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From Field to Table: Short Wheat Supply Chains and Local Flours
Wheat is not only the raw material for bread, pasta, or pizza: it is also an indicator of how our food system functions. In recent decades, the wheat supply chain has become highly globalized: grains grown in Canada or Ukraine reach Italian mills, flours produced in Europe end up in baked goods in Asia, and…
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Desertification and grain production: a fragile balance
However, the growing threat of desertification is compromising the production stability of this strategic crop, with direct implications for food availability and global markets. Desertification, defined by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) as land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas due to climate factors and human activities, currently covers over…
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Grain routes: the global voyage of cargo ships
International grain trade is largely dependent on a complex and vulnerable maritime network. Routes connecting major global producers (such as Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, and North America) to markets in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa are often exposed to geopolitical, climatic, and logistical factors that affect their constancy and cost. Major Maritime Chokepoints…