This study is concerned with- the effects of changes in industrial concentration on average costs of production in 17 Canadian 4—digit food manufacturing industries over the period 1961-1982. The model employed is a dual Translog cost function adapted to include a concentration variable (Herfindahl index) and technical change, and is estimated using pooling techniques to allow simultaneous analysis of all 17 industries. The results indicate that there was a significant relationship between concentration and average costs for this sample. In particular, there appears to have been a decrease in average costs for low-concentration industries as concentration increased, ceteris paribus, while in high-concentration industries, increases in concentration led to increases in costs. Concentration changes have also had an effect on the relative shares of factors of production for these industries. An evaluation of employment effects across industries indicates that the benefits in efficiency due to increases in concentration in low-concentration industries must be weighed against apparent decreases in the overall employment (of labour) for these industries. Alternatively, the efficiency losses in high-concentration industries appear to have been offset by increases in overall employment as concentration has increased. Thus, depending on the criterion used, relative concentration effects may have been beneficial or detremental to social welfare; the outcome is not unequivocal. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

The purpose of this investigation is to determine through routine checks the number of organisms present in the various raw ingredients used for the preparation of foods. The problem has consisted of, first, a determination of the total bacterial population by numbers; second, a determination of the incidence of colon bacteria in the samples examined; third, a determination of the presence of yeasts and molds; and fourth, an attempt to utilize this information obtained in judging the methods of handling the raw ingredients before they are used in the processing of foods.

In Kisangani, as in other parts of Africa subject to political parasitism and economic chaos, people have had to draw on many channels of access to resources in order to survive. This pattern of shifting strategies militates against sustained investment in food supply and thus is a major factor in the food crisis in Africa. Thirteen months of fieldwork in the city of Kisangani and the surrounding subregion of Tshopo revealed how constantly changing regulations, inflation and poor infrastructure forced merchants and farmers into diversification and made long-term investment in rice production and trade risky. Uncertainty in the supply of basic resources such as credit, seeds, fuel, spare parts and produce sacks was linked to the draining of foreign exchange and development funds toward the nonproductive activities of the political élite. Controls on agricultural production such as the forced cultivation of rice led to suppression of African farmers' initiative. Trade in rice was in the hands of expatriate monopsonies until the 1970s, but the indigenization of expatriate businesses and plantations (zairianization) only served to isolate further the rural areas devastated by the Simba rebellion of the mid-1960s. In addition, zairianization fostered parasitism and discouraged investment. In the 1980s, farmers were blocked from organizing their own markets and cooperatives and farm labor was relegated telwomen. Large traders agreed to maintain controls on trade which perpetuated the bureaucracy in order to keep ahead of the mass of mobile small traders. Government programs, and approaches such as privatization and liberalization, initiated by Zaire's external investors, did not change the terms of access to resources within the Zairian economy and, thus, agricultural productivity did not increase. These findings support the theory that multiple survival strategies generated by economic chaos and circumvention of and collaboration with the state lead to declining agricultural productivity. This view has implications for agricultural development policy.

There has been increasing public concern about farm animal welfare regarding transportation, slaughter, and some management practices, especially in systems where animals are confined for most of their existence. Animal welfare organizations (groups) have traditionally focused on forwarding their agendas through legislation, although more recent attempts have focused on convincing large firms that buy agricultural commodities to require particular production process standards to be met. The strategic interactions of players in the egg industry are modeled using a game theory approach. Two scenarios were explored: a principal-agent contract model between food firms and farmers, and a model where two firms are targeted by animal activists. The former model was empirically analyzed while the latter model was theoretically examined. Results for the principal-agent contract model indicate that, in general, the decision by the farmer of whether to invest in a free-range production system is dependent on the probability of being caught cheating. Whether contracts will be accepted or rejected by suppliers is dependent on the premium for free-range eggs. Finally, as the amount that can be lost if caught breaching the contract decreases, investment is motivated only with a higher probability of being caught. Theoretical analysis where competition did not matter and animal welfare was not a determinant of demand shows that animal activists must convince food firms that there will be a significant change in revenue with compliance as opposed to rejecting the contract or negotiating a compromise in order to attain their objectives of increased animal welfare.

[pt] O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar o nível de entendimento dos consumidores aplicado à rotulagem nutricional de alimentos industrializados. Ele suporta a idéia de que cada consumidor funciona de maneira distinta frente ao contexto de análise dos rótulos nutricionais. Através de uma pesquisa empírica que utiliza a metodologia de um sistema de avaliação de letramento funcional, traça-se o perfil dos consumidores e mensura-se a pontuação dos entrevistados frente ao conhecimento de aspectos da rotulagem nutricional aplicada pela Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária. Os resultados mostram evidências de que existem consumidores desconhecedores de elementos nutricionais básicos, outros incapazes de desenvolver tarefas simples de análise de rótulos. Níveis diferentes de entendimento frente as variáveis sexo, renda, escolaridade, idade, leitura de rótulos, exercícios, prática de refeições fora de casa e compra de alimentos para a família revelam realidades heterogêneas de escolhas alimentares, trazendo subsídios importantes para a área de comportamento do consumidor e de políticas públicas. / [en] This study aims to evaluate the level of understanding of consumers in the context of food nutrition labeling. It supports the idea that each consumer works differently against the background of the analysis of nutrition labels. Through an empirical research that uses the methodology of an assessment system for functional literacy, a profile of consumers is drawn and a score of the respondents related to nutrition label aspects knowledge applied by Anvisa is measured. Results show evidence that consumers are unaware of basic nutritional elements, unable to develop other simple tasks of label analysis. Different levels of understanding by the variables gender, level of income, level of education, age, reading labels habit, exercise habit, practice of eating out and buying food for the family reveal heterogeneous realities of food choices, bringing important benefits to the area of consumer behavior and public policy.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. October 2014. / The study seeks to establish how sustainable agriculture can improve livelihoods and consequently alleviate poverty in Topiya community of Mpumalanga Province. The study also entails an investigation into whether the Topiya community is food insecure, and in this instance, how sustainable agriculture can be embraced smoothly to improve the food security status of the Topiya community. The study also seeks to unearth whether raising rural agricultural productivity is sufficient to improve livelihoods or a more robust and multi dimensional approach is needed to improve rural livelihoods in general. A research instrument (questionnaire) was designed and administered to 19 households. The data is analyzed by way of frequencies and percentages. The results yielded by this study demonstrated that Topiya Community is food insecure and a plethora of factors such as but not limited to lack of adequate arable land, lack of farm assets, lack understanding of the concept of sustainable agriculture contributes to this. The results also pointed to the fact that an intrinsic understanding of what sustainable agriculture entails is of paramount importance for the concept to be embraced and achieve the objectives of improving food security and consequently alleviating poverty.

A project report submitted to the faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of Science in Engineering. Heidelberg Transvaal, 1993. / The obiective of this research is to propose a model by which maintene may be managed in the prepared foods industry. Various companies in this industry have implemented modules of a maintenance administration system. Nowhere, for this industry, does a structured programme which will provide tha maintenance manager with the elements of an administration system, their sequence of implementation and their interrelationships exist. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / AC2017

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