ABSTRACT
The concepts of short agri-food supply chains and circular bioeconemy are complementary and mutually reinforcing, while they may play an important role in sustainability transitions. The elimination of middlemen and the possibilities of forward vertical integration of farmers are the key components ofshort agri-food supply chains, while bioeconomy refers to the sustainable production and use of biological resources stemming from forestry, agriculture, fisheries, and waste streams. The development of closed-loop systems where waste is converted into new resources, lies in the core of circular bioeconomy, which seeks to reduce waste and maximize resource usage. A sustainable and regenerative economy where waste is viewed as a resource and the use of finite resources is decreased is what this strategy seeks to achieve. When combined, short agri-food supply chains and circular bioeconomy can support sustainable economic growth, social advancement, and environmental protection by encouraging local manufacturing, minimizing waste, and developing innovative bio-based goods and procedures. In this article, we examine the benefits which occur in short agri-food supply when they adopt the principles of circular bioeconomy. Also, we examine how can the ideas of the circular bioeconomy be applied to short agri-food supply chains in order to minimize waste and maximize resource usage. In addition, we explore the corresponding difficulties and opportunities for creating bio-based goods and procedures in short agri-food supply chains. Last but not least, we discuss the effects of short agri-food supply chains and the circular bioeconomy on global agri-food systems and how these concepts are connected with issues at stake, such as food security and sustainability.
ABSTRACT
[...]the UK meets more of its food needs, the country risks having potentially counterfeit food imports and disrupted supply chains. The book describes relevant aspects of British food history, defines terms, lists foods imported and exported, measures freight shipped through UK airports, defines greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and crop production, documents food price trends, gives feed conversion rates for food animals, lists advertising spending by major food companies, explains water rights, and states how much land is owned by the British aristocracy, corporations, and Crown. Lang was a member of the EAT-Lancet Commission and he calls on the UK Government to adopt the Commission's Great Food Transformation recommendations to improve public health, the environment, food citizenship, wage scales, and democratic accountability, and to redistribute power in the food system.
ABSTRACT
COVID‐19 has caused major disruptions to agricultural supply chains around the world. Researchers and policy‐makers are interested in identifying means to reduce the disruptive effects caused by the pandemic. We investigate the impacts of COVID‐19 on the operation of e‐commerce stores (in short, e‐stores) specialising in agricultural inputs. The difference‐in‐differences method (DID) is employed to estimate the causal relationship between COVID‐19 and online sales of agricultural inputs using data from 54,244 agricultural input e‐stores registered in 118 prefecture‐level cities across 15 provinces and hosted on two major Chinese e‐commerce platforms. The results show that COVID‐19 led to a substantial growth in monthly sales of agricultural input e‐stores, and this growth of online sales varied across store scales and by types of agricultural inputs. In particular, e‐stores selling seeds and seedlings experienced a larger growth in sales than stores selling agricultural machinery and implements, and the mid‐ and larger‐scaled e‐stores experienced more growth of sales than micro‐ and small‐scaled e‐stores. Further analysis reveals that the growth of online sales of agricultural inputs was driven mainly by an increase in the quantity of customer orders (QCO). The findings of this paper underscore the importance of e‐commerce in ensuring the resilience of the agricultural supply chain during the pandemic period.