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Heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) but few studies have investigated drinking and disease risk in middle income, non-western countries. We report on the relationship between alcohol consumption and NCDs in Thailand.A nationwide cross sectional survey was conducted of 87,151 Thai adult open university students aged 15 to 87 years (mean age 30.5 years) who were recruited into the Thai Cohort Study. Participants were categorized as never having drunk alcohol (n = 22,527), as being occasional drinkers who drank infrequently but heavily (4+ glasses/occasion - occasional heavy drinkers, n = 24,152) or drank infrequently and less heavily (<4 glasses/occasion - occasional light drinkers, n = 26,861). Current regular drinkers were subdivided into those who either drank heavily (4 + glasses per occasion - regular heavy drinkers, n = 3,675) or those who drank less (<4 glasses/occasion -regular light drinkers, n = 490). There were 7,548 ex-drinkers in the study. Outcomes were lifetime diagnoses of self-reported NCDs and obesity (body mass index ≥ 25).Most women were never drinkers (40 % among females) or occasional light drinkers (39 %), in contrast to men (11 % and 22 %, respectively). Alcohol consumption was associated with urban in-migration and other recognized risks for NCDs (sedentary lifestyle and poor diet). After adjustment for these factors the odds ratios (ORs) for several NCDs outcomes - high cholesterol, hypertension, and liver disease - were significantly elevated among both occasional heavy drinkers (1.2 to 1.5) and regular heavy drinkers (1.5 to 2.0) relative to never drinkers.Heavy alcohol consumption of 4 or more glasses per occasion, even if the occasions were infrequent, was associated with elevated risk of NCDs in Thailand. These results highlight the need for strategies in Thailand to reduce the quantity of alcohol consumed to prevent alcohol-related disease. Thailand is fortunate that most of the female population is culturally protected from drinking and this national public good should be endorsed and supported.

