Oecotrophologie · Facility Management (OEF)
Refine
Publication Type
- Article (33)
- Conference Proceeding (2)
- Report (2)
- Book (1)
- Part of a Book (1)
- Contribution to a Periodical (1)
- Review (1)
Language
- English (41) (remove)
Has Fulltext
- yes (41) (remove)
Keywords
- sustainable consumption (4)
- Indicators (2)
- Nachhaltigkeit (2)
- Sustainability (2)
- expert interviews (2)
- governance (2)
- plant-based diet (2)
- public policy (2)
- sustainable consumption and production (2)
- Actors centred approach (1)
- Agenda 2030 (1)
- Caffeine (1)
- Consumption clusters (1)
- ESCOs (1)
- Environmental space (1)
- Epidemiologie (1)
- Erdbeben (1)
- European Union (1)
- Germany (1)
- Hochschulbildung (1)
- Iran (1)
- Islamic extremism (1)
- Katastrophenmedizin (1)
- Ketogenesis (1)
- Key resources (1)
- Land use (1)
- Material Flows (1)
- NEEAPs (1)
- NGOs (1)
- Paris agreement (1)
- Polanyi (1)
- Prism of Sustainable Consumption (1)
- Ressourceneffizienz (1)
- SDG implementation (1)
- Social Practice Theory SPT (1)
- Sustainable Consumption (1)
- Sustainable consumption (1)
- Theory of Planned Behaviour TPB (1)
- Veblen (1)
- absolute reduction (1)
- automated content analysis (1)
- cancer (1)
- cardiovascular disease (1)
- climate change (1)
- collective action (1)
- consumption corridors (1)
- content analysis (1)
- deep learning (1)
- dimensions of affordability (1)
- disaster (1)
- earthquake (1)
- ecological backpack (1)
- energy consumption (1)
- energy efficiency policy (1)
- environmental impact (1)
- epidemiology (1)
- food & nutrition (1)
- food consumption (1)
- food selection (1)
- food waste reduction (1)
- higher education (1)
- householding (1)
- households (1)
- inflammation (1)
- juice processing (1)
- limits (1)
- material footprint (1)
- meat (1)
- milk package (1)
- moral economy (1)
- natural language processing (1)
- needs (1)
- optional (1)
- organic (1)
- organic food processing (1)
- organic food quality (1)
- organic milk processing (1)
- oxidative stress, lifestyle intervention, lifestyle diseases, antioxidants, non-communicable diseases, prevention, ageing, immunity (1)
- power (1)
- qualitative text analysis (1)
- quality perception (1)
- residential sector (1)
- resource productivity (1)
- sharing economy (1)
- social change (1)
- social innovation (1)
- structural change (1)
- sufficiency (1)
- sufficiency policy options (1)
- sustainability (1)
- sustainable investments (1)
- systemic approaches (1)
- timebanking (1)
- value (1)
- vested interests (1)
- wellbeing (1)
Technological solutions to the challenge of dangerous climate change are urgent and necessary but to be effective they need to be accompanied by reductions in the total level of consumption and production of goods and services. This is for three reasons. First, private consumption and its associated production are among the key drivers of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, especially among highly emitting industrialized economies. There is no evidence that decoupling of the economy from GHG emissions is possible at the scale and speed needed. Second, investments in more sustainable infrastructure, including renewable energy, needed in coming decades will require extensive amounts of energy, largely from fossil sources, which will use up a significant share of the two-degree carbon budget. Third, improving the standard of living of the world’s poor will consume a major portion of the available carbon allowance. The scholarly community has a responsibility to put the issue of consumption and the associated production on the research and policy agenda.
Background. Ketone bodies are a highly relevant topic in nutrition and medicine. -e influence of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) on ketogenesis is well known and has been successfully used in ketogenic diets for many years. Nevertheless, the effects of MCTs and coconut oil on the production of ketone bodies have only partially been investigated. Furthermore, the increased mobilisation of free fatty acids and release of catabolic hormones by caffeine suggest an influence of caffeine on ketogenesis.
