UPF calories and a median variety index of 25% (compared to the consumer with the highest index set to 100%). There was no difference in purchased animal and UPF percentages neither according to seasons nor the presence of children. However, the presence of children was associated with a higher variety index (+33%, P < 0.05). Finally, the more the consumers purchased varied, the less they purchased UPFs. Compared to the average food basket, a 3V-based basket would cost 4.6% less. To make this basket accessible to everyone and to orientate consumer's purchasing behaviors toward more sustainable and healthier products, and hence food systems, hypermarkets should promote healthy eating and reassess their food offerings.

Positive relationships between plant species diversity, soil microbial function and nutrient cycling have been well documented in natural systems, and these relationships have the potential to improve the production and sustainability of agroecosystems. Our objectives were to study the long-term effects of planted species composition and nitrogen (N) fertilization on soil microbial biomass C, extracellular enzyme activity, changes in total soil C, soil fertility and aboveground biomass yield in mixtures of native prairie species managed with and without N fertilizer for bioenergy production at four sites in Minnesota (MN), USA. Species were sown into mixture treatments and composition was not maintained (i.e., no weeding) throughout the duration of the study. Species mixture treatments at establishment included a switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) monoculture (SG), a four-species grass mixture (GM), an eight-species legume/grass mixture (LG) and a 24-species high diversity forb/legume/grass mixture (HD). Species diversity and aboveground productivity were similar for most mixture treatments at final sampling after 11 or 12 years of succession. Despite this homogenization of productivity and diversity throughout the study, the effects of planted species diversity and a decade of succession resulted in some differences in soil variables across species mixture treatments. On a peat soil in Roseau, MN, soil enzyme activities including β-glucosidase (BG), cellobiohydrolase (CBH) and phosphatase (PHOS) were highest in HD compared to GM treatments. On a sandy soil at Becker, MN, total soil C increased in all treatment combinations at the 0–15 and 15–30 cm depth intervals, with SG showing greater increases than HD at the 15–30 cm depth. Final soil pH also varied by species mixture at the Becker and Roseau sites, but differences in treatment comparisons varied by location. Nitrogen fertilization did not affect any response variable alone, but interacted with species mixture treatment to influence PHOS and total soil C at Becker. The inconsistent effects of species mixture and N fertilization on soil biological and chemical properties observed across sites highlight the importance of local soil and climate conditions on bioenergy and ecosystem service provisioning of perennial bioenergy cropping systems.

In the Mediterranean Basin, sheep meat production systems are based on grazing, and help to conserve biodiversity, mitigate the greenhouse gases emissions and maintain the population in rural areas. However, the lack of differentiation of pastoral systems, as opposed to the intensive model, puts its continuity at risk. In this sense, organic farming can be an alternative to sustain extensive sheep-cereal production systems in marginal Mediterranean drylands. The aim of this research was to evaluate the conversion possibilities of pastoral meat sheep production systems to the organic production model in the Mediterranean Basin, working with the autochthonous Segureña breed sheep. 46 farms were studied, classified into four clusters by mean of multivariate analysis. In order to determine the degree to which farms approached the organic model, 60 variables, grouped into nine indicators were analyzed to obtain an Organic Conversion Index (OCI). The Nutritional management indicator has a high value of approaching the organic model, as well as Animal welfare and Food safety. Marketing and business management, Breeds and reproduction, Weed and pest control and Sustainable pasture management indicators also reach a good approximation level. Only the Breeds and reproduction indicator presented values with significant differences between clusters. The average value of the OCI for the 46 farms ranges from 63 to 70%, and therefore it can be concluded that extensive meat sheep herds in the region are close to this production model. Among the recommendations that can be made to improve the conversion possibilities to the organic model are: (i) to increase own fodder production or find a way to obtain it easily and economically; (ii) to complete the plant−soil−animal cycle, (iii) to seek greater marketing autonomy and (iv) to achieve closer contact with the final consumer. At the same time, government policy both in Spain and other parts of Europe should persevere to find more ways to support the progress of this type of production, in an effort to address limitations and overcome the lack of alternative markets.

Agriculture is one of the high input energy using sectors which ultimately produces the output energy for the survival of human beings. Wheat is an important cereal in the agriculture production system. It is a major food crop and staple food for many countries in the world. Higher population growth has increased demand for wheat, and this demand has been met through the adoption of modern agricultural practices which are heavily dependent on energy. The current study was planned to examine the input energy use efficiency of rainfed wheat growers in Pakistan and Turkey (countries among the top 10 global wheat producers). A total of 119 wheat growers from the rainfed areas of both countries were randomly selected. The data envelopment analysis was executed to estimate the input energy use efficiency score of the growers. The results of the study revealed that almost a similar source of input energy is used in both countries in wheat cultivation. The largest input energy consumption in Turkey was nitrogen fertilizer (10,531.50 MJ ha−1), while in Pakistan was farmyard manure (12,837.32 MJ ha−1). The Turkish growers have higher energy use efficiency 2.42 as compared to Pakistani growers, whose energy use efficiency was 1.09. Results further revealed that there is a substantial potential for energy savings in both countries by optimizing energy use. The study concluded that the exchange of energy-efficient practices between both countries can significantly reduce energy use and improve the yield of wheat.

Extensive and semi-extensive production based on local swine breeds such as Majorcan Black Pig, Cinta Senese, Gascon, Krškopolje and Turopolje is becoming extremely rare and on the verge of disappearing in Europe. In this context, the main aim of this study was to assess the potential feasibility of marketing strategies to act as guidelines for stakeholders along the supply chain to create and improve added value and match market demands. The sustainability of five production systems was evaluated together with 60 stakeholders representing five local swine breeds, using a World Café (WC) method combined with an Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). The results showed that the proposed strategies could differ slightly depending on each system, while the product strategy was a common marketing priority for most of the stakeholders and represented all the systems evaluated. Diversifying production toward quality, innovative products, enhanced standardization, and quality labeling or seals of guarantee, such as the protected geographical indication or the protected designation of origin, would contribute to the sustainability of these chains. Advertising the storytelling of the meat products and emphasizing their healthier properties were also considered as positive strategies. To this effect, promotion should involve improving knowledge of the local systems and raising the profile of the meat products via public relations (networks, web pages, food and gastronomic events, workshops and so on) in the Hotels, Restaurants and Catering (HORECA) sector, stores selling top-quality products and local food shops. Better showcasing of these products and keeping the price in the premium segment would indirectly help the primary sector. By way of conclusion, other more developed local swine systems could be strong competitors, hence it is extremely important to effectively identify and trace all autochthonous swine breed products throughout the production chain. Furthermore, the entire chain must place greater emphasis on grazing (extensive or semi-extensive), the origin of the swine and their meat products. However, of utmost importance is cooperation between farms, firms and institutions.