Can a shift to regional and organic diets reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the food system? A case study from Qatar

Plant-Based Innovations for the Transition to Sustainability: A Bibliometric and in-Depth Content Analysis

Plants maintain the ecological equilibrium of the earth and stabilize the ecosystem. Today, traditional commodities and new value-added markets can be served simultaneously. There is significant biosource and bioprocess innovation for biobased industrial products. Furthermore, plant-based innovation is associated with the transition to sustainability. This study performed a bibliometric and in-depth content analysis to review plant-based innovations in the research field between 1995 and 2022. A set of 313 articles was identified from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Different analytical scientometric tools (topic mapping and overlay visualization networks) were used to analyze 124 articles; the most influential countries, institutions, authors, journals and articles were identified. Through in-depth studies, based on the grounded theory approach, five leading research areas related to plant-based innovation were determined: (1) agricultural/environmental innovation, (2) plant-based food or feed innovation, (3) innovation within the medical/pharmaceutical research area, (4) technology-related innovation and (5) economic/business aspects of plant-based innovations. Future research directions include exploring less examined and new topics, such as the sustainability implications of incorporating various plant-based foods and Industry 4.0 in plant-based innovation, and linking and developing findings from different research areas.

Exploring spatio-temporal variations in environmental impacts from eating out in the United Kingdom

In this study we estimated the environmental burden of eating away from home based on emission factors of food recipes consumed in different regions and countries within the United Kingdom. Food based emissions were expressed in kg CO₂ equivalent per capita per week and were calculated based on food consumption data between the years 2001 and 2018. Time series analysis was used to estimate emissions for the years 2019 and 2020 for all study areas. These results were used to estimate the endpoint impacts on human health as well as terrestrial and aquatic species during the study period. Finally, an estimate of the emissions for 2020 was also carried out based on available market data for the first 11 months of the year. This was subsequently compared with the forecasts calculated earlier to observe the impacts of Covid-19 led lockdowns on eating out and hence the emissions. By taking a subnational approach, we aimed to highlight the importance of appreciating similarities and differences among these regions and policy implications thereof. To the best knowledge of the authors this is the first and only study focusing on regional food-based emissions from eating out in the United Kingdom.

Agricultural Production in Qatar’s Hot Arid Climate

Agriculture has played an essential role in the provision of food and has been a major factor in overall economic development for societies around the world for millennia. In the past, agriculture in hot, arid countries like Qatar faced many challenges, the primary one being a dearth of water for irrigation. Historically this severely limited Qatar’s economic development, which was based largely on resource exploitation, pearl fishing, and only more recently, on the exploitation of its oil and gas reserves which subsequently has led to Qatar’s great wealth. This paper gives an overview of the recent evolution of Qatar’s agricultural sector and investigates future trends that tackle the challenges of its hot arid climate and the limited availability of agricultural resources. Specifically, the review analyses Qatar’s potential to develop a national food security strategy based on a significant expansion of food production in the country. We review recent policy actions implemented to address challenges in the food supply chain caused by a 3.5-year blockade imposed by the adjacent Arab Gulf States, discussing the renewed interest in the potential that an enhanced agricultural sector must provide some aspects of food security and the implications for policymakers that would logically ensue.