Methods. In a controlled, double-blind intervention study, seven young healthy subjects received 10mL of tricaprylin (C8), tricaprin (C10), C8/C10 (50% C8, 50% C10), or coconut oil with or without 150 mg of caffeine, in 250mL of decaffeinated coffee, over ten interventions. At baseline and after every 40 minutes, for 4 h, ßHB and glucose in capillary blood as well as caffeine in saliva were measured. Furthermore, questionnaires were used to survey sensory properties, side effects, and awareness of hunger and satiety. Results. -e interventions with caffeine caused an increase in ßHB levels—in particular, the interventions with C8 highly impacted ketogenesis. -e effect decreased with increased chain lengths. All interventions showed a continuous increase in hunger and diminishing satiety. Mild side effects (total � 12) occurred during the interventions. Conclusions. -e present study demonstrated an influence of caffeine and MCTon ketogenesis. -eaddition of caffeine showed an additive effect on the ketogenic potential of MCT and coconut oil. C8 showed the highest ketogenicity.
The United Nations formulated the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015 as a comprehensive global policy framework for addressing the most pressing social and environmental challenges currently facing humanity. In this paper, we analyse SDG 12, which aims to ‘‘ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.’’ Despite long-standing political recognition of this objective, and ample scientific evidence both on its importance and on the efficacy of various ways of promoting it, the SDGs do not provide clear goals or effective guidance on how to accomplish this urgently needed transformation. Drawing from the growing body of research on sustainable consumption and production (SCP), the paper identifies two dominant vantage points—one focused on promoting more efficient production methods and products (mainly through technological improvement and informed consumer choice) and the other stressing the need to consider also overall volumes of consumption, distributional issues, and related social and institutional changes. We label these two approaches efficiency and systemic. Research shows that while the efficiency approach contains essential elements of a transition to sustainability, it is by itself highly unlikely to bring about sustainable outcomes. Concomitantly, research also finds that volumes of consumption and production are closely associated with environmental impacts, indicating a need to curtail these volumes in ways that safeguard social sustainability, which is unlikely to be possible without a restructuring of existing socioeconomic arrangements. Analysing how these two perspectives are reflected in the SDGs framework, we find that in its current conception, it mainly relies on the efficiency approach. On the basis of this assessment, we conclude that the SDGs represent a partial and inadequate conceptualisation of SCP which will hamper implementation. Based on this determination, this paper provides some suggestions on how governments and other actors involved in SDGs operationalisation could more effectively pursue SCP from a systemic standpoint and use the transformation of systems of consumption and production as a lever for achieving multiple sustainability objectives.
Organic food quality is based on processing. While the EU organic production regulation focuses on agricultural production, private standards provide more detailed information about further processing. For the development of organic processing, practitioner perspectives can provide valuable input. To get insight into practitioner perspectives, we conducted semi-structured expert interviews with nine employees of seven partly organic juice processing companies from Germany and Austria. Interview topics were (i) quality of organic juice processing in general, (ii) assessment of specific processing techniques, (iii) product quality of organic juice and (iv) flow of information between producer and consumer. We conducted a thematic analysis. We found that the experts’ understanding of process quality mostly includes more aspects than the EU organic production regulation. It covers the whole food chain plus aspects of social and environmental sustainability. The experts prefer directly bottled juice of local raw materials but chiefly accept juice made from concentrate of exotic raw materials because of environmental concerns. Organic juice is preferred when it is cloudy and natural fluctuations are interpreted as an indicator of natural quality. The experts report that consumer information is challenging because of low food literacy. Raising this might help reduce the number of processed juices on the market.
Purpose: Organic food processing must include organic principles to be authentic. This qualitative study aims to understand the processors' understanding of organic food processing quality.
Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on semi-structured expert interviews with eight employees of six purely or partly organic dairies from Germany and Switzerland. Interview themes are (1) quality of organic milk processing in general, (2) assessment of specific processing techniques, (3) product quality of organic milk and (4) flow of information between producer and consumer. The interviews have been audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.
Findings: (1) Experts prefer minimal processing; some prefer artisanal processing, whilst others stress the advantages of mechanisation. (2) High temperature short time (HTST) pasteurisation and mechanical processing techniques are accepted; ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk processing is partly rejected. (3) Traditional taste and valuable ingredients should be present in the final product. Natural variances are judged positively. (4) Consumers' low level of food technology literacy is challenging for communication.
Research limitations/implications: The results cannot be generalised due to the qualitative study design. Further studies, e.g. qualitative case analyses and studies with a quantitative design, are necessary to deepen the results.
Practical implications: The paper shows which processing technologies experts consider suitable or unsuitable for organic milk. The paper also identifies opportunities to bridge the perceived gap between processors' and consumers' demands.
