Search Results (2,526)

The growing demand for sustainable protein ingredients has intensified interest in legumes as strategic raw materials for plant-based food applications. Legume proteins, mainly composed of globulins, albumins, vicilins, and legumins, exhibit relevant nutritional and techno-functional properties, including solubility, emulsification, foaming, gelation, and water- or oil-binding capacity. However, conventional extraction methods, particularly alkaline extraction followed by isoelectric precipitation, often involve extreme pH conditions, high water and chemical consumption, long processing times, and possible losses in protein functionality. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) has emerged as a promising process intensification strategy for improving protein recovery from legume matrices. Its mechanism is mainly associated with acoustic cavitation, which generates microjets, shear forces, shock waves, and microturbulence, promoting cellular disruption, solvent penetration, and mass-transfer enhancement. In addition to increasing extraction efficiency, UAE can induce controlled structural modifications in proteins, potentially improving solubility, emulsifying activity, foaming behavior, and gelation. Nevertheless, excessive sonication may cause aggregation, oxidation, and functional deterioration. This review discusses the principles, effects, advantages, and limitations of UAE for legume protein extraction, emphasizing its potential for the sustainable production of techno-functional plant-based protein ingredients. Full article

Chinese home-cooked dishes (CHCDs) link agricultural production and daily consumption, but their resource dependence and sustainability remain poorly quantified. We standardized 341 recipes from China’s 34 provincial-level administrative regions, conducted a production-to-consumption analysis using emergy (solar-equivalent available energy directly and indirectly required for a product or service), and evaluated six optimization scenarios. Mean emergy input was 5.93 × 10¹² sej·dish⁻¹, with nonrenewable purchased inputs accounting for 77.99%. Ingredients, oil and sauces, and cooking contributed 69.17%, 21.69%, and 9.14%, respectively. Plant-based production relied on labor and chemical inputs; animal-based production relied on feed. Ruminant meats had relatively high nonrenewable inputs and environmental loads; vegetables had lower values. Across CHCDs, the emergy sustainability index (ESI), transformity, emergy consumption intensity, and food processing intensity averaged 0.26, 1.02 × 10⁶ sej·J⁻¹, 1.45 × 10¹² sej·serving⁻¹, and 4.64 × 10¹¹ sej·serving⁻¹, respectively. Sustainability declined from plant-based through mixed to animal-based dishes. Shandong cuisine ranked highest and Zhejiang cuisine lowest in combined sustainability and efficiency. Combining crop–livestock recycling, mechanization and energy-efficiency improvements, technological advancement and scaling up, moderate oil and sauce reduction, and cooking-efficiency improvements was projected to increase ESI by 19.34% relative to baseline. These results support dish-level emergy accounting for improving agri-food sustainability. Full article

Background: Dietitians play a crucial role in promoting sustainable dietary patterns aimed at maintaining both human and planetary health. Several studies have investigated knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) regarding food sustainability among dietitians; nevertheless, evidence from the Middle East remains scarce, with no studies conducted in Saudi Arabia. Objective: This study aimed to assess KAPs regarding sustainable dietary patterns and dietary adherence among dietitians in Saudi Arabia. Methods: An online structured questionnaire was distributed to collect self-reported information on food sustainability, including knowledge and perceived understanding, perceived importance of key concepts, behaviors, and food consumption. A total of 221 dietitians completed the survey. Results: Dietitians reported greater engagement with health-oriented and practical sustainability behaviors, particularly food waste reduction, fruit and vegetable consumption, and affordability-related choices. Also, gaps in dietitians’ knowledge and familiarity were identified regarding environmental metrics of food sustainability concepts. Dietitians reported that food consumption was characterized by frequent consumption of animal-based foods, moderate consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, and low adoption of plant-based alternatives. Conclusions: Dietitians in Saudi Arabia generally exhibited favorable attitudes toward food sustainability, with a gap identified in factual knowledge despite an overestimation of the perceived knowledge and practices pertaining to environmental sustainability, and these gaps did not consistently translate into sustainable food consumption behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating food sustainability, including environmentally related concepts, into nutrition education and professional development as a potential strategy to bridge the gap between knowledge and application in dietetic practices. Full article

