Browsing by Subject "food"

The environmental impacts of food production and consumption are substantial, and therefore, it’s important that their impacts are investigated and communicated. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one promising method to assess the environmental impacts of products, like food products. It’s a process to assess products' environmental impacts through their life-cycle, and it’s used, for example, in policy making, companies’ strategic decision making and when communicating products’ environmental impacts. LCA is used actively nowadays, for example, over the past year few Finnish food companies have decided to calculate and communicate their products’ carbon footprints using LCA. LCA methodology has clearly developed during the past decades. However, there isn’t a shared view on all of the methodological issues. In fact, one essential methodological challenge is allocation situation. In allocation situation all inputs and outputs, such as, green house gas emissions produced in the product system are to be distributed between the studied product and its co-products. For instance, when the studied product is milk it should be determined how the inputs and outputs produced in the dairy cattle farm are to be divided between the farm’s products: beef and raw milk. Furthermore, in the dairy factory it needs to be decided how the inputs and outputs are to be divided between the further processed milk and other dairy products produced in the factory. The aim of the thesis is to investigate the allocation situations in the LCAs of food, as well as, to present, compare and find weaknesses and strengths of different ways of handling allocation situations and ways of guiding them. This is done in a literature study and in a LCA case-study made for Finnish farmed rainbow trout. It was calculated that the choice of how to handle the allocation situation has a major impact on the environmental impacts directed to the product under investigation. For example, climate change impacts and eutrophication of water bodies caused by production of a trout fillet can halve or double depending on the choice of the allocation method. Several different allocation methods were indentified, including ways to avoid allocation and ways to allocate the inputs and outputs, for instance, on the basis of the products' prices. To improve the harmonization of food LCAs and to reduce subjectivity it is important that there is guidance when choosing the allocation method. However, the existing LCA guides investigated don’t give enough support for the allocation situations. They provide divergent instructions and recommendations; they aren’t very specific in the allocation instructions and they allow choosing almost any allocation method, and therefore there is clear need for more specific instructions. Thus, it is evident that there is need to discuss and agree on the suitability of allocation methods to be used in LCAs of different food products. Also, because of the existing uncertainty one should be really careful when communicating exact environmental impacts, instead, one should consider presenting environmental impacts in a more coarse scale, for example, by presenting the scale of the results when using different allocation methods.

Current climate change is based on growth of greenhouse gas emissions, which are mainly due to human activities. Activities related to the global food system are responsible for about fourth of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Thereby, the emissions of the food system, which are related to the products that it provides, should be decreased. Greenhouse gas emissions of products can be estimated and communicated by the indicator of carbon footprint, whereas reduced greenhouse gas emissions of the products’ users, resulting from the emission improvements related to the products, can be presented by the carbon handprint. The aim of this master thesis was to calculate the carbon footprint of a Finnish food business’ meat containing food product. In addition, the food product’s meat component was replaced with different meat alternatives in order to assess the carbon handprints, and to compare the carbon footprint and carbon handprint as information providers of climate impacts. The main method used in this thesis was life cycle assessment, while methodology of carbon handprint was used as an additional method. Life cycle assessment was used to assess the carbon footprint, and it was applied according to the ISO standards of 14040 and 14044. Primary data for the study was collected from the Finnish food business through interviews by phone and e-mail, while secondary data was gathered from different sources. The actual calculation process of the carbon footprint and carbon handprints were executed by using Excel. The carbon footprint of the studied food product was found to be 1,20 kgCO2eq/one packaged food product, while the handprints based on the meat alternatives were found to be 0,27-0,39 kgCO2eq/one packaged product. Carbon footprint and handprint were found to be different as communication tools of climate impacts. In addition, they were discovered to have their advantages and limitations depending on the chosen point of view.