Originality/value: The study shows the challenges of processors in expressing the processors' understanding of process quality.
The paper looks at NGOs activities in Sustainable Production and
Consumption and obstacles being faced. It identifies lessons for policymakers seeking to engage civil society and makes recommendations on how academics can co-operate more effectively with civil society. Insights are drawn from recent studies on stakeholder involvement in the international political process and a series of surveys and semi-structured interviews. The authors identify four challenges. Effort should (1) be planned more strategically, (2) link sustainable consumption to current priorities, (3) ensure better links between global and local and (4) NGOs have to better link to other interest groups.
The Effects of Lifestyle Modification on Glycemic Levels and Medication Intake:The Rockford CHIP
(2012)
Introduction: The high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the past 50 years has led to intense research, resulting in many improvements in treatment. At the same time, type 2 diabetes, with its concomitant increase in vascular complications, has become a serious, exploding and costly public health concern . Diabetes now affects 285 million adults worldwide and 344 million with pre-diabetes. Of these, 25.8 million diabetics and 79 million pre-diabetics are found in the United States alone.The current cost of diabetes in the US is likely to exceed the $174 billion estimate, which includes 2/3 for direct medical costs and 1/3 for indirect costs, such as disability, work loss, and premature death, but omits the social cost of intangibles (e.g. pain, suffering, lower quality of life). The diabetes epidemic has been accompanied by a similarly drastic increase in obesity. Although the relationship between the two developments is a matter of debate, both are presumably caused by changes in dietary habits and an increasingly sedentary modern lifestyle . Compelling evidence has shown that lifestyle changes can effectively prevent or delay the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. Because individuals at risk for this disease can usually be identified during the pre-diabetic phase of impaired glucose tolerance, early intervention and lifestyle change offer a logical approach to preventing this disease and its devastating vascular complications. Additionally, community-based lifestyle interventions for high risk groups and for the general population are a cost-effective way of curbing the growing burden of the disease. Solidifying the scientific basis for the prevention, treatment and control of this disease and its implementation on a national level, however, remains a difficult challenge. Moreresearch is needed to provide comprehensive and more effective strategies for weight-loss,especially over time. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to identify diabetics and those at risk (prediabetics) out of the total cohort of 1,517 who selected themselves into an intensive community-based lifestyle intervention program, and to assess its clinical efficacy ineffecting medication status as determined and managed by their personal physicians.
The influence of globalization on the sustainability of consumption is a frequent topic in academic and political debates. Despite this, the scientific understanding of this influence and, even more so, of the consequences for governance strategies in pursuit of sustainable consumption are still weak. In this paper, we therefore inquire into the specific channels of the influence of globalization on the sustainability of consumption. Based on our analysis, we develop guidelines for sustainable consumption governance.
Power: the missing element in sustainable consumption and absolute reductions research and action
(2016)
In this essay, we aim to demonstrate the value of a power lens on consumption and absolute reductions. Specifically, we illuminate what we perceive to be a troublesome pattern of neglect of questions of power in research and action on sustainable consumption and absolute reductions. In pursuit of our objectives, we delineate how many of the informal and implicit “theories of social change” of scholars and activists in sustainable consumption and sustainable development fail to address power in a sufficiently explicit, comprehensive and differentiated manner and how that failure translates into insufficient understandings of the drivers of consumption and the potential for and barriers to absolute reductions. Second, we develop the contours of a power lens on sustainable consumption. Third, we illustrate the value of such a power lens, with a particular focus on the case of meat consumption.
What are the implications of the current international political, and
economic settings for consumer policy, and, in particular, those regarding sustainable consumption? In terms of improvements in the efficiency of consumption, the settings have induced efforts to this effect and show potential for further progress. In terms of necessary changes in consumption levels and patterns, however, little progress has been made since the Rio Summit nor is there likely to be any in the near future. These two dimensions of sustainable consumption need to be differentiated, as there is a substantial amount of controversy regarding our ability to achieve sustainable consumption on the
basis of improvements in efficiency alone. The paper traces these differences with respect to the work of the major international governmental organizations (IGOs) engaged in developing sustainable consumption governance. It argues that the lack of commitment
to strong sustainable consumption among IGOs can be explained by their ‘‘weakness’’ as actors in global governance and the existence of strong opposing interests among consumers and business actors.
Consumption Corridors: Living a Good Life within Sustainable Limits
explores how to enhance peoples’ chances to live a good life in a world of ecological and social limits.