We investigated prevalence of crop failure and food insecurity among smallholder farming households in Southern Lesotho, examining socio-demographic correlates with these reported outcomes. We adopted a cross-sectional design involving 771 smallholder farmers reliant on field crop production across three districts. Household food security was measured using Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to estimate adjusted odds ratios for associations of demographic factors with food security outcomes. A total of 737 (95.6%) participants reported crop losses. Nearly half of households that reported crop losses were severely food-insecure based on HFIAS and FCS. Households without secondary source of income were at higher odds of being in a more food-insecure category. For HFIAS, female-headed households had higher odds of being in a more food-insecure category. For FCS, households that relied on rain-fed irrigation and had agricultural land holdings of <5 hectares had higher odds of being in a more food-insecure category. Addressing crop loss-related food insecurity requires integrated, sustainability-oriented strategies that span climate-resilient agriculture, livelihood diversification, strengthened sex-responsive intervention, and social protection systems. We recommend anticipatory action systems to target groups identified as most vulnerable in this analysis to provide support before, during, and after drought events. Full article

Aims: Although the Mediterranean diet (MD) is widely recognized as a sustainability-aligned dietary model, its relationship with sustainable eating behaviors and its cross-sectional associations with adiposity, cooking and food skills, and macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remain insufficiently characterized. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 120 adults with T2DM (median age, 60 years) consecutively recruited from an endocrinology outpatient clinic. Mediterranean diet adherence (MDA), Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors (SHEB), and Cooking Skills and Food Skills (CSFS) were assessed using validated scales. Dietary intake was evaluated using a single 24-h dietary recall, and anthropometric and body composition measures were obtained using standardized procedures. Adjusted group differences were examined using ANCOVA. To account for multiplicity across prespecified families of exploratory outcomes, nominal p-values were corrected using the Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) procedure. Results: Higher MDA was associated with a higher total SHEB score (primary outcome; p < 0.001) and with higher scores for quality labels, seasonal foods and food waste avoidance, local food, and reduced meat consumption, after FDR correction (all q < 0.05). Across SHEB tertiles, waist-to-hip ratio differed significantly after FDR correction (p = 0.001, q = 0.010), whereas the nominal difference in neck circumference did not remain significant (p = 0.046, q = 0.230). In analyses according to macrovascular complication status, lower adjusted protein intake remained significant after FDR correction (p = 0.002, q = 0.032). Nominal differences in food skills, total CSFS, MDA, total and saturated fat intake, monounsaturated fat intake, and dietary total antioxidant capacity did not remain significant after multiplicity correction (all q > 0.05). Conclusions: Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was cross-sectionally associated with more sustainable and healthier eating behaviors, whereas higher SHEB scores were associated with a lower waist-to-hip ratio. Most exploratory differences according to macrovascular complication status did not remain significant after correction for multiple testing, underscoring the need for cautious interpretation. Prospective studies are needed to establish temporal relationships, and intervention studies are required to determine whether modifying adherence to the Mediterranean diet, sustainable eating behaviors, or cooking and food skills affect subsequent cardiometabolic and vascular outcomes in T2DM. Full article

This study explored whether participation in a digitally mediated sustainability literacy intervention was associated with short-term improvements in sustainability-related learning outcomes across two contrasting contexts: Portugal (stability) and Myanmar (polycrisis). Using a Most-Different Systems Design, 152 university students participated in a four-week Digital Sustainability Literacy Online Course, with food systems and responsible consumption providing a practical context for integrating environmental, social, economic, and governance dimensions of sustainability. A mixed-methods approach combined pre- and post-intervention assessments using the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire, operationalized through Knowledge, Attitudes, Self-reported Practices, and Self-reported Explanatory Efficacy (KAP + E), alongside engagement measures informed by ARCS and EGameFlow. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired- and independent-samples t-tests and mixed-design ANOVAs, while qualitative responses were examined using deductive thematic analysis. Significant pre–post improvements were observed across all four outcomes in both cohorts. Contextual differences were observed for knowledge and attitudes, while a significant Time × Context interaction for explanatory efficacy indicated greater gains in Portugal. Qualitatively, environmental and social dimensions predominated in both cohorts, while governance was more prominent in Portugal. Overall, participation was associated with short-term gains across multiple sustainability-related outcomes, while explanatory efficacy showed greater contextual sensitivity. Given the absence of a control group and complete confounding of the country with the stability/polycrisis condition, the findings should be interpreted as comparative associations rather than causal effects of the intervention or polycrisis. Full article

