Chocolate - the very word conjures up a hint of the forbidden and a taste of the decadent. Yet the story behind the chocolate bar is rarely one of luxury. From the thousands of children who work on plantations to the smallholders who harvest the beans, Chocolate Nations reveals the hard economic realities of our favourite sweet. This vivid and gripping exploration of the reasons behind farmer poverty includes the human stories of the producers and traders at the heart of the West African industry. Orla Ryan shows that only a tiny fraction of the cash we pay for a chocolate bar actually makes it back to the farmers, and sheds light on what Fair Trade really means on the ground. Provocative and eye-opening, Chocolate Nations exposes the true story of how the treat we love makes it on to our supermarket shelves.

The future of our food depends on tiny seeds in orchards and fields the world over. In 1943, one of the first to recognize this fact, the great botanist Nikolay Vavilov, lay dying of starvation in a Soviet prison. But in the years before Stalin jailed him as a scapegoat for the country's famines, Vavilov had traveled over five continents, collecting hundreds of thousands of seeds in an effort to outline the ancient centers of agricultural diversity and guard against widespread hunger. Now, another remarkable scientist--and vivid storyteller--has retraced his footsteps. In "Where Our Food Comes From," Gary Paul Nabhan weaves together Vavilov's extraordinary story with his own expeditions to Earth's richest agricultural landscapes and the cultures that tend them. Retracing Vavilov's path from Mexico and the Colombian Amazon to the glaciers of the Pamirs in Tajikistan, he draws a vibrant portrait of changes that have occurred since Vavilov's time and why they matter. In his travels, Nabhan shows how climate change, free trade policies, genetic engineering, and loss of traditional knowledge are threatening our food supply. Through discussions with local farmers, visits to local outdoor markets, and comparison of his own observations in eleven countries to those recorded in Vavilov's journals and photos, Nabhan reveals just how much diversity has
already been lost. But he also shows what resilient farmers and scientists in many regions are doing to save the remaining living riches of our world. It is a cruel irony that Vavilov, a man who spent his life working to foster nutrition, ultimately died from lack of it. In telling his story, "Where Our Food Comes From" brings to life the intricate relationships among culture, politics, the land, and the future of the world's food.

The Coffee Guide is the world's most extensive, hands-on, and neutral source of information on the international coffee trade. It covers trade issues relevant to coffee growers, traders, exporters, transportation companies, certifiers, associations and authorities, and other relevant actors. Many in the coffee industry consider it the go-to reference. This fourth edition is directly informed by the coffee industry, and it has updated technical information on finance, food safety measures, logistics, and contracts. It has redefined quality and data segmentation and expanded digitalization coverage and information related to certifications and supply chain legislation. It also gives prime importance to issues like climate change, coffee price volatility, living wage, and the inequitable distribution of power, profit, and resources across the supply chain. It aims to be informative, useful, and inclusive of all sector stakeholders

Food Additive Toxicology is a text book written in simple language for graduates, postgraduate students and teachers in the discipline of food science and technology. The book covers most aspects relevant in the study of food additives and toxicology and as well as current scientific information on the issues which will be of interest to the food industry. It covers the silent aspects of science, such as the principles of food toxicology and their assessment, the various toxins found in food, food additives and their regulations, the risks and benefits of food additives, and clinical evaluation of food additives. There is also information on food acidulants, flavorants, colorants, emulsifiers, stabilizers, antioxidants, preservatives, anticaking agents, and fat replacers, as well as their roles, regulations, and toxicological aspects. A noteworthy feature is a chapter on information Resources in toxicology. The text has been supplemented with figures, table and illustrative problems and their solution. To keep readers up to date on recent developments in food additives and toxicology, the most recent research findings and new regulations have been incorporated.

This book describes diet as a factor that promotes long-term health in people. The dietary components that prevent aging and diseases are mentioned. To better understand the connection between diet and aging, the author discusses relevant issues that affect food choices and practices around the world; such as the relation between obesity, overweight and diets. The book also discusses diet challenges for countries around the world, such as African communities where access to nutritious food may be hampered by poverty. The need to manage diseases tied to diets in present day society is touched on in the book, so as to ease unsustainable burden on the healthcare system.

More recently, the food and nutrition panorama has become much more meticulous. Currently, personalized food and nutrition involves an ever increasing in-depth approach, evaluating a person's genes, eating habits, training schedules, sleep patterns, microbiome, and even the metabolome. The roles that food plays in peoples' lives are wide ranging and may include comfort, sustenance and nutrition, as well as survival, addiction and poison. In this book, the concept of personalized food is explored. It covers the practices of home cooking as well as picky eaters. It looks into the why the personalized nutrition changes over a lifetime. The book also presents a look into what the future holds, with concepts such as the quantified self and a discussion of current dietary recommendations.

Soy and Soy-Based Foods in Health and Nutrition is a book that outlines the importance of soy in the world food market and emphasizes on the manner in which soy is gaining importance in a world that is adopting vegan diet more and more. Soy is a rich source of protein and is a primary protein source in vegan food in US as well as in Asia Pacific regions. The soy consumption has gone up by many folds in the recent past and is expected to shoot even further. The book makes the readers realize this by quoting several examples of its applications and farm-raising.

The food safety and contamination practices were explained in this book. The microbial contamination of the food products was emphasized in detail. Some of the harmful bacteria that produces food borne toxins were illustrated. Some of the advanced techniques that can be used in the analysis of the food contaminants was explained in this book. Various types of flavors that enhance the customer's satisfaction was explained with examples. Some of the molecular techniques that can determine the quality of the food was discussed. Some of the chemical contaminants that spoil the food products were described with popular examples. The evaluation of food safety protocols was described by considering the local legislations of various countries. The process of food fortification and its role in the food processing industries was discussed in detail.

