New technologies have the potential to transform the agri-food industry by improving agricultural productivity. Recent innovations in this sector are making a useful contribution to environmental sustainability as well. This new book presents advanced methods and modern technologies in agri-food sectors to improve environmental health and food security on a global scale. It explores the principles of environmental sustainability and explains how these principles can be applied in practice in agri-food systems. It also provides an accessible framework for the effective management of resources for the reduction of chronic disease in humans and mitigating the degradation of the environment. Key features: Describes the key concepts of sustainable food production for scientists interested in the environmental impacts of agriculture Reviews sustainable options to the industrial production methods used today to adopt healthier foods and lifestyles Reports on sustainable resources for the food industry along with sustainable processes for food scientists of all levels, both in academia and industry Explores technical innovations to connect the gap between a healthy environment and sustainable agriculture using the theories and principles set out in each chapter to address real-world problems Presents case studies related to our growing demand for food from the perspectives of disciplines ranging from environmental science to public health

Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment describes the relationship of agriculture, society, nature and the environment, sustainable agriculture and sustainable development goals, management of biophysical resources for sustainable food and environment, traditional knowledge and innovative options, and social and policy aspects of sustainable agriculture. The book presents both environmental and economic principles, helping readers in the development and application of robust policy and good institutional systems that execute on sustainable agriculture practices for a healthy environment and to combat climate resilience. - Includes case studies that provide real-world insights - Relates traditional knowledge and innovation, maximizing the potential from both - Reinforces our understanding of the role of sustainable agriculture in developing environmentally sustainable and profitable food systems

The issues surrounding water services are some of the most critical challenges facing not only the United States, but also the global community today. The Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine of the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop in October 2007, summarized in this volume, to address objectives related to Sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services. One of the objectives of the workshop was to think about the interdependence of environmental health and human health as connected through water. Organizations cannot discuss water without considering the interrelationship of sanitation and hygiene. It is the convergence of these strategies that promotes healthy outcomes for both individuals and the environment. A second objective of the workshop was to consider how planning, management, and interdisciplinary approaches-including technology, social behavioral issues, gender, health, environment, economic, and political aspects-can be integrated to arrive at sustainable solutions. Many organizations and agencies are trying to forge a path toward sustainable practices in water, but the various sectors utilizing and governing water services are not interconnected. More integration and a greater understanding of holistic approaches are needed.

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. With Agenda 2030, the UN adopted wide-ranging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that integrate development and environmental agendas. This book focuses on the political tensions between the environmental objectives and socio-economic aspects of sustainable development. The collection provides an introduction to interlinkages, synergies and trade-offs between the ‘green’ and other goals, such as gender equality and economic growth. It also considers related goals on cities and partnerships as crucial for implementing environmentally sound sustainability. Identifying governance failures and responsibilities, it advocates for a shift towards cooperative economics and politics for the common good.

Global Environmental Politics is the perfect introduction to this increasingly significant area. The text combines an accessible introduction to the most important environmental theories and concepts with a series of detailed case studies of the most pressing environmental problems. Features and benefits of the book: Explains the most important concepts and theories in environmental politics. Introduces environmental politics within the context of political science and international relations theories. Demonstrates how the concepts and theories apply in a wide variety of real world contexts. Case studies include the most important environmental issues from climate change and biodiversity to forests and marine pollution. Each chapter is written by an established international authority in the field. This exciting new textbook is essential reading all students of environmental politics and will be of great interest to students of International Relations and Political Economy.

This volume discusses a broad range of vital issues encompassing the production and consumption of food in the current period of climate change. All of these add up to looming, momentous challenges to food security, especially for people in regions where malnutrition and famine have been the norm during numerous decades. Furthermore, threats to food security do not stop at the borders of more affluent countries – governance of food systems and changes in eating patterns will have worldwide consequences. The book is arranged in four broad sections. Part I, Combating Food Insecurity: A Global Responsibility opens with a chapter describing the urgent necessity for new paradigm and policy set to meet the food security challenges of climate change. Also in this section are chapters on meat and the dimensions of animal welfare, climate change and sustainability; on dietary options for mitigating climate change; and the linkage of forest and food production in the context of the REDD+ approach to valuation of forests. Part II, Managing Linkages Between Climate Change and Food Security offers a South Asian perspective on Gender, Climate Change and Household Food Security; a chapter on food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa; and separate chapters on critical issues of food supply and production in Nigeria, far-Western Nepal and the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon. Part III examines Food Security and patterns of production and consumption, with chapters focused on Morocco, Thailand, Bahrain, Kenya and elsewhere. The final section discusses successful, innovative practices, with chapters on Food Security in Knowledge-Based Economy; Biosaline Agriculture in the Gulf States; Rice production in a cotton zone of Benin; palm oil in the production of biofuel; and experiments in raised-bed wheat production. The editors argue that technical prescriptions are insufficient to manage the food security challenge. They propose and explain a holistic approach for adapting food systems to global environmental change, which demands the engagement of many disciplines – a new, sustainable food security paradigm.

There is very little argument that the world is facing severe environmental challenges. Ongoing air and water pollution, increasing energy consumption, and the depletion of natural resources have all placed considerable stress on the capacity of our environment to support the present quality of human life in a sustainable manner. Ensuring a Sustainable Future does what few previous works have: it examines these trends' disproportionate impact on the poor and the economically viable solutions that can serve to remedy them -- solutions that simultaneously address environmental and economic problems. This gap in previous research, evidence, and writing has left low-income countries often unwilling to take on major environmental problems and many poor communities believing they faced impossible choices between improving the environment in which they live and increasing the jobs and income available. Bringing together evidence-based recommendations and in-depth case studies of successful policies and programs around the world, Ensuring a Sustainable Future examines innovative solutions to this crucial challenge. In doing so, it addresses a comprehensive range of environmental sustainability challenges affecting low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

Written by internationally acclaimed experts in the United States and abroad, this comprehensive set of environmental health articles serves to clarify our impending challenges as well as opportunities for health and wellness. Written in an accessible style that is appropriate for general readers as well as professionals in the environmental health field, this work provides a comprehensive yet coherent review of the principal environmental challenges that confront our society. This four-volume work taps a multidisciplinary team of experts from across the nation to present emerging information about how our world is being impacted, the effects on health and life, and the steps we are taking—and should take—to correct or avoid the problems. The Praeger Handbook of Environmental Health comprises four volumes: Foundations of the Field; Agents of Disease; Water, Air, and Solid Waste; and Current Issues and Emerging Debates. Within each volume, chapters cover the latest scientific research findings in an objective manner and present practical applications of the information. Topics addressed include air and water contaminants, PCBs, hazardous waste, household cleaning products, dioxin, plastics, radiation, radon, electromagnetic fields, and noise and light pollution, just to name a few. This title stands alone in its comprehensive coverage of environmental health topics.