Les cultures orphelines peuvent contribuer à renforcer la résilience des systèmes de cultures marginales en tant que stratégie d'adaptation au changement climatique. Les cultures orphelines jouent un rôle important dans la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle mondiale et peuvent contribuer à des systèmes alimentaires durables dans le contexte du changement climatique. En raison des informations faisant état de leur potentiel en cas de pénurie d'eau, il existe un argument pour les promouvoir afin de relever durablement des défis tels que la sécheresse croissante et la pénurie d'eau, l'insécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle, la dégradation de l'environnement et la création d'emplois dans le contexte du changement climatique. Nous avons effectué un examen de la portée en utilisant des bases de données en ligne pour identifier les perspectives des cultures orphelines pour contribuer à (1) des systèmes alimentaires durables et sains, (2) des ressources génétiques pour l'amélioration future des cultures et (3) l'amélioration de la durabilité agricole dans le contexte du changement climatique. L'examen a révélé que, en tant que produit de générations d'agriculture traditionnelle, plusieurs cultures orphelines sont nutritives, résilientes et adaptées aux environnements agricoles marginaux de niche. L'inclusion de ces cultures orphelines dans les systèmes de culture monoculturels existants pourrait soutenir des systèmes alimentaires plus durables, nutritifs et diversifiés dans des environnements agricoles marginalisés. Les cultures orphelines représentent également un large pool de gènes pour l'amélioration future des cultures. La réduction des terres arables due au changement climatique offre des possibilités d'étendre la superficie sous leur production. Leur adéquation à des environnements de niche marginaux et à faibles intrants offre des opportunités pour de faibles émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) du point de vue des agro-écosystèmes, de la production et de la transformation. Ceci, associé à leur statut de sous-ensemble de l'agro-biodiversité, offre des opportunités pour relever les défis socio-économiques et environnementaux liés au changement climatique. Avec la recherche et le développement, et les politiques pour les soutenir, les cultures orphelines pourraient jouer un rôle important dans l'adaptation au changement climatique, en particulier dans les pays du Sud. Los cultivos huérfanos pueden contribuir a aumentar la resiliencia de los sistemas de cultivos marginales como estrategia de adaptación al cambio climático. Los cultivos huérfanos desempeñan un papel importante en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional mundial, y pueden tener el potencial de contribuir a sistemas alimentarios sostenibles bajo el cambio climático. Debido a los informes de su potencial bajo la escasez de agua, existe un argumento para promoverlos para abordar de manera sostenible desafíos como el aumento de la sequía y la escasez de agua, la inseguridad alimentaria y nutricional, la degradación ambiental y la creación de empleo bajo el cambio climático. Realizamos una revisión de alcance utilizando bases de datos en línea para identificar las perspectivas de los cultivos huérfanos para contribuir a (1) sistemas alimentarios sostenibles y saludables, (2) recursos genéticos para la mejora futura de los cultivos y (3) mejorar la sostenibilidad agrícola bajo el cambio climático. La revisión encontró que, como producto de generaciones de agricultura autóctona, varios cultivos huérfanos son nutritivos, resistentes y están adaptados a entornos agrícolas marginales de nicho. La inclusión de estos cultivos huérfanos en los sistemas de monocultivos existentes podría apoyar sistemas alimentarios más sostenibles, nutritivos y diversos en entornos agrícolas marginados. Los cultivos huérfanos también representan un amplio acervo genético para la mejora futura de los cultivos. La reducción de la tierra cultivable debido al cambio climático ofrece oportunidades para expandir el área bajo su producción. Su idoneidad para nichos marginales y entornos de bajos insumos ofrece oportunidades para bajas emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) desde una perspectiva de agroecosistemas, producción y procesamiento. Esto, junto con su condición de subconjunto de la agrobiodiversidad, ofrece oportunidades para abordar los desafíos socioeconómicos y ambientales del cambio climático. Con la investigación y el desarrollo, y la política para apoyarlos, los cultivos huérfanos podrían desempeñar un papel importante en la adaptación al cambio climático, especialmente en el sur global. Orphan crops can contribute to building resilience of marginal cropping systems as a climate chnage adaptation strategy. Orphan crops play an important role in global food and nutrition security, and may have potential to contribute to sustainable food systems under climate change. Owing to reports of their potential under water scarcity, there is an argument to promote them to sustainably address challenges such as increasing drought and water scarcity, food and nutrition insecurity, environmental degradation, and employment creation under climate change. We conducted a scoping review using online databases to identify the prospects of orphan crops to contribute to (1) sustainable and healthy food systems, (2) genetic resources for future crop improvement, and (3) improving agricultural sustainability under climate change. The review found that, as a product of generations of landrace agriculture, several orphan crops are nutritious, resilient, and adapted to niche marginal agricultural environments. Including such orphan crops in the existing monocultural cropping systems could support more sustainable, nutritious, and diverse food systems in marginalised agricultural environments. Orphan crops also represent a broad gene pool for future crop improvement. The reduction in arable land due to climate change offers opportunities to expand the area under their production. Their suitability to marginal niche and low-input environments offers opportunities for low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from an agro-ecosystems, production, and processing perspective. This, together with their status as a sub-set of agro-biodiversity, offers opportunities to address socio-economic and environmental challenges under climate change. With research and development, and policy to support them, orphan crops could play an important role in climate-change adaptation, especially in the global south. يمكن أن تسهم المحاصيل اليتيمة في بناء مرونة أنظمة المحاصيل الهامشية كاستراتيجية للتكيف مع تغير المناخ. تلعب المحاصيل اليتيمة دورًا مهمًا في الأمن الغذائي والتغذوي العالمي، وقد يكون لها القدرة على المساهمة في النظم الغذائية المستدامة في ظل تغير المناخ. ونظرًا للتقارير التي تشير إلى إمكاناتهم في ظل ندرة المياه، هناك حجة لتشجيعهم على مواجهة التحديات بشكل مستدام مثل زيادة الجفاف وندرة المياه، وانعدام الأمن الغذائي والتغذوي، والتدهور البيئي، وخلق فرص العمل في ظل تغير المناخ. أجرينا مراجعة تحديد النطاق باستخدام قواعد البيانات عبر الإنترنت لتحديد آفاق المحاصيل اليتيمة للمساهمة في (1) النظم الغذائية المستدامة والصحية، (2) الموارد الوراثية لتحسين المحاصيل في المستقبل، و (3) تحسين الاستدامة الزراعية في ظل تغير المناخ. وجد الاستعراض أنه، كمنتج لأجيال من الزراعة البرية، فإن العديد من المحاصيل اليتيمة مغذية ومرنة ومتكيفة مع البيئات الزراعية الهامشية المتخصصة. يمكن أن يؤدي إدراج هذه المحاصيل اليتيمة في أنظمة المحاصيل أحادية الثقافة الحالية إلى دعم أنظمة غذائية أكثر استدامة ومغذية ومتنوعة في البيئات الزراعية المهمشة. تمثل المحاصيل اليتيمة أيضًا مجموعة جينات واسعة لتحسين المحاصيل في المستقبل. يوفر الانخفاض في الأراضي الصالحة للزراعة بسبب تغير المناخ فرصًا لتوسيع المساحة التي تنتجها. توفر ملاءمتها للبيئات الهامشية والبيئات منخفضة المدخلات فرصًا لانبعاثات غازات الدفيئة المنخفضة من منظور النظم الإيكولوجية الزراعية والإنتاج والمعالجة. هذا، إلى جانب وضعهم كمجموعة فرعية من التنوع البيولوجي الزراعي، يوفر فرصًا لمواجهة التحديات الاجتماعية والاقتصادية والبيئية في ظل تغير المناخ. مع البحث والتطوير، وسياسة دعمهم، يمكن للمحاصيل اليتيمة أن تلعب دورًا مهمًا في التكيف مع تغير المناخ، خاصة في جنوب العالم.

