With a rapidly growing world population and increased threats of climate change, Sub-Saharan Africa is most at risk for lower crop yields and facing hunger. Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Senegal has some of the highest levels of anemia and micronutrient deficiencies among women and children. Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] is a pulse crop that has recently been successfully introduced in Senegal to diversify a primarily cereal-based diet consisting of millet, maize, and rice. The potential for mungbean to be harvested as a leafy green as well as a pulse could allow for a more balanced and nutrient-rich diet. This diversification could help combat micronutrient deficiencies while earlier harvest of the leaves could help alleviate the pressures of the "hunger season." To understand the effects of leaf harvest on mungbean grain yield, yield components, and nutrition, a field trial was conducted in Blacksburg, Virginia for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. In a split-plot design, four frequencies of leaf harvest (0x, 1x, 2x, and 3x) on seven accessions of mungbean were tested in triplicate. The objective of this experiment was to determine if mungbean can be used as a dual-purpose crop as a leafy green vegetable without decreasing grain yield in Senegal. It was found that mungbeans could undergo up to two leaf harvest of immature leaves without reducing yield, total dry matter (TDM), or yield components. The harvested leaves were also found to be highly nutritious with 22.0% protein, 12.3% fiber and 8.5% ash with no significant differences between leaf harvest treatments. These results indicate that mungbean can be used as a dual-purpose crop for harvest as leafy greens and pulse in Senegal. Further, mungbeans were studied as a viable crop in southside Virginia. The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of mungbeans as an alternative crop to tobacco farmers in Virginia. Field trials were conducted on farmers' fields and at Virginia Tech's Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center in 2021 and 2022. A split-plot experimental design was used with early and late planting dates in the beginning and end of June as the whole plots and two commercially-available cultivars, Berken and OK 2000, as the sub-plots. Due to highly variable rain patterns in 2021 and 2022, as well as differing management practices, there were no consistent effects of genotype or planting date on yield, plant height, pods per plant, seeds per pod, or seed size. Yield ranged from 0.19 MT ha-1 to 1.18 MT ha-1 with an average yield of 0.84 MT ha-1 in 2021 and 0.38 MT ha-1 in 2022. Though there was variation in yield, across planting dates, cultivars, locations, and years, the highest yield was higher than global averages. It was concluded that while there is great potential with the growing mungbean market, more studies of breeding and supply chain issues and development of a production guide are needed for mungbean to be successful in Virginia. A final study compared soybean, edamame, and mungbean nutritional components and volatiles, two characteristics of importance to breeding objectives and food processing regarding plant alternative proteins. It was found that mungbean had significantly less protein (21.1%) than soy (36.2%) and edamame (38.3%). Mungbean also had lower fat (0.769%) compared to soy (13.5%) and edamame (14.0%). Analysis of aromatic compounds revealed that soybean, edamame, and mungbean each had unique profiles that could be advantageous to the production of specific plant protein foods. Overall, these studies demonstrate the growing importance and potential of mungbean in both Senegal and in the United States. / Master of Science / With a rapidly growing world population and increased threats of climate change, Sub-Saharan Africa is most at risk for lower crop yields and facing hunger. Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Senegal has some of the highest levels of anemia and micronutrient deficiencies among women and children. Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] is a pulse crop that has recently been successfully introduced in Senegal to diversify a primarily cereal-based diet consisting of millet, maize, and rice. The potential for mungbean to be harvested as a leafy green as well as a pulse could allow for a more balanced and nutrient-rich diet. This diversification could help combat micronutrient deficiencies while earlier harvest of the leaves could help alleviate the pressures of the "hunger season." To understand the effects of leaf harvest on mungbean grain yield, yield components, and nutrition, a field trial was conducted in Blacksburg, Virginia for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. In a split-plot design, four frequencies of leaf harvest (0x, 1x, 2x, and 3x) on seven accessions of mungbean were tested in triplicate. The objective of this experiment was to determine if mungbean can be used as a dual-purpose crop as a leafy green vegetable without decreasing grain yield in Senegal. It was found that mungbeans could undergo up to two leaf harvest of immature leaves without reducing yield, total dry matter (TDM), or yield components. The harvested leaves were also found to be highly nutritious with 22.0% protein, 12.3% fiber and 8.5% ash with no significant differences between leaf harvest treatments. These results indicate that mungbean can be used as a dual-purpose crop for harvest as leafy greens and pulse in Senegal.