The integration of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) into polymer matrices has created a versatile class of nanocomposites with potential applications in gas separation, water purification, food packaging, sensing, catalysis, energy systems, and environmental remediation. However, their performance is governed by complex and strongly coupled variables, including ZIF-8 particle size, morphology, defect density, surface chemistry, filler loading, polymer compatibility, interfacial adhesion, dispersion state, and processing conditions. To organize this complexity, the review introduces a hierarchical design framework that distinguishes controllable synthesis and processing inputs, experimentally measurable intermediate material states, and condition-dependent performance outputs, thereby providing a structured basis for machine-learning-ready data representation. Conventional trial-and-error approaches are therefore often inefficient and provide limited capacity to identify transferable structure–processing–property relationships. This review examines the emerging role of machine learning (ML) in the rational design and optimization of ZIF-8/polymer nanocomposites for sustainable applications. Particular attention is given to the construction of material descriptors, selection of predictive algorithms, interpretation of feature importance, optimization of synthesis and processing parameters, and prediction of mechanical, thermal, barrier, transport, adsorption, catalytic, and antimicrobial properties. The review further discusses how supervised learning, explainable artificial intelligence, active learning, Bayesian optimization, transfer learning, and physics-informed models can support material screening and multi-objective optimization across performance, cost, energy consumption, environmental impact, and end-of-life considerations. Current limitations, including small and heterogeneous datasets, inconsistent reporting, insufficient negative results, limited model interpretability, and weak experimental validation, are critically evaluated. A future framework is proposed that integrates standardized databases, high-throughput experimentation, multiscale characterization, life-cycle indicators, uncertainty quantification, and closed-loop machine learning. Such an approach could accelerate the transition from empirical formulation toward data-driven, interpretable, and sustainability-oriented design of ZIF-8/polymer nanocomposites. Full article

Rhizobial inoculation has the potential to improve soybean N nutrition and productivity in cereal–soybean intercropping systems, yet the performance of different strains across contrasting field environments remains insufficiently understood. In this study, six soybean rhizobial isolates were initially screened under greenhouse sand-culture conditions, and two promising strains, Bradyrhizobium japonicum S36 and Sinorhizobium fredii S65, were subsequently evaluated in maize–soybean and sorghum-soybean field environments. Relative to the uninoculated control, both strains were associated with higher plant N status, greater chemical soil fertility, increased dry-matter accumulation, and higher grain yield. B. japonicum S36 and S. fredii S65 increased grain yield by 23.8% and 18.6%, respectively, in the maize–soybean system and by 49.2% and 40.4%, respectively, in the sorghum-soybean system. S. fredii S65 was more strongly associated with increases in two-seeded pod number and total seed number, whereas B. japonicum S36 showed broader advantages in chemical soil fertility, biomass accumulation, 100-seed weight, grain yield, and grain Ca, Fe, and Mo concentrations. Multivariate analyses further revealed coordinated associations among rhizobial inoculation, chemical soil fertility, plant N status, biomass accumulation, pod formation, and grain yield. Overall, both strains showed promising agronomic potential, with B. japonicum S36 exhibiting a more comprehensive response profile. These findings provide field-based evidence for the development of resource-efficient cereal–soybean intercropping systems and have potential relevance to sustainable food production, improved agricultural resource-use efficiency, and climate-resilient agriculture, corresponding to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Zero Hunger, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, and Life on Land. Full article