All food products possess their own characteristic microbiology. Nevertheless, out of all the fodder commodities, seafood is considered to have the most complex and diverse microbiology. In contrast to poultry or meat products where a few living species are categorized in each group, the term seafood covers hundreds of species and genera. This book offers a comprehensive investigation of microbiological safety and quality concerns of seafood. The detailed analysis of seafood products in different stages is presented in the book including harvest stage, processing stage and consumption stage. Most of the chapters in the book are comprehensively written based on latest data. An intensive effort has been made to integrate discussions on matters that are both timeless and timely. There are eight chapters in the book in which some of the topics are not essentially "microbiological' in nature; however, these topic are key to any meaningful information on seafood safety; these may include: Parasites, Thermal Processing, Depuration, and Natural Toxins. This book interprets seafood microbiology and seafood industry from the standpoints of processing influences and environmental influences. It will serve as an impetus for prospective research in these two areas of food industry, and bring the paradigms of safety and quality into effect.

Horticulture is labelled a lucrative agribusiness option. However, it's a long walk to lucrative horticulture markets, due to the many requirements that need to be fulfilled. There are so many options in vegetable and fruit production practices that can be easily carried out in an affordable manner to leap the benefits of the horticultural markets. When an entrepreneur engages these practices properly, the farms sustainability is guaranteed. By articulating the kind of product and target market, this book emphasizes the use of integrated pest, disease and weed management to ensure profitability and sustainability of a horticultural farm. This book looks at horticulture production in light of climate change, policy requirement and food security issues that may affect availability of different markets and market strategies. Compliance with Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) is important to horticulture management and profitability, thus the need to carefully select acceptable production techniques for the target market.

All those spices and herbs in your spice rack can do more than provide calorie-free, natural flavourings to enhance and make food delicious. Spices and herbs provide a variety of health benefits depending on how they are produced, prepared and taken. This book outlines some established health benefits of more than 50 different herbs and spices. It also describes the production of the spices and handling procedures that ensures maximum benefits. In the use of herbs and spices and herbs in food and health benefits, different community are oriented towards some herbs and spices combinations. This book outline how different regions in the world utilizes herbs and spices in food flavouring. Despite the health benefit of the herbs and spices, its crucial also to take precaution especially for pregnant women and people with allergies.

Wine and beer tourism have in recent times become popular niche segments of culinary tourism and are often the prime motivators for tourists to explore new countries and regions. This book explores how the emergence of these segments impact on the overall development of tourism in a region. Market-driven innovation, unique experiences, and diversification offer opportunities for local communities, and the development of partnerships with established hospitality and tourism businesses. The emerging role of social media is discussed along with other trends, supply considerations, sustainability, marketing and management challenges and opportunities for growth. This book is ideal for wine and beer enthusiasts, students, practitioners, researchers and entrepreneurs.

Food is a basic need of humans and of any life for that matter. There have been many developments in the field of food manufacturing and production, to provide the people with the best quality of food in terms of nutrients as well as in terms of taste. The book Developments in Food Engineering takes the readers through various such developments that have happened till now and focuses on the ones that have had significant impact on the food production industry and the supply of food in the market. It emphasizes on the efforts that have been made to provide the humans with quality as well as food security.

Biotechnology for Biofuels discusses the basic concept of biofuels along with its chemistry as well as classification. It also includes four different generation of biofuels such as first, second and third generation biofuels. This book also discusses about use of biofuels for various drives, advantages and disadvantages of biofuels, applications of biotechnology to renewable fuel production and future of bio fuels in fuel production, it also provides the reader with the fundamental notion of biofuels and its major classification in order to understand the application of biofuels in our daily lives along with their advantages and disadvantages.

Waste Management and the Food Industry gives an introduction to the food industry and explains it as a growing sector. It talks about the waste generation in food industries and the sustainability that can be achieved in such industries. It also talks about the technology used in the utilization and treatment of food and the optimization of manufacturing to bring reduction in waste generation in the food processing. Also discussed in the book is the consumer interest in waste management and co-product recovery, the environmental impact of waste generation in food industries, the issues and challenges in food waste separation and the trends and future of the food industry.

This publication is packed with the information that introduces genetically modified foods, describing current research, health concerns, and their effect on modern agriculture. The book is a solid reference for researchers and professionals needing information on the safety of GMO and non-GMO food production, the economic benefits of both GMO and non-GMO foods, and includes in-depth coverage of the subject.

Ensuring that the process of irradiating food delivers the desired result consistently is essential for the correct application of the technology and will help to inspire consumer confidence in irradiated food. This publication aims to help operators of irradiation facilities to appreciate and improve their practices and also to provide detailed, yet straightforward, technical information for stakeholders such as food regulators, manufacturers and traders, who also need to understand `good practice’.

The Mediterranean diet is attracting increasing attention internationally not only as a healthy diet but also as a sustainable one. Paradoxically, Mediterranean countries are moving away from this diet towards a situation in which problems of undernutrition coexist with overweight, obesity and chronic food-related diseases. The erosion of the Mediterranean diet heritage not only affects health but also has social, cultural, economic and environmental implications. Based on the outcomes of a workshop, this publication highlights the need to consolidate the Mediterranean diet as a lever to improve the sustainability of food systems and consumption patterns in the Mediterranean region.

According to the latest issue of this biannual outlook, food commodity markets remain well supplied. The cost of importing food is expected to rise by 6 percent compared to last year's, due to a sharp increase in freight rates, stronger import demand and firmer prices for most food commodities. This would bring the global food import bill to the second highest level on record.