RESUMO
This pilot study explored the effectiveness of tailored informational interventions to reduce the surplus and waste of fruits and vegetables at the distribution level in Chile. Stalls from a fresh food market were randomized to intervention (n = 5 selling fruits, n = 5 selling vegetables) or control (n = 4 selling fruits, n = 4 selling vegetables) groups. The causes of surplus and waste were estimated by questionnaires. Surplus, avoidable waste, and unavoidable waste were measured using direct quantification before and after the intervention, and were expressed relative to the initial stock. Before the intervention, the surplus was (median [25th-75th percentile]) 46.2% [33.3-51.2] for fruits and 51.5% [41.3-55.0] for vegetables; avoidable waste was 0.1% [0.0-0.8] for fruits and 1.8% [0.7-5.3] for vegetables; and unavoidable waste was 0.0% [0.0-1.0] for fruits and 0.0% [0.0-1.3] for vegetables. Planning and storage represented the main causes explaining surplus and waste. After the intervention, the intervention group decreased the surplus of fruits compared to the control group (-17.8% [-29.0--11.0] vs. 5.8% [-0.6-7.8], respectively; p = 0.016), without other differences. In conclusion, tailored informational interventions based on the causes of surplus and waste may reduce the surplus of fruits in a fresh food market. Interventions might also include management strategies for the surplus to improve grocers' business operations.
RESUMO
The Covid-19 pandemic has compounded the global food insecurity crisis, disproportionately affecting the consumers, farmers, and food workers (UN in Policy brief: impacts of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition, 2020, https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_policy_brief_on_covid_impact_on_food_security.pdf). The significant disruptions caused by Covid-19 have called international attention to food security and sparked conversations about how to better support food production and trade. Our paper contributes to a small but growing literature on the impacts and responses of agroecological farmers to Covid-19 in Costa Rica. Specifically, we interviewed 30 agroecological farmers about (1) livelihood disruptions during Covid-19, (2) the areas of food production and sales most affected during this pandemic, and (3) how farmers and consumers are adapting during this crisis. Our findings reveal multiple impacts on agroecological farmers including: economic hardships of lower incomes and inability to pay loans, changes in purchasing and consumption patterns, market disruptions, changes in sales, a decrease in agrotourism, and a shortage of farmworkers. Furthermore, we also report the following farmer adaptation strategies: (1) minimizing distance with consumers to facilitate direct delivery, (2) establishing e-commerce platforms. Based on our findings, we recommend the following: (1) building farmer networks for knowledge sharing, (2) increasing technological support for farmers, and (3) providing government support to ensure that such crises do not increase unemployment among farmers and exacerbate food insecurity.
RESUMO
Una variable poco estudiada en el área de forrajeo y elección de parches es la distribución del alimento. Dos parches con similar densidad de alimento pero distinta distribución implican diferentes tiempos de búsqueda y, en consecuencia, diferente exposición a posibles predadores. Se estudió el efecto de la dispersión de alimento sobre la elección, exploración y explotación de parche. Se expuso a un grupo de ratas a un instrumento con una zona de elección y dos parches topográficamente iguales y con la misma cantidad de alimento, pero diferente dispersión: alimento concentrado en un solo lugar vs alimento disperso en ocho puntos. Los animales permanecieron durante más tiempo en el parche con alimento concentrado, mientras que en el parche disperso realizaron visitas breves y exhaustivas respecto al vaciado. Los animales desarrollaron patrones de exploración típicos para cada una de las zonas. Se sugiere que los animales establecieron la zona de elección y el parche concentrado como zonas seguras de exploración.
The distribution of food has not been widely studied in the areas of foraging and patch choice. Search time and the potential exposure to predators vary when animals are exposed to two patches that have similar food density but different food distribution. The effects of food dispersion on choice, exploration, and exploitation of two patches was studied. A group of rats was placed in an experimental apparatus that had a choice area and two patches that were topographically identical and contained the same amount of food but varied in food dispersion: either the food was concentrated in a single place or the food was dispersed in eight different locations. Results showed that the rats remained a longer time in the concentrated patch and showed shorter, exhaustive visits to the patch where the food was dispersed. Rats developed different exploration patterns for each of the areas. The preferred areas for exploration were both the choice area and the concentrated patch.