NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Organic food and health concerns: a dietary approach using observed data
Publication date: Available online 20 July 2015 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences Author(s): Sigrid Denver, Tove Christensen A number of studies based on stated behaviour suggest that consumption of organic food is part of a life style that involves healthy eating habits that go beyond shifting to organic varieties of the individual food products. However, so far no studies based on observed behaviour have addressed the relationship between organic purchases and diet composition. The aim of the present paper is to fill this gab using purchase data for a large sample of Danish households. Using a Tob...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - July 20, 2015 Category: Biology Source Type: research

A conceptual approach for measuring farmers’ attitudes to integrated soil fertility management in Kenya
Publication date: Available online 18 July 2015 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences Author(s): Carl Johan Lagerkvist, Kelvin Shikuku, Julius Okello, Nancy Karanja, Chris Ackello-Ogutu A sustainable increase in agricultural productivity is essential in assuring food security in developing countries. Low soil fertility is a major contributing factor to the current vicious cycle of low agricultural productivity and inadequate livelihoods among smallholder farmers. Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) is one way of achieving sustainable agricultural development, but improving soil fertility t...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - July 18, 2015 Category: Biology Source Type: research

The changes in physical, bio-chemical, physiological characteristics and enzyme activities of mango cv. Jinhwang during fruit growth and development
Publication date: Available online 11 May 2015 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences Author(s): Orathai Wongmetha , Lih-Shang Ke , Yu-Shen Liang The changes in the physical, bio-chemical and physiological characteristics, and enzyme activities of sucrose metabolism during growth and development in mango fruit cv. Jinhwang were investigated. Fruit was harvested at five stages i.e., 50, 80, 110 and 140 days after anthesis (DAA). Several changes in the fruits were analyzed. The physical parameters like the fruit weight, width and length increased throughout the growth. In turn, fruit firmness, titratable ac...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - May 12, 2015 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Mediation and moderation in food-choice models: a study on the effects of consumer trust in logo on choice
Publication date: Available online 12 March 2015 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences Author(s): R. Zanoli , S. Naspetti , M. Janssen , U. Hamm The paper introduces a way to analyse the influence of mediating and moderating variables on willingness to pay in a simple way. Using data on 427 Italian consumers regarding different organic logos, mediation and moderation analysis is applied for the first time in a discrete choice setting. We tested the hypothesis that trust in logo mediates the relationship between the logo and consumer choice for organic labelled food products. Results do not allow rejecti...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - March 12, 2015 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Information, trust and pesticide overuse: Interactions between retailers and cotton farmers in China
Publication date: Available online 18 November 2014 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences Author(s): Shuqin Jin , Bettina Bluemling , Arthur P.J. Mol In the absence of adequate extension services, retailers have become the major information source for farmers’ pesticide use in rural China. Pesticide application for smallholders is rather complex, and mistakes can lead to significant crop losses. Farmers, therefore, seek sources of information regarding pesticide use. This paper first explores how different kinds of retailers may employ different strategies of providing information to farmers. We find t...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - December 11, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Food chain design using multi criteria decision making, an approach to complex design issues
Publication date: Available online 20 November 2014 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences Author(s): Anita R. Linnemann , Eligius M.T. Hendrix , Radhika Apaiah , Tiny A.J.S. van Boekel Designing a food supply chain for a completely new product involves many stakeholders and knowledge from disciplines in natural and social sciences. This paper describes how Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) facilitated designing a food supply chain in a case of Novel Protein Foods. It made the procedure transparent and aided the evaluation of alternatives. Two models, namely the Multi Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) an...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - December 11, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Nutritional qualities and antioxidant activity of three edible oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.)
Publication date: Available online 26 November 2014 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences Author(s): Selima Khatun , Aminul Islam , Ugur Cakilcioglu , Perihan Guler , Narayan Chandra Chatterjee Three species of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) that are cultivated mostly throughout the year in the plains of India were studied for their nutritional value and their antioxidant properties. Highest protein content was found in Pleurotus florida (22–25% dw) followed by Pleurotus citrinopileatus (20–22% dw) and Pleurotus pulmonarius (15–18% dw). Cholesterol content was in the range of 0.6–0.8% dw, ma...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - December 11, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Peat Characteristics and its Impact on Oil Palm Yield
This study tests the hypothesis that physical soil properties such as peat maturity, presence of wood, depth and nature of underlying substratum affects oil palm yield. The initial study involved the evaluation of soil mapping units on estates in Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia and from this exercise of four organic soil mapping units which reflected the different characteristics of soils were selected. Data on peat depth, presence and absence of decomposed and undecomposed wood, nature of underlying substratum and peat maturity (fibric, sapric and hemic) were collected, analyzed and interpreted. Comparisons were also made on...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - December 11, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Animal husbandry, widened objectives from liability to asset
Publication date: November 2013 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volume 66 Author(s): H. Eijsackers , R. Rabbinge (Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences)
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - October 12, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Sustainability research: Organizational challenge for intermediary research institutes
Publication date: November 2013 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volume 66 Author(s): Sierk F. Spoelstra The agricultural sustainability challenge is often formulated in terms of meeting the increasing demand for food of a growing and wealthier world population while simultaneously reducing environmental impacts. Strategies to meet this challenge include increasing agricultural yields, saving land and diverting agricultural produce from use for feed and fuel. The paper compares such strategies based on natural sciences with alternatives captured under the umbrella of sustainability sciences, based on...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - October 12, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Is agricultural intensification in The Netherlands running up to its limits?
Publication date: November 2013 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volume 66 Author(s): Jules F.F.P. Bos , A. (Bert) L. Smit , Jaap J. Schröder Environmental pressures posed through human activities are expected to further increase due to growing population numbers and increasing per capita consumption. It will be crucial that the sum of all pressures leaves the planet within sustainability thresholds. The huge challenge for agriculture is to double its food production without further deteriorating the environment, but there is little consensus on how to do this. At the global scale, ‘sustainable ...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - October 12, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

