Gary is a Human-Natural Systems research scientist at the James Hutton Institute, and has worked on various international and interdisciplinary projects using agent-based modelling to study agricultural systems, lifestyles, and transitions to more sustainable ways of living.
James Hutton Institute
Craigiebuckler
Aberdeen
AB15 8QH
Mycotoxins are unavoidable, natural food contaminants which are produced by fungi growing on agricultural crops. Growth can occur in the field or in storage. Fungal mycotoxin production is a global problem with specific groups of fungi affecting the UK cereal sector.
Faical is an applied economist at SRUC who specializes in consumer behaviour, demand analysis, consumer research methods and econometric modelling. His research helps answer many questions in economics such as food marketing, environmental economics, health economics, welfare economics and development economics.
What food products of animal origin (POAO) flow into and out of Scotland? This was the question posed by Food Standards Scotland as part of my SEFARI fellowship. As an economist, I was aware that this seemingly straightforward question would be both fascinating and challenging. For starters, food supply chains across the European Union are well established and operate across member states to bring us POAO within a fast time period.
Recent research suggests eating most of our calories in the evening – the pattern most common in the UK – may also be linked to obesity. We’re not alone in eating late. As our lifestyles have become more demanding and irregular, so have our meal patterns. Compared with 30 years ago, more meals are skipped, or eaten on the go, and later in the day.
Scotland’s thriving food and drink industry is a major contributor to the economy, worth £14 billion each year. Ambition 2030, the new industry-led strategy, aims to increase the value of the sector in Scotland to £30 billion by 2030. This is to be achieved in the context of some significant challenges.
The global population continues to rise, there are fewer resources available, and we have a changing climate. We live in a period of geopolitical change, and we must ensure that economic growth is not at the expense of public health or our natural capital.
By Professor Ian Toth, Head of the Plant Health Centre
By Annemarie Gibson, Film Producer, Circamedia
SEFARI think a lot about how to get their research out to the right people and in the right form. As filmmakers so do we. Obviously we think film is the strongest form of communication and has the potential to really grab the public’s interest - showing is always much better than just telling.
This article we will explain some some of the ways we are incorporating healthy ingredients from a variety of sources into recipes to develop novel formulations of foods.