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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This research investigated the environmental impact of the pig production chain by modelling contrasting scenarios. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and scenario analysis methodologies were used to reveal the main opportunities to improve sustainability. Pig production systems were modelled in two countries (The UK and Mexico), each with a standard production system and on alternative system. This gave four scenarios which were different in the degree of integration that exist between pig and crop production and were then specified in detail to allow for comparison of environmental impact. This study used two strategies to analyse the four scenarios: A pre-assessment facilitated the construction of the system boundary and clarified the processes and commodities which should be included in the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). A hybrid-LCA method combined a detailed collection of environmental burdens (e-burdens) from the main sources (process-LCA) and a broad compilation of e-burdens from indirect sources (Economic Input Output-LCA). The pre-assessment, conducted as a general LCA, explored novel techniques to construct the system boundary and explore the supply chains in detail. This step clarified the importance of the supply chains of different commodities that are used in the pig farm. The importance of previously reported commodities and processes that mainly contribute to the environmental impact, i.e. feed consumption and manure fermentation were confirmed. Novel findings included the importance of the environmental impacts of goods and services, i.e. machinery, equipment, disinfectants and medicines, that have negligible weight in the impact of environmental indicators that are traditionally analysed (global warming, acidification and eutrophication). The inclusion of novel indicators, such as ozone depression and ecotoxicity to water and soil, demonstrated the importance of including in the LCA those commodities and indicators that have been excluded in many previous studies on the sustainability of pig production. Subsequently, the hybrid-LCA method allowed the expansion of the system boundary of the LCA in a detailed evaluation of each scenario. Results showed the UK scenarios to be superior in management of nutrient flow, by manure management and good agricultural practice. Opportunities to capture methane and recycle nutrients for crop production in the Mexican scenarios were highlighted. In contrast, reduction in machinery and equipment use and fuel consumption were the main opportunities which emerged for the UK scenarios. In addition, specific opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of different pig supply chain sectors were identified in each scenario. In conclusion, the EIO-LCA method allowed for an extension of the traditional system boundary of the LCA, to encompass those e-impacts that have not been included in previous studies. The contrasting of different scenarios allowed emphasis to be placed on opportunities to reduce environmental impact of pig production by highlighting the main challenges in each case. This avoids the controversial issue of denoting a set of specific e-impacts that then favour one production system over another.

Food quality, including safety, is a major concern facing the food industry today. The effects of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures in the fisheries sector of The Gambia including the factors affecting the safety and spoilage of fish were investigated. Effects of SPS measures are important impediments for exporting fish and fishery products originating from The Gambia to the international food commodity trade. The inadequate scientific and technical expertise in addition to the general lack of information and finance are the major contributing factors to these impediments. The Government must build capacity, improve infrastructure and increase the number of trained personnel to adequately monitor and enforce fish safety and quality for both domestic consumption and exports. It is crucial that the seafood industry upgrade fish processing establishments and comply with the required hygiene and sanitary standards necessary. To minimise post harvest losses and improve fish quality, the use of ice along the production and supply chain must be applied. The effect of icing on colour and texture measurements of mackerel fish showed an increase in lightness of the eyes and gills during the initial 3 days of storage coinciding with a decrease in textural firmness. Deformation of the fish muscle over storage time was highly significant (p≤ 0 .01) for the upper and middle parts but not for the tail end of the fish. A comprehensive evaluation on the effect of storage temperature on sensory, chemical and microbiological assessment of mackerel fish was conducted. Whole un-gutted mackerel fish had a shelf life of 8 days during storage in ice. The average quality index (QI) was highly correlated (r=0.99) with days of storage. Both total volatile and basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and trimethylamine (TMA) increased during icing storage. The production of TMA and TVB-N as indicated by the correlation (r= 0.97; p< 0.001) was highly significant. A major increase in mean microbial count occurred at day 8; this indicated that the usefulness of total bacterial count as an indicator of spoilage was only clear from day 8. The effects of temperatures proved to be significant on the formation of biogenic amines and on the growth of microorganisms over storage time. Maximum contents of histamine, cadaverine and putrescine were obtained at 25°C. Histamine was not detected at 0°C despite the growth of the Enterobacteriaceae on the samples. Spermidine, spermine and tyramine cannot be used as suitable indicators of fish spoilage. The investigation on the effects of environmental conditions on the changes in microbial growth kinetics for Pseudomonas fluorescens, Shewanella putrefaciens and cultures of mixed bacteria from mackerel fish, showed a temperature effect which was highly significant. The maximum growth of the microorganisms was attained at 0 to 5% NaCI concentration and between pH 6.5 and 7. Overall, this study showed that the methods used proved important in evaluating mackerel fish freshness quality. The wider application of the sensory method will be useful for the fishing industry.

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No historical account has previously been written of Scottish sheep farming, though it has played an important part in the social and economic progress of the country. The present study attempts to describe pastoral life from early times in an area which, though limited, may be considered the home of sheep and their management in Scotland. This area, the central uplands of the Borders, is described in the first chapter, together with its natural divisions and resources. The origins of the sheep farms are also examined, and linked to the establishment of large estates owned by noblemen and Melrose Abbey in mediaeval times. The distribution of farmsteads and the definition of their boundaries is seen to depend much upon the nature of the land and the wild conditions under which early settlement took place. In the next chapters it is shown that little progress in farming was made until, with a larger number of locally -based landowners and the relatively peaceful conditions after 1600, the old customary tenant system was replaced with a commercial arrangement. The rapid expansion of the Buccleuch estate at this time was of the greatest importance to the subsequent development of sheep farming in the area, as were such matters as the function and place of estate factors, the number and status of tenants, and the terms upon which farms were held. These, and various aspects of the sheepfarms themselves - size of stock, breeds, extent of arable and pasture, eighteenth century improvements distribution and management of sheep, housing, etc. - all form the historical background to the traditional social and working life of the shepherding community. Of particular importance in this study are the chapters (6-9) dealing with the domestic world of farmer and shepherd, and their yearly round. This section is necessarily based upon a blend of information drawn from oral and written sources, and it provides a picture of a way of life whose traditions go back beyond history. Some practices, such as smearing, became obsolete, others, such as marketing, changed in style. Change was slow at first, deeper and swifter towards the end of the period, and the causes of it were many; the major one was the pressure of those altering economic circumstances which are outlined in the final chapter on the wool trade and markets.

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