An ethical foundation for careful animal husbandry
Publication date: November 2013 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volume 66 Author(s): Henk Jochemsen Current practices in intensive animal production increasingly raise questions with respect to animal ethics both among the public in Europe and in political circles. This paper integrates three areas of philosophical views in order to formulate a general ethical position with respect to animal husbandry. The first area regards the question to what type of beings animals are. Secondly, an evaluative model of agrarian practices is employed in order to obtain a better perception on the place of animals i...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - October 12, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Reducing damaging behaviour in robust livestock farming
Publication date: November 2013 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volume 66 Author(s): Douwe de Goede , Bart Gremmen , T. Bas Rodenburg , J. Elizabeth Bolhuis , Piter Bijma , Martin Scholten , Bas Kemp This paper focuses on how farmers can reduce damaging behaviour in livestock farming by using robustness strategies. We suggest focusing not only on breeding and improvement of early life, but also on supporting adaptation to the environment by offering a suitable housing environment. First, we describe the theoretical background to robustness. Three different robustness strategies are then relate...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - October 12, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

Decision making on mega stables: Understanding and preventing citizens’ distrust
Publication date: November 2013 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volume 66 Author(s): G. (Gerard) Breeman , C.J.A.M. (Catherine) Termeer , M. (Maartje) van Lieshout The expansion of intensive livestock farming, especially the construction of mega stables, is highly contested in the Netherlands. In this context, local authorities try to make decisions about situating mega stables on their territory by balancing out various interests. However, many become entangled in escalating processes and lose the trust of both citizens and farmers. On the basis of an evaluation of a decision-making process about...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - October 12, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research

On markets and government: property rights to promote sustainability with market forces
Publication date: November 2013 Source:NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volume 66 Author(s): Krijn J. Poppe There are many different images of the livestock industry and many persons are unhappy with the outcome of the market process. Instead of explaining why the market leads to the current outcomes, it is wise to be prepared that politics will rearrange the property rights in order to produce different outcomes of the market mechanism. In this essay, I show that there are market processes that contribute to a more sustainable way of farming, and that these processes can be reinforced. There are also unsus...
Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - October 12, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: research