The present study examines the discursive construction of Nordic identity in a contemporary movement of the twenty-first century known as New Nordic Cuisine (NNC). It contributes to the sparsely researched topic of food and nationalism by uncovering how New Nordic Cuisine relies on a shared history of the Nordic nation-states and roots itself in a primordialist conception of nations in order to create a Nordic identity movement. The thesis incorporates theories and concepts from history, human geography, and political science as its foundation for answering how a Nordic identity is discursively constructed by the movement and what the societal implications are of this construction. The methodology used for this type of interdisciplinary analysis is Critical Discourse Analysis as envisioned by Norman Fairclough. The data consists of two cookbooks, three reports by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), and one promotional brochure also by NCM. This range of material ensures that the main figures and initiators of the movement, meaning the chefs and the politicians of NCM, are represented. The analysis locates three discourses on globalization, terroir, and identity respectively. NNC adopts the French gastronomic term ‘terroir’ in order to explain a close connection between food, nature, and identity. The movement defines terroir as the eternal conditions in which produce grows, meaning all the natural elements of the weather and the soil, which together make a place unique. Due to the produce coming to life in these conditions, it is thought to embody the culture of that location. When humans consume the food, their conception of themselves transforms. Thus, the timeless identity of the land is experienced through food and, at the same time, affects the identity of people. The implications of this idea are that societies, who legitimize themselves based on a shared identity, are at least partly created based on the nature of that location. Such a terroir is argued to exist in Norden. The idea of a Nordic terroir means that the Nordic people, in order to establish a stable identity, need to experience the terroir-dimension in the food they consume. However, according to the movement the emergence of globalization has obfuscated a previously close connection to nature by industrializing and homogenising the production of food. This has resulted in a lack of Nordic identity. This thesis argues that the NNC movement due to their romantic vision of nature and people fail to see the creation of Nordic nation-states and the idea of Norden in a historical perspective. Globalization is not antithetical to nation-states, but was instead an essential facilitator in their emergence during the nineteenth century. Only by acknowledging the historical specificity of Norden and its nation-states as well as the changing nature of terroirs throughout history can we live with a vision of the world that complements history and scientific evidence.

Food literacy is a noteworthy topic to be studied due to food’s considerable environmental and health effects. When food literacy and its characteristics are known, food literacy can be used as a tool to improve people’s health and the condition of the environment. Thus, this thesis aims to reveal the extent of food literacy among Finnish upper secondary school students. In this context, food literacy emphasises food-related environmental and health knowledge. Environmental knowledge is understanding of the global environmental impact of food. Health knowledge, on the other hand, is the familiarity with the relationship between excessive meat consumption and Finnish common diseases along with beliefs regarding diets and food products as a source of protein. This thesis also aims to identify to what extent does the food literacy differ based on gender, study year and living area. This study was performed as a quantitative sample survey and the data was collected using an online Typeform -questionnaire. The questionnaire reached respondents from many different Finnish localities, mainly from cities. The final data consisted of 1320 individuals and it was analysed using IMB SPSS Statistics 24 software. The following methods were used to analyse data: frequency analysis, an Independent Samples t Test, a One-way ANOVA, and a Post-hoc LSD test. Gender, study year and living area were used as grouping variables to examine the differences between groups. The results show that the students named school as the main source of food literacy. Moreover, the results indicate that awareness regarding food production, dietary health and proteins increase significantly from the first to the third study year. The students acknowledged food production causing environmental problems and that the share of food in the consumer’s climatic impact is considerable. Nevertheless, the students underestimated the climatic impact of cheese and they were unaware of the more specific characteristics of food’s environmental impacts. They also had food-related environmental misconceptions considering packaging, transportation and meat consumption. Moreover, approximately half or more of the students were aware of the connection between excessive meat consumption and the increased risk of distinct common diseases. Most of the students acknowledged a versatile vegetarian diet as being a healthy choice. The study also reveals that female students had notably higher dietary health knowledge than male students. This Master’s thesis study mainly supports the findings of previous studies on food-related knowledge. The results elucidate the extent, characteristics, gaps and misconceptions of students’ food literacy. These findings may be utilized to improve school education on food literacy, alter misconceptions and fill the gaps of knowledge in pursuit of improving the health of people and the condition of the environment.