Rejecting familiar recitations of problems of ecological decline
and planetary boundaries, this compact book instead offers a spirited explication of what everyone desires: a good life. Fundamental
concepts of the good life are explained and explored, as are forces
that threaten the good life for all. The remedy, says the book’s seven
international authors, lies with the concept of consumption corridors, enabled by mechanisms of citizen engagement and deliberative
democracy.
Across fve concise chapters, readers are invited into conversation about how wellbeing can be enriched by social change that joins
“needs satisfaction” with consumerist restraint, social justice, and
environmental sustainability. In this endeavour, lower limits of consumption that ensure minimal needs satisfaction for all are important, and enjoy ample precedent. But upper limits to consumption,
argue the authors, are equally essential, and attainable, especially in those domains where limits enhance rather than undermine essential
freedoms.
Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases. Therefore, improvement of oxidative stress status through lifestyle intervention can play a vital role in preventing and treating chronic diseases. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of articles published in the last decade examining the association between lifestyle intervention and oxidative stress biomarkers in the context of non-communicable diseases. The electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science were searched for relevant studies, following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. This systematic review focused on the four important oxidative stress biomarkers; glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and malondialdehyde. 671 articles were identified, of which nine met the inclusion criteria. A trend emerged, showing that lifestyle modifications that focus on diet and physical health can improve oxidative stress in the form of an increase in superoxide dismutase and CAT levels and a decrease in Malondialdehyde levels in participants with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), GSH levels were not affected. However, the results are difficult to compare because of the heterogeneity of the methods of the biomarkers studied. Our review indicates that oxidative stress can be influenced by lifestyle modifications and may be an effective tool for the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases. This review also elucidated the importance of analyzing multiple oxidative stress biomarkers to evaluate oxidative stress, it further highlights the need to conduct long-term lifestyle intervention studies on oxidative stress biomarkers to understand the connection between oxidative stress biomarkers, NCDs and Lifestyle intervention.
Introduction: Many disease processes are accompanied and promoted
by increased inflammation in the body. Increased concentrations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in the blood are an indicator of subclinical inflammation, increased disease risk, and an increased risk of early death. A healthy plant-based diet and increased physical activity have been shown to reduce hs-CRP concentrations.
Objectives: Our objective was to test if a healthy lifestyle intervention program can improve hs-CRP levels and other risk factors.
Methodology: We are conducting a non-randomized, controlled intervention study with 6 times of measurement (baseline, after 2.5, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months). Participants in the intervention group (n = 104) took part in a 2.5-month intensive lifestyle program focusing on a plant-based diet (PBD), physical activity, stress management and group support. Currently they are in the less intensive phase (monthly seminars) which will be completed after 24 months. The control group (n = 62) did not take part in any program. In both groups hs-CRP was assessed, and participants with an infection/common cold at any of the times of measurement were excluded from the analyses.
Results: In the intervention group (n = 97) we observed a reduction in hsCRP from baseline to 2.5 months (p < 0.001). In the control group (n = 46) hs-CRP levels increased non-significantly. The changes from baseline to 2.5 months were significantly different between intervention and control (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Our program led to a clinically relevant reduction in hs-CRP.
Continued follow-up will show if this improvement can be maintained in the intervention group. Our study confirms that a PBD and healthier lifestyle choices can lower hs-CRP.
Introduction: Moving towards a more plant-based dietary pattern would likely be beneficial in terms of a variety of sustainability dimensions.
Methodology: We conducted a 2-year intervention study with six measurement time points (baseline, 10 weeks, 6 months, 1 year, 1½ years, 2 years) in rural northwest Germany. The intervention consisted of a lifestyle programme, and dietary recommendations were to move towards a healthy, plant-based diet. The control group received no intervention. Diet quality was assessed with the healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI).
Results: In the intervention group (n = 67), the 2-year trajectory of hPDI was significantly higher compared to control (n = 39; p 0.001; between-group difference: 5.7 (95% CI 4.0, 7.3) food portions/day; adjusted for baseline). The 2-year trajectory of meat intake was significantly lower in the intervention group (n = 79) compared to control (n = 40; p 0.001; between-group difference: -0.7 (95% CI -0.9, -0.5) portions/day; adjusted for baseline).
Conclusion: Our study confirms that plant-based nutrition education in the general population is likely to result in at least modest dietary improvements in terms of general healthfulness and meat reduction.