Background: Even the lowest-impact animal-based food production has a much larger negative impact on the environment compared to plant-based alternatives. The lifestyle change of reducing meat consumption would decrease the negative impact of the food sector. One key obstacle to adopting this more sustainable diet are the inhibitors of the consumption of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). The most commonly identified inhibitors are sensory attributes, price, health concerns, unfamiliarity with PBMAs and unwillingness to change. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain the impact of inhibitors of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) consumption among meat-eaters in Sweden. Methodology: A quantitative and deductive research strategy was employed as the means of gathering data. The cross-sectional research design was used with the usage of self-completion questionnaires and administered on Facebook and Reddit. The sampling method employed convenience and purposive sampling and resulted in 334 responses (307 valid). The collected valid data was then cleaned, coded and subsequently examined through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.  Findings: The conducted regression analysis revealed that sensory attributes (H1), health concerns (H3), unfamiliarity (H4) and unwillingness to change (H5) had a significant negative impact on the consumption of PBMAs among meat-eaters in Sweden, thus these hypotheses were accepted. Price (H2) was found non-significant, resulting in the rejection of H2. Conclusion: The most impactful factor inhibiting the consumption of PBMAs among meat-eaters in Sweden was found to be sensory attributes (β = -0.265), followed by unwillingness to change (β = -0.238), health concerns (β = -0.161) and finally the least impactful unfamiliarity (β = -0.113). High prices were not an inhibitor of PBMA consumption among meat-eaters in Sweden. Conclusion: The most impactful factor inhibiting the consumption of PBMAs among meat-eaters in Sweden was found to be sensory attributes (β = -0.265), followed by unwillingness to change (β = -0.238), health concerns (β = -0.161) and finally the least impactful unfamiliarity (β = -0.113). High prices were not an inhibitor of PBMA consumption among meat-eaters in Sweden.

A study of European households found that Food and drink causes a fourth of the total various environmental impacts. Globally does the food sector account for 22 % of all the greenhouse gas emissions. The climate impact from different foods do however vary significantly, and meat products does generally cause higher greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based foods. A reduction of the meat consumption is suggested by many researchers as one of the most important measures in order to move towards a more sustainable food consumption and production. The grocery retailers have an important role as gatekeepers between the consumer and the products, and the aim of this thesis is to study a transition towards a larger range and increased sales of plant-based protein alternatives to meat from the retailers’ perspective. It does so by attempting to identify drivers and barriers from their point of view. Data was collected through interviews with representatives for the largest retailer groups (n=3) and interviews with store managers (n=8) as well as by examining the product range in the stores (n=10). Grocery stores were located in two different cities; the district Södermalm in central Stockholm and Östersund, a mid-sized town in the Northern parts of Sweden. The results from the interviews showed an increase in the range as well as the sales of vegetarian products at all the participating retailers and stores, and all the interviewees believed that this will continue to increase even further in the future. Flexitarians and young people stands out as the main groups of consumers who buy these products and thus lies behind this increase. What drives the consumers has been identified as an increased awareness, an improved product range and media attention. From the retailers’ perspective it is also now considered a competitive advantage to offer an attractive range of these products. Price has been identified as one of the main barriers for a future expansion of the sales these vegetarian alternatives, but several of the participants also believed that a lot of people are not at all interested in lowering their meat consumption which would be a central obstacle to overcome to get a wide spread in society as a whole. Even if the products have improved recently they may still not be attractive enough to be considered as an alternative for all consumers. The findings also indicate that there is a relatively small difference between the two participating cities, with the main exception that the stores at Södermalm in general offers more perishable vegetarian alternatives than the stores in Östersund does. The most significant differences, regarding product range, was found within ICA (Sweden’s largest food retailer) where the stores are privately owned and the store managers can choose assortment which differs from the other two large retailers Axfood and Coop where it is centrally controlled. The representatives from the retailer groups had rather different views on their ownrole in the development of the vegetarian alternatives but also on what future measures they believed are needed for a future development and impact. This has consequences for the consumers as the range differs to a large degree, to some extent between the different retailer groups, but mainly within the largest one (ICA). The results from this study cannot be generalised, but may provide new insights to a perspective that seems to