The growing demand for food is placing growing pressure on agricultural systems, raising concerns about their environmental sustainability. In this context, precision agriculture represents a promising approach for improving resource-use efficiency while maintaining high yields. This study aimed to assess the environmental performance of soft wheat production during the transition from conventional to smart and precision farming under real farm conditions. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted following ISO 14040 and 14044 standards using primary data collected from a farm located in Umbria (Italy). Two consecutive three-year production periods were compared: conventional farming (2019–2021) and smart and precision farming (2022–2024). Environmental impacts were assessed using the Environmental Footprint 3.1 method. The transition was associated with a 20.8% reduction in the overall environmental impact. This improvement reflects the combined effects of adopting smart and precision agriculture technologies together with the renewal of farm machinery, which results in lower fuel consumption and more efficient fertilizer and pesticide management. Most impact categories showed improvements, particularly climate change, ecotoxicity, and particulate matter. However, freshwater eutrophication increased due to changes in fertilization strategy, including reduced nitrogen fertilizer use and increased phosphorus fertilizer application. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the consistency of the results; despite some influence on yield variation, the overall comparison remained consistent under the tested scenarios. These findings highlight the potential of smart and precision agriculture to improve the environmental sustainability of soft wheat production under real farm conditions. Full article

Driven by the escalating worldwide consumption of animal-sourced commodities, the livestock industry faces intensified constraints regarding its ecological consequences, encompassing large-scale deforestation, elevated greenhouse gas emissions, progressive soil deterioration, and the suboptimal management of hydrological resources. In response to these challenges, the concept of sustainable livestock husbandry integrates production practices with environmental management strategies designed to conserve biodiversity, optimize resource use, and reduce emissions. The objective of this review is to emphasize the significance of sustainable cervid farming as an integral element of contemporary food supply chains, comprehensively addressing its environmental, production, and nutritional dimensions. A comprehensive assessment of current scholarly articles from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar was performed to explore topics concerning eco-conscious livestock practices, non-conventional farming models, organic rearing, animal well-being, and the evolution of deer breeding. Particular attention was paid to the role of permanent grasslands in venison production, soil protection, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity preservation. The nutritional value of red deer and fallow deer meat and its significance in sustainable food systems are also outlined. As indicated by the analysis of available research findings, extensive cervid farming based on the use of permanent grasslands and local feed resources can reduce environmental pressures through support of landscape conservation, preservation of ecosystem functions, and efficient utilization of biomass that is inedible for humans. Venison is shown to be a valuable source of high-quality protein, minerals, and essential fatty acids, which meets growing consumer demands for high-quality food. The literature review has confirmed that properly managed cervid farming can be an important element of sustainable food production systems combining production goals with environmental protection and animal welfare. It also emphasizes the need for further research into the environmental, economic, and social aspects of this branch of animal production. Full article

Food price inflation provides an important economic context for consumer behaviour related to food; however, its impact on sustainable and responsible food consumption remains understudied. This cross-sectional study analyzed self-reported changes in food-related behaviour among Polish consumers during a period of strong upward pressure on food prices and identified demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with the intensity of these changes. In June 2023, a CAWI survey was conducted among a quota sample of 1000 adults in Poland, representative in terms of age and gender. To assess changes in the analyzed areas of food-related behaviours (food procurement, shopping planning, meal preparation, use of food service establishments, consumption of selected food products, and food waste), the Friedman test and the Wilcoxon test with Holm correction were used. To examine the relationship between the reported changes and the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents, a synthetic change-intensity index was constructed based on 52 items covering the six behavioural domains. The significance of the relationship was tested using Pearson’s chi-square test and ordinal logistic regression. Respondents reported changes in all areas analyzed. A decline in the consumption of selected food groups was observed, including fresh fruits and vegetables and fish, with the largest decline in consumption noted for alcoholic beverages. The extent of these changes varied significantly according to characteristics such as age, place of residence, employment status, source of income, and income level. The results indicate that high food price pressures were accompanied by multidimensional changes in consumer food-related behaviours, including more frugal management of food resources and reduced consumption of certain food products. These results underscore the importance of maintaining economic access to nutritionally dense foods, particularly among economically vulnerable households. Full article

