1.0 Introduction: Water can be observed as being a major component of many foods as well as one of the more important groups of nutrients worldwide. This is primarily due to the influences water has on texture, appearance and the taste of food. Nutritionally, water helps to maintain body temperature and plays a role in transportation of nutrients and wastes providing the solution for hundreds of chemical reactions. Water also plays a role in sanitation in food practices as well as food preservation and therefore it is essential for the food industry (Kemmer N, F.,1988). In dried foods, water has a predominant role in the physical and chemical properties as well as the mechanisms that control their deterioration. As a result of this, …show more content…
This is done by lime and carbon dioxide in which is added in order to precipitate out the non-sugar substances. Once the juice is evaporated in several stages its sugar content elevates to about 67 % and it is then boiled until light golden transparent crystals are formed, this process is called crystallization. The syrup is then separated from the crystals by being spun off and rinsed off with water and steam. Repetition of these processes produces refined sugar, i.e. very pure crystal sugar of the highest quality. 4.2 Fruit and Vegetable Industry Major water use is associated with the fruit and vegetable industry which include the washing steps for raw and processed produce, peeling and pitting practices, blanching, fluming the produce after blanching, sorting, and conveying the product within the plant. In the processing of fruit and vegetable industry there are six major contributing factors for water use. They include, raw produce washing, grading, and trimming, washing after steaming, blanching and fluming, filling, sanitation/plant cleanup, and processed product cooling (Jongen, 2002). 4.3 Meat and Poultry Industry In the meat and poultry industry water is used for chilling, scalding, can retorting, washing, cleaning, and waste conveying. In many instances, this water is used in the plant for the transport of feathers and offal from the processing area. In poultry processing plants, in addition to being used for carcass washing and cleaning,
The first objective is to study the effect of food processing on molecular structure of processed food. This objective will be achieved through applying detailed molecular structure characterization studies on food processed under different processing parameters. This objective is aiming fundamental knowledge on processing effect on food structure with relating food structure to their functionality.
This essay is a review of the article “Growing More Food with Less Water”, written by Sandra Postel. According the article, our global freshwater sources, including underground aquifers and rivers are stressed beyond their ability to provide freshwater. Agriculture redesign is necessary with the two primary goals being to cut water demands of mainstream agriculture and bring low cost irrigation to poor farmers. Typical irrigation, crop furrow flooding is a main cause of wasted and polluted water. This article discusses alternatives to typical irrigation. These alternatives have been tested onsite by farers and surveyed.
The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork by Anna Lappé is an argumentative article that gives an unorthodox view to the probable causes and potential solutions of global warming. In the article, Lappé argues that many modern procedures for food production and distribution across the world have an astronomically negative effect on climatic change. Three different “connections” between food production, food distribution, and negative climatic change arise from the article: the “land use connection”, the “agricultural connection”, and the “waste and transportation connection.” Lappé also insists that changing the way food is produced and distributed around the world could decrease the harmful consequences of global warming rapidly, and ultimately
Living on a farm for the first half of my life, I know that my dad and many of our neighbors’ schedules revolved around the rain. Aquaponic and hydroponic methods of farming both provide dramatic reduction in water usage. One system designed by Nate Storey claims to be able to reduce water usage substantially (2014). He says that a similar sized back yard garden will use twenty times the water as hydroponic/aquaponics system. Other systems have seen similar reduction in water usage, because unlike traditional farming with irrigation, aquaponics and hydroponics is a closed system that recirculates water multiple times so that most water loss is through evaporation and the plants using it for osmosis. In traditional farming, water is lost to runoff or evaporates before the crops have a chance to use it. Moreover, aquaponics was originally mentioned as a way to reduce fish imports and allow people of inland populations to have locally raised fish and produce in the Virgin Islands (Rakocy 2000). With the need to provide food, particularly meat, aquaponically raised fish provide an alternative to shipping fish inland from the coasts or international
Water: a necessary facet to all living things. For animals, water can be a home or a drink. As for humans, the uses of water are endless. Not only do we use water as a beverage or washing clothes or dishes, but we also use water for toilets, various kinds of plumbing and other things that aren’t as easily identifiable. As of 2005, this 70% of our Earth has been manipulated and used for thermoelectric power (41.5%), irrigation (37%), domestic affairs (8.5%), public supply (5.4%), industry (5%) and aquaculture (2.6%).1 The importance of water is infinite, not only to our way of life, but also our lives. We need to drink water to ensure the health of individual cells of the body, lubricate joints, moisten mucous membranes of the organs and many other vital bodily functions.2 Not only do we expect the availability of water, but it is highly important to humans and all living things. Although it is such an integral part of our Earth, one may ask about some of its properties and characteristics.