not have been studied before and might constitute a point of departure for future research. / Mat och dryck står för ungefär en fjärdedel av vår miljö- och klimatpåverkan och globalt står livsmedelssektorn för 22 % av alla växthusgasutsläpp. Klimatpåverkan varierar dock kraftigt mellan olika typer av livsmedel och generellt sett är utsläppen från kött flera gånger större än för vegetabiliska livsmedel. Att minska köttkonsumtionen och övergå till mer vegetabiliska proteiner anses vara en av de viktigaste åtgärderna för att nå en mer hållbar matkonsumtion. Som länken mellan varan och konsumenten har dagligvaruhandeln en viktig roll för att förutsättningarna ska finnas på plats. Den här studien syftar till att undersöka handelns syn på utvecklingen av en ökad´andel vegetariska alternativ till kött, genom att belysa drivkrafter, hinder samt hur utbudet ser ut. Data samlades in genom intervjuer med centrala representanter för ICA, Coop och Axfood (n=3) samt genom intervjuer med butikschefer (n=8) och sortimentsundersökningar i butik (n=10) i en stor respektive mellanstor svensk stad (på Södermalm i Stockholm samt i Östersund). Resultaten visar att försäljningen och utbudet av vegetariska produkter har de senaste åren ökat kraftigt hos alla medverkande butiker och bolag, och utvecklingen tros även fortsätta i framtiden. Det är främst flexitarianer och unga som är drivande för utvecklingen, och en ökad medvetenhet (miljö, hälsa och djurvälfärd) samt att utbudet blivit bättre pekas ut som bidragande orsaker. För butikerna och bolagen själva är det även en konkurrensfördel att ha ett bra vegetariskt utbud. Ett av de främsta hindren som kommit fram för den fortsatta utvecklingen är att det är många som inte är intresserade av att minska sin köttkonsumtion, att produkterna inte är tillräckligt attraktiva och att de kan vara dyra. Resultaten visar också att skillnaden i utbud mellan städerna är relativt liten, med undantaget att det är en mindre andel färska alternativ i Östersund än på Södermalm. De största skillnaderna i hur många vegetariska alternativ som kunden har att välja på (oberoende av stad) finns inom ICA som drivs av privata handlare och där butikerna i större grad kan påverka sitt sortiment, tillskillnad från Axfood och Coop där sortimenten centralstyrs. De centrala representanter som medverkat har olika syn på sin egen roll i utvecklingen samt vilka åtgärder som behövs för en fortsatt utveckling. För konsumenten finns det en relativt stor skillnad i bredden på det vegetariska utbudet beroende på vilken butik de väljer att gå till, vilket verkar vara en konsekvens av vilken nivå sortimentet bestäms på. Resultaten från studien går inte attgeneraliseras, men de kan ge nya insikter i ett perspektiv som inte verkar studerats tidigare och vara en utgångspunkt för framtida studier.

Background Meat is one of the most nourishing and highly consumed foods, but the controversy around theconsumption of meat products, and the negative effects around the consumption of meatproducts led to increased scholarly attention on the user willingness to alter their meatconsumption. In Sweden, a guideline by the Livsmedelsverket (The Swedish National Food Agency) in 2015 encouraged people to consume less red and processed meat. This was because 72 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women in Sweden have individual consumption levels that exceed the 500 grams per week of red and processed meats as recommended by the World Cancer Research Fund. Objective This planned mixed-methods study inquires about the attitudes of young adult omnivorestowards the reduction of meat intake, their expected liking of changing dietary habits, andmotivation towards the reduction of meat consumption in Sweden. Changing dietary habits inthe current context refers to the participant’s willingness to favour meat alternatives. Methods The current study is a convergent mixed method design using both a quantitative survey andqualitative interviews to collect primary data. Results and conclusion The participants from both the qualitative and quantitative study are broadly worried about thehealth problems associated with high meat consumption and motivation for reducing meatconsumption was based on health as well as ethical issues. Being opposed to reducing meatconsumption is a common position for young adult omnivores. / Bakgrund Kött är ett av de mest näringsrika och mest konsumerade livsmedlena. Med anledning av attman funnit negativa effekter av en hög konsumtion av kött har man vetenskapligt alltmer börjatintressera sig för konsumentens vilja att ändra sin köttkonsumtion.I Sverige uppmanade Livsmedelsverket Sveriges befolkning att konsumera mindre rött kött ochbearbetade köttprodukter. Bakgrunden till detta var att 72 % av männen och 42 % av kvinnornai Sverige har individuella konsumtionsnivåer som överstiger 500 gram av rött kött ochbearbetade köttprodukter per vecka, vilket är en maxrekommendation från Världscancerforskningsfonden. Mål Denna bland metodstudie undersöker attityden för att minska köttkonsumtionen hos unga vuxna allätare i Sverige, deras förväntade åsikter kring förändrade kostvanor samt deras motivation att minska sin köttkonsumtion Metoder I den aktuella studien ingår en metoddesign som innefattar både en kvantitativ undersökning och kvalitativa intervjuer för att samla in primära data. Resultat och slutsats Deltagarna från både den kvalitativa och den kvantitativa undersökningen är i stort sett överensstämmande och visar att försökspersonerna är oroliga för de hälsoproblem som är förknippade med hög köttkonsumtion och deras motivation för att minska köttkonsumtionen baserades på frågor kring hälsa och etik. Det var vanligt förekommande bland försökspersonerna att vara bunden till köttkonsumtion.