Global Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries presents research findings based on a series of commodity studies of significant economic importance to developing countries. The book sets the stage with background chapters and investigations of cross-cutting issues. It then describes trade and domestic policy regimes affecting agricultural and food markets, and assesses the resulting patterns of production and trade. The book continues with an analysis of product standards and costs of compliance and their effects on agricultural and food trade. The book also investigates the impact of preferences given to selected countries and their effectiveness, then reviews the evidence on the attempts to decouple agricultural support from agricultural output. The last background chapter explores the robustness of the global gains of multilateral agricultural and food trade liberalization. Given this context, the book presents detailed commodity studies for coffee, cotton, dairy, fruits and vegetables, groundnuts, rice, seafood products, sugar, and wheat. These markets feature distorted policy regimes among industrial or middle-income countries. The studies analyze current policy regimes in key producing and consuming countries, document the magnitude of these distortions and estimate the distributional impacts - winners and losers - of trade and domestic policy reforms. By bringing the key issues and findings together in one place, Global Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries aids policy makers and researchers, both in their approach to global negotiations and in evaluating their domestic policies on agriculture. The book also complements the recently published Agriculture and the WTO, which focuses primarily on the agricultural issues within the context of the WTO negotiations.

The global shift towards overweight and obese populations has ledto a significant rise in diet-related chronic illness. This bookexamines the role global food trade has played in that shift,looking carefully at how the trade of food across national borders,international and regional trade agreements, the process of tradeand investment liberalization, and the growth of transnational foodcorporations affects what people eat and, by implication, theirhealth. An international team of editors has brought together aprestigious group of contributors who present a critical analysisof the linkages between trade, food and diet in different domains.Between them, the multidisciplinary group present a balancedperspective on the opportunities and risks trade poses for dietarytrends and offer a practical analysis of the policy optionsavailable to address this growing global concern. An international multidisciplinary team of authors Detailed look at the issues followed by practical policyanalysis A comprehensive review of an important global issue Academics, researchers and practitioners in the field of publichealth, especially those concerned with nutrition, obesity andchronic disease, will find this book an enlightening andfascinating read. Social scientists, policy makers, trade analystsand food industry professionals will equally gain much from thisinnovative approach to the subject.

Fruits and vegetables, commonly termed as "fresh produce" are an important component of the human diet, as these provide various beneficial and essential health-related compounds. Nevertheless, fresh produce is susceptible to postharvest deterioration and decay along with loss of certain nutrients due to innapropriate storage conditions and lack of standard postharvest technologies. In addition, the short shelf life is considered another major constraint that must be extended after harvest to ensure a wider availability window of the fresh produce for consumers. From this perspective, the use of postharvest approaches is considered imperative to reduce the deterioration of harvested fresh produce in order to extend their storage and shelf life potential on a sustainable basis. Sustainable Postharvest Technologies for Fruits and Vegetables covers various aspects of postharvest technologies with major developments over the recent past and provides a way forward for the future. The sustainable use of various technologies and elicitors could be adapted from farm to fork in order to conserve the eating quality of fresh produce. Therefore, this book covers various sustainable postharvest treatments and technologies that could be considered highly effective for the delay of postharvest senescence and deterioration. Among the various technologies, the use of preharvest treatments, controlled atmosphere, dynamic control atmosphere, modified atmosphere and hypobaric conditions has tremendous potential for the fresh fruits and vegetables industry. In the same way, cold plasma, pulsed light, ultraviolet light, ultrasound technology, nanoemulsions, nano-packaging, electrolyzed water, high pressure processing, ozone gas, irradiations, edible coatings, vacuum packaging and active packaging with slow releasing compounds along with nanotechnology are highly practicable and possesses tremendous potential to be used in the maintenance of overall eating quality and storage life extension of the fresh produce. Key Features: Overviews the major factors affecting postharvest physiology and shelf life potential of fresh produce. Focuses on major sustainable technologies having the potential to maintain postharvest quality and extend shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Describes practical and recent advances of various approaches indispensable for the maintenance of overall eating quality and food safety attainment for fresh produce on a sustainable basis. Covers how quality maintenance and shelf life rely on preharvest practices, nonthermal treatments, storage atmospheres, packaging materials, active packaging, edible packaging, coating application techniques, nanotechnology and ecofriendly plant extracts and natural antagonists.

The current value of global trade has reached a staggering annual figure of $6 trillion in merchandise crossing borders. Such prolific global trading has, at the same time, begun to raise fears of pandemics and concerns for global health. Yet, investment in public health infrastructure and disease control was never designed to cope with international trade of this volume and diversity. Indeed, most health systems lag far behind, especially in poor countries. This has created new vulnerabilities for global populations to the introduction and amplification of infection through trade. Public fears have been further heightened by frightening news reports of deadly diseases such as Mad Cow disease and E. Coli. Risky Trade: Infectious Disease in the Era of Global Trade provides a thorough examination of the actual risks posed by disease in the age of globalization. Drawing on the economics of international trade and epidemiology, the author explores the critical health issues arising from the enormous increase in global trade and travel. Issues covered include: ¢ The scale of the problem with particular reference to the Sakai outbreak of E. Coli; ¢ Risks from particular microbes - Enteric and viral infections; Highly infectious agents; Antimicrobial resistance; and, Stealth agents; ¢ Global outbreaks as a result of human travel and trade; ¢ Prevention, surveillance and control; ¢ The future health of global trading. In addition to highlighting the problems, the book also addresses some of the potential benefits the same globalization can bring to epidemic control through surveillance, diagnostics, treatment and investigation. The empirical approach ties together existing descriptions and case studies of epidemics building a comprehensive framework for examining new events and considering historical experience with infectious outbreaks. The volume will be a valuable guide to students, academics, practitioners, and policy makers in the areas of international trade, health economics, epidemiology, international/public health and disease control.