Several global challenges are converging: rising organic solid waste generation, growing food demand, and increasingly unfavorable conditions for food production, including more frequent and severe droughts, water scarcity, and limited agricultural land for expansion. Bioconverting organic waste into alternative protein sources has emerged as a promising strategy to address waste management and feed production challenges simultaneously. This study presents a comprehensive systematic literature review on protein production through the bioconversion of residual biomass using the black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens). The BSF is a highly voracious organism during its larval stage and can substantially reduce organic waste volumes while converting them into biomass rich in proteins and lipids with high nutritional value for livestock and aquaculture feed formulations. The review examines Waste-to-Protein systems from three perspectives: technical, economic, and environmental. The technical perspective focuses on production system operations and substrate properties. The economic perspective addresses profitability indicators, capital and operating costs, economies of scale, and the economic performance of incorporating insect-derived protein into animal production systems. From an environmental perspective, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the predominant method for evaluating WtP-BSF systems. Among the systems assessed using LCA, 63% rely on crop-derived substrates for larval feeding. These substrates have intrinsic commercial value, and together with the environmental burdens associated with energy consumption during BSFL rearing, they may constrain the overall sustainability and profitability of WtP-BSF systems. By evaluating factors such as feed dosage, larval density, actual organic waste, and eco-efficiency metrics for livestock feed, opportunities for a circular economy could be developed in developing countries, helping to decrease dependence on landfills. Full article

The water–energy–food nexus (WEF nexus) is central to sustainable development in arid regions. However, research on nexus evolution based on water consumed during food and energy production remains limited. In this study, the evolutionary patterns and influencing mechanisms of the WEF nexus in an arid region are investigated from a water footprint perspective, taking the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin in China as a case study. The results show that from 2010 to 2021, the crop water footprint in the study area exhibited distinct varietal differences, with the highest values for legumes and the lowest for tubers, and a spatial pattern characterized by higher values in the north and lower values in the south. The energy–water footprint underwent a structural shift from grey water dominance to blue water dominance in 2015. The coupling coordination degree of the WEF nexus gradually improved from moderate imbalance to mild imbalance. The core obstacle in the water subsystem shifted from water quantity shortage to an imbalance in water use structure, while that in the energy subsystem moved from supply-side constraints to consumption-side constraints. The food subsystem was constrained by rigid factors related to arable land and ecological conditions. Consequently, the core constraint of the WEF nexus has transitioned from independent bottlenecks within individual subsystems to cross-system coupling constraints. Regulating the water footprint on both the production and consumption sides is conducive to the sustainability of the WEF nexus. The findings of this study enrich the regional empirical evidence of the nexus theory and provide a reference for research and practice concerning the optimal allocation of regional resources. Full article

Food is always at risk of becoming waste, with household refrigerator practices either slowing or hastening this process. While household food waste has received growing scholarly attention, the interplay of human behavior, refrigerator use, and packaging (HRP) remains underexplored, as research typically examines these elements in isolation rather than their everyday entanglement. To address this gap, this study conceptualizes HRP as a co-constitutive design system and integrates a scoping literature review with qualitative fieldwork in 24 Swedish and international households. Photo-elicitation was used to document real refrigerator organization and storage conditions, while semi-structured interviews (n = 12) captured participants’ routines, decision-making, and interpretations of stored food and packaging. The empirical material was analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns in domestic food storage practices. The analysis reveals two key findings: (1) the refrigerator must be recognized as a critical contextual and ethical factor in both packaging design and domestic food waste studies; and (2) packaging’s communicative functions often collapse after purchase, limiting its ability to guide storage, visibility, and timely consumption. By framing HRP as dynamically interlinked, the study introduces a new analytical lens on household food waste and calls for sustainable design strategies that better support waste-reducing practices. Full article

A persistent obstacle to sustainable food consumption is that people intend to buy responsibly more often than they actually do. This study builds on a theory of planned behavior (TPB) model extended in two directions. It traces attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control back to organic food attributes and health consciousness, and it carries intention through to purchasing behavior while testing whether trust moderates that final step. We fitted it to survey responses from 516 Chinese office workers using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Intrinsic attributes, extrinsic attributes, and health consciousness were positively associated with attitude and perceived behavioral control, but none was significantly associated with subjective norm. Together, the three cognitions accounted for 43.1% of the variance in purchase intention. Both purchase intention and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted purchasing behavior. Trust had a positive direct association with purchasing behavior and positively moderated its relationship with purchase intention. The simple slope at high trust was about 2.43 times the slope at low trust. Credible certification, transparent supply chains, and visible organic food consumption may support purchasing. Full article