Researcher Publishes Book on Food Sustainability as World Food Resources Decline

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The Handbook of Sustainability for the Food Sciences is a recently published book by University of Arkansas food science professor Ruben Morawicki.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Handbook of Sustainability for the Food Sciences, a newly published book by University of Arkansas food science professor Ruben Morawicki, addresses the urgent challenge of worldwide food security, which is threatened by the rapid decline of critical resources needed for production.

“Food sustainability is one of the most important challenges the world will face over the next decade,” says Morawicki. “We have fewer materials and less energy and water for food production. Other resources, such as fish, are being extracted at such a high rate that they’re dangerously depleted. These declining resources, combined with an ever-increasing population, mean that without immediate, meaningful and sustained action, we will suffer widespread food shortages. Parts of the world are already experiencing this.”

Morawicki’s book is a comprehensive guide to the environmental impacts of food production. It addresses topics such as the supply chain, energy, water, transportation, emissions and packaging. It also covers management issues such as life-cycle assessment, efficiency and environmental claims and reporting.

The book contains four sections, the first covering basic concepts of environmental sustainability. This section provides a detailed account of the impacts of the food supply chain. The second section discusses management principles of sustainability and the tools required to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and services. Part three examines methods of mitigating the environmental impacts of the food chain. This section includes chapters on air emissions, water and wastewater, solid waste, energy, packaging and transportation. The final section focuses on measures, which the author says will be required imminently, to guarantee long-term sustainability of the food-supply chain.

Handbook of Sustainability for the Food Sciences is a guide for food science professionals, including food engineers, food scientists, product developers, managers, educators and decision-makers. Written in accessible language, the book will appeal to anyone who cares about food security.

A former food-processing scientist at Tyson Foods, Morawicki began work as a professor in 2006. His research focuses on the environmental aspects of food production, with particular emphasis on sustainability, green technologies applied to food processing, energy efficiency and the use of co-products from food production. A professor in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, Morawicki directs the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture research program in food processing.