Abstract Agriculture in West Africa faces the challenge of meeting the rising demand for food as national incomes and populations increase while production becomes more uncertain due to climate change. Crop production models can provide helpful information on agricultural yields under a range of climate change scenarios and on the impact of adaptation strategies. Here, we report a systematic review of the impact of climate change on the yield of major staple crops in West Africa. Unlike earlier reviews we pay particular attention to the potential of common agricultural adaptation strategies (such as optimised planting dates, use of fertilisers and climate-resilient crop varieties) to mitigate the effects of climate change on crop yields. We systematically searched two databases for literature published between 2005 and 2020 and identified 35 relevant studies. We analysed yield changes of major staple crops (maize, sorghum, rice, millet, yam, cassava and groundnuts) caused by different climate change and field management scenarios. Yields declined by a median of 6% (−8% to +2% depending on the crop) due to climate change in all scenarios analysed. We show that the common adaptation strategies could increase crop yields affected by climate change by 13% (−4% to +19% depending on the strategy) as compared to business-as-usual field management practices, and that optimised planting dates and cultivars with longer crop cycle duration could in fact offset the negative effects of climate change on crop yields. Increased fertiliser use has not mitigated the impact of climate change on crops but could substantially increase yields now and in the future. Our results suggest that a combination of increased fertiliser use and adopting cropping practices that take advantage of favourable climate conditions have great potential to protect and enhance future crop production in West Africa.

There are growing calls to adopt more sustainable forms of agriculture that balance the need to increase production with environmental, human health, and wellbeing concerns. Part of this conversation has included a debate on promoting and mainstreaming neglected and underutilized crop species (NUS) because they represent a more ecologically friendly type of agriculture. We conducted a systematic review to determine the ecosystem services derived from NUS and assess their potential to promote functional ecological diversity, food and nutritional security, and transition to more equitable, inclusive, sustainable and resilient agricultural landscapes and food systems in Africa. Our literature search yielded 35 articles for further analysis. The review showed that NUS provide various provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services and several environmental and health co-benefits, dietary diversity, income, sustainable livelihood outcomes, and economic empowerment, especially for women. Importantly, NUS address the three pillars of sustainable development- ecological, social, and economic. Thus, NUS may provide a sustainable, fit-for-purpose transformative ecosystem-based adaptation solution for Africa to transition to more sustainable, healthy, equitable, and resilient agricultural landscapes and food systems.

The global goal to end hunger requires the interpretation of problems and change across multiple domains to create the scope for collaboration, learning, and impactful research. We facilitated a workshop aimed at understanding how stakeholders problematize sustainable diet transition (SDT) among a previously marginalized social group. Using the systems thinking approach, three sub-systems, namely access to dietary diversity, sustainable beneficiation of natural capital, and ‘food choice for well-being’, highlighted the main forces governing the current context, and future interventions of the project. Moreover, when viewed as co-evolving processes within the multi-level perspective, our identified microlevel leverage points—multi-faceted literacy, youth empowerment, deliberative policymaking, and promotion of sustainable diet aspirations—can be linked and developed through existing national macro-level strategies. Thus, co-designing to problematize transformational SDT, centered on an interdisciplinary outlook and informational governance, could streamline research implementation outcomes to re-structure socio-technical sectors and reconnect people to nature-based solutions. Such legitimate aspirations could be relevant in countries bearing complex socio-political legacies and bridge the local–global goals coherently. This work provides a collaborative framework required to develop impact-driven activities needed to inform evidence-based policies on sustainable diets.

Focusing on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) as a case study, this paper explores the relationship between philanthrocapitalism, economic history, and global and planetary health. The Wellcome Trust is also briefly discussed, chiefly in the context of planetary health. The paper argues that in the last 45 years there has been an increased preference for market-based approaches, often called neoliberalism, particularly in the U.S. and its allies. This has generated greater inequality in many high-income settings and weakened the norm of taxation. This has provided a setting in which philanthrocapitalism has flourished, including the BMGF. The latter has in turn become an important actor for global health, partially balancing the adverse consequences of neoliberalism. Planetary health is here defined as the interaction between global health and global environmental change, including to the climate and other elements of the Earth System. Although the Wellcome Trust has recently made funds available for ecological health research, it continues to invest in fossil fuels. The Gates Foundation provide no or minimal grants for ecological or planetary health but appear to have recently substantially divested from fossil fuels, for unclear reasons. The paper concludes that these large philanthrocapitalist organizations partly compensate for the decline in attention to global health driven by market-preferring solutions, but remain insufficiently proactive in the face of the great dangers associated with declining planetary health.