Tavoitteet. Ilmaston lämpeneminen on yksi suurimpia tulevaisuuden haasteita, jonka ehkäise-miseksi muutokset kulutuskäyttäytymisessä, yhteiskuntarakenteissa sekä yritystoiminnassa ovat tutkimustiedon mukaan välttämättömiä. Ruoka sekä ruoantuotanto ovat yksi merkittävim-mistä maapallon kantokykyä kuormittavista tekijöistä. Muutokset päästöjen vähentämisessä tai vaihtoehtoisesti seuraukset, joita ilmaston lämpeneminen aiheuttaa, tulevat koskettamaan erityi-sesti nuorten sukupolvia. Tässä tutkielmassa tavoitteena on pyrkiä ymmärtämään nuorten nä-kemyksiä ruoan valintaan vaikuttavista tekijöistä etenkin kestävyyden näkökulmasta. Samalla tavoitteena on tutkia, miten nuoret kokevat erilaiset keinot ja niiden vaikuttavuuden osana il-mastonmuutosta ehkäiseviä toimia. Tämän tutkimuksen tutkimuskysymykset ovat: millä tavoin ruoanvalintaan ja -käyttöön liittyvät tekijät jäsentyvät nuorten mielipiteissä sekä mitkä ovat ne tekijät, jotka nuoret kokevat edistävän tai estävän kestävyyttä ruoan tai syömisen näkökulmas-ta? Ruokavalintoja käsitellään yksilön valintojen, kuten poliittisen kulutuksen teorisointien sekä yhteiskunnallisten ohjauskeinojen ja -rakenteiden näkökulmasta. Menetelmät. Tutkimusasetelmassa hyödynnetään sekä laadullisia että määrällisiä menetelmiä. Kyselyllä kerättyä aineistoa analysoidaan pääosin laadullisin menetelmin, eli aineistolähtöisellä sisällönanalyysilla ja teemoittelulla. Analyysia täydennetään aineiston mahdollistaman määrälli-sen tarkastelun keinoin. Kyselyaineisto koostuu 44 nuoren aikuisen (15–29-vuotiaan) vastauk-sista. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Tämän tutkimuksen tuloksina ruoan valintaan vaikuttavina yksittäi-sinä tekijöinä määritti erityisesti elämäntilanne, ruoan hinta sekä kotimaisen ruoan suosiminen mahdollisuuksien mukaan. Ruokaan liittyvät ympäristöä kuormittavat tekijät nähtiin erityisesti rakenteellisena ongelmana, mutta omilla kulutusvalinnoilla koettiin olevan yhtä lailla merkitystä tulevaisuuden haasteita ratkottaessa. Ilmastonmuutoksen sekä ruokavalintojen yhteys koettiin olemassa olevana ongelmana, johon nuorten mielestä tulisi löytää ratkaisu. Nuoret kokevat ruo-kaan ja kulutukseen liittyvät tekijät moniulotteisena kokonaisuutena ja miettivät tulevaisuutta. Nuoret tiedostavat ruoan yhteyden ilmastokriisiin ja tahtoisivat oppia lisää ruokaan liittyvistä tekijöistä, jotta kestävämpien kulutusvalintojen tekeminen olisi helpompaa. Nuoret ovat valmiita muuttamaan omaa kulutustaan, mutta odottavat aktiivisia toimia myös vallanpitäjiltä.

The aim of this licentiate thesis is to assess by literature the potential exposure of humans to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) through food and drinking water in Finland and Minnesota, USA and to represent the prevalence (the total number of cases of a disease at a specific time) of Johne's disease and the prevalence and incidence (the number of new cases of a disease during a certain period of time) Crohn's disease in the United States, Minnesota and Finland. Johne's disease (JD), also known as paratuberculosis, is a globally important chronic intestinal disease of cattle and other ruminants such as goats and sheep caused by MAP. Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic intestinal disease of humans. The etiology of CD is unknown but in addition to genetic susceptibility, environmental factors have been found to have an impact on the onset of the disease. It has been suggested that MAP could be one of the etiologic agents of CD. In the United States, JD is more common in dairy cattle than in beef cattle. The apparent cow-level prevalence is 6% and apparent herd-level prevalence is 68 % in dairy cattle. In Minnesota the apparent prevalence of JD in dairy cattle at the cow-level is 3% and at the herd-level 46%. In beef cattle the prevalence at the cow-level is only 0.3 % in Minnesota. The prevalence of CD in the United States is 241/100,000 and the annual incidence 20/100,000. The prevalence of CD in Minnesota is 222/100,000 and the annual incidence 13/100,000. In Finland, JD has been diagnosed in five beef cattle herds since 1992. The disease has not been diagnosed in dairy cattle or sheep or goats in Finland. The prevalence of CD in Finland is 124/100,000 and the annual incidence 9/100,000. The prevalence of MAP in food and drinking water in Finland has not been studied. Despite this, it is unlikely that people are exposed to MAP through drinking water or by eating foods of Finnish origin because the prevalence of JD in Finland is very low. However, exposure to the bacterium is possible by eating imported beef and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. The share of imported foods within these food groups is relatively large in Finland. Dairy products and beef are imported for example from Germany and Denmark where the prevalence of JD at the herd-level is about 50–80 %. In the United States the occurrence of MAP in foods and drinking water has been studied quite much. It appears that the bacterium is found in foods and drinking water of U.S. origin. Because JD is so common in the United States and Minnesota, it is likely that people are exposed to the bacterium in Minnesota even though not all the food eaten is produced in the state. It is likely that people in areas of high prevalence of JD are exposed more to MAP than people in areas of low prevalence of JD. Comparing subsets of CD patients with high exposure to MAP to healthy controls with and without exposure to MAP could reveal the possible role of MAP in the complex etiology of CD. Based on this literature review it can be assumed that in Finland CD is caused by some other environmental agent than MAP. This licentiate thesis sets up further research needs to estimate the true human exposure to MAP.