With all of this water used to grow produce, it is truly a scary thought to consider how much of this water is simply wasted and tossed with the produce that is not deemed “worthy” of being sold and is therefore tossed.
The United States agriculture makes up for more than two-thirds of our nations water footprint. That huge water footprint is primarily due to the tremendous amount of water needed to grow the grass and feed that a cow eats over its lifetime. This also includes the Cattles drinking water, cleaning, and processing. Those who are greatly affected by the lack of water in their states, particularly in the west coast, feel that the amount of water consumption needs to be reduced significantly. According to the National Geographic, “the water it takes to produce the average American diet alone—approximately 1,000 gallons per person per day. This is more than the global average water footprint of 900 gallons per person per day for diet, household
Agriculture, probably more than any other human enterprise, is responsible for destabilizing our planet’s water supply. California and their emergency crisis on their low levels of water ultimately having a national controversial impact on the production of the agricultural industry.
But how does food influence water? Well, water is inside of food and when you waste that food you are also wasting water. For example, a pound of wheat flour is about 12 percent water. This water negatively influences the environment when it is wasted. The water that comes from one place, say where an apple is grown, will not necessarily be brought back to that place. Instead, the water in that food will most likely evaporate, if it can. Some food will be locked up in a garbage dump and the water inside of it will not be returned to any place.
Water usage for agriculture in Ontario is exceeded by two other sectors but, does play a large part and quite important as it generates a lot of economic revenue for the citizens. In Ontario, the Canadian Government requires all farmers who will be withdrawing more than 50,000 L of water to obtain the “Permit to Take Water”. This allows for the government to monitor how much water is being allotted to the agricultural sector. There are several issues faced by the government when trying to track water usage rates in Ontario. Agricultural water use in Ontario is distributed amongst 60,000 farms (figure 1) mostly in Southern, Ontario (Loë, 2005). The allocation of water in Ontario depends on accurate information from the sources of water, users
Water is essential for life as we know it on earth. It is used by plants
The fact that most small biological molecules dissolve in water is very important because all the chemical reactions that take place in cells do so in aqueous solution. Plants cam only obtain mineral salts in solution and human digestion will only dissolve soluble foods, meaning large starch molecules must be broken down into soluble sugars. Also many organisms living in water spend most of their time underwater, yet they require oxygen to respire, and as water is such a good solvent the required oxygen gas is dissolved in water. Water’s solvent properties also allow it to act as a transport medium for polar solutes for example the movement of minerals to lakes and seas and removal of metabolic wastes such as urea and ammonia in urine. Water’s thermal properties relate to its heat capacity.
REMIEDIATING AGRICULTURAL WATER CONTAMINATION Remediating Agricultural Water Contamination: Problem, Solution, and Barriers Paper Problem Concerns about water pollution are generally focused towards sources that are highly visible and chemically oriented. However, the greatest causes of water contamination and quantity abuse in the United States come from agricultural production (United States Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2012a), which is defined as a nonpoint source that pollutes with nutrients. In 2011, nine
With the growing population of the world, demand for food is increasing. This means that Australian farmers are struggling to provide enough food for the global market, and clean water for irrigation is as important as ever. In Australia, agriculture is the largest consumer of water, representing around 70% of our total annual water consumption. Australia is a major exporter of food, particularly wheat and beef, to the rest of the world. In 2009, 60% of Australia's agricultural produce was exported overseas. Overall meat production is expected to double by 2050, meaning that even more pressure will be put on the Australian meat industry. Recent droughts have meant that less water has been allocated to irrigating crops,
Hydration with water and other water-based liquids is critical for survival and functioning of the body’s organs. Water is 60% of the total human body composition. Water is involved in the