The current world population of 7.6 billion is projected to reach 9.9 billion by 2050. The UN projects that agricultural output will need to increase by 70% simply to maintain current dietary standards, which does not include improving the diets of approximately 800 million malnourished people....

This chapter introduces food systems and organic farming, outlines the development of organic farming in Southern Africa, and grapples with the idea of sustainable development; drawing on earlier work of the author entitled Sustainable Development: Developing What to Sustain Whom? a conceptual...

The call to adopt a food systems approach has been made increasingly over the past two decades. A systems perspective contends that the only way to understand a problem fully is to understand the elements (parts) in relation to the system (whole). Systems science and research has been pursued in a...

The theory of participatory action research recommends finding tools for community participation in analysis of the situation and development of community programmes. Two case studies, from KwaZulu-Natal and from Philippi near Cape Town, are examined. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques...

Rainwater harvesting, solar water heating and organic vegetable production were used to improve efficiency in a suburban home in George, in South Africa's Southern Cape. In a year, treated municipal water consumption decreased from 17 kL/month to 8 kL/month, and 60 kL of rainwater was used for...

Africa is urbanizing rapidly, and many unemployed or poor people are trying to produce food in urban and peri-urban areas. Many local authorities see this as high-risk food production, mainly because of the risk of use of contaminated water. However, with good planning, urban gardens can supply...

This introductory chapter presents the history of apple cider production and industry in the USA. It also describes the classification of cider apple cultivars and the quantification of cider apple juice titratable acidity and tannin levels.

This book takes a transdisciplinary approach and considers multisectoral actions, integrating health, agriculture, environment, economy, and socio-cultural issues, to comprehensively explore the topic of sustainable diets. Consideration is given to the multi-dimensional nature of diets and food...

Promoting good nutrition, health and sustainable food systems in the context of population growth, dietary transition and a changing climate is a central challenge of our time. While climate change has an impact on our food systems and diets, our food systems and dietary patterns also affect...

Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development is a global commitment that includes a set of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. Food systems are at the heart of this agenda. SDG 12 seeks to 'ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns'. The third target under this goal,...