Globally, food systems are the most significant cause of environmental change; therefore, efforts to create more environmentally sustainable food systems are presented. One of the directions is strengthening the local actors and short food supply chains. Simultaneously, changes in farming systems are needed, and organic agriculture is one of the ways to make food systems more environmentally sustainable. Despite the abundance of research on the environmental consciousness of consumers in short food supply chains, the question is raised whether local food chain farmers are also committed to environmental sustainability. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the importance of environmental sustainability to organic short food supply chain actors. More specifically, the research depicts the views of organic farmers and consumers and their relation to the actual environmental sustainability of short food supply chains. During the research, a specific short food supply chain – a direct purchasing network – was explored. A qualitative approach was applied to reach the aim. Thus, in-depth interviews and observations were used as a research method. The research results demonstrated the views of farmers and consumers of the specific network regarding environmental sustainability aspects in the network. In the research, such environmental aspects as the circularity of resources, biodiversity, chemicals in the environment, seasonality and locality of diets, and the distance (food miles) were admitted as crucial ones by the specific short food supply chain actors. The differences in opinions of consumers and farmers emerged when thinking about the scale of their views.

Organic fermented milk products are an area of interest combining functional properties and sustainable practices. Limited information is available regarding the specific components of organic milk that may impact the growth of lactic acid bacteria. This study emphasised the differences in bioactive compounds between organic and conventional milk and their potential influence on lactic acid bacteria growth. Analysis of organic (n = 15) and conventional (n = 15) farm milk using GC-MS revealed differences in fatty acid (FA) concentrations, mainly mono-, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid. Individual FA, such as stearic, linoleic, and oleic acids, were up to 33.6%, 31.0%, and 25.23% higher in conventional milk. Detection of the whey proteins using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed lysozyme content was up to 40.6% higher in conventional (22.04 µg L⁻¹) than in organic (15.68 µg L⁻¹) milk. Conversely, lactoferrin content was 20.4% higher in the organic (45.27 µg L⁻¹) than in conventional (36.04 µg L⁻¹). No difference in the content of immunoglobulin A was found. The higher concentrations of lysozyme, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids in conventional milk could enhance a higher inhibitory activity against lactic acid bacteria compared to organic milk.

The chemical composition of goat milk, especially fatty acid profile is recently renewed due to the role of monosaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in human nutrition. These nutrients are important to analyse in connection with the different breeds receiving the same breeding and feed. The aim of this study was to analyse goat milk fatty acid profile in relation to different breeds. Specimens for fatty acid analyses were collected from individual animals of breeds like Latvian Native (n=5), Saanen (n=5), and crossbreeds (n=5). Bulk milk samples (n=5) were also taken for milk quality testing and fatty acid range determination. Fat content was analysed according to ISO 1211:2011 and fatty acids were measured with the chromatographic method. Protein, lactose, casein and urea concentration was analysed according to ISO 13366-2:2007 and somatic cell count to ISO 9622/IDF141:2013.The highest fat concentration was determined in crossbreed milk samples (3.81 g 100 gE−1) and the lowest (2.96g 100 gE−1) in the Latvian Native breed goat milk samples. The highest butyric acid (0.12 g 100 gE−1) and caproic acid (0.12 g 100 gE−1) concentration was established in Saanen goat milk samples. Compared to other breeds, the milk of the Latvian Native breed goats is characterised by a higher capric acid (0.20 g 100 gE−1) concentration, while a higher concentration of total unsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids was detected in the samples of crossbreed goat milk. The average fatty acid composition of bulk milk samples was 68% for saturated fatty acids, 23% for monosaturated fatty acids and 4.3% for polyunsaturated fatty acids. In analysed goat milk samples, fatty acids showed the characteristic fatty acid profile of goat milk.

The present study was focused on organic small tea plantations of Sittong (a village in Darjeeling) mainly due to their sudden rise in the Indian tea industry with a striking tactic i.e., organic tea cultivation. This cumulative survey and laboratorial experiments-based research focuses on the agricultural conversion in Sittong where farmers started to shift from vegetable and grain cultivation to small tea gardens. Soil physicochemical (pH and electric conductivity; organic carbon; organic matter; and available nitrogen content) and microbiological (determination of microbial cell mass and isolation of consortia; antibiotic and antifungal susceptibility test) characteristics were considered to assess the viability of this shifting agriculture practice and cross-verify the reflections of organic farming practices. The survey revealed that farmers have cultivated and rehabilitated the land in an acceptable manner before planting; they carried out the soil nutrient management practices organically. Survey also revealed economic perspectives including prices of their harvested tea leaves. Further, the moisture content analysis revealed its adequacy in the tea garden soils. Organic matter, organic carbon and available nitrogen were measured that reflected very high results compared to the optimum values suggested by the Tea Board of India. Microbial analysis results, as a cross-verifying tool, affirmed their organic farming practice by revealing microbes’ susceptible nature towards antibiotics and antifungals. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that the small tea growers in Sittong-3 are well-positioned to produce a high-quality of organic tea. Sittong was found to have potential to promote the rural areas of Darjeeling into an ideal place for small-scale organic tea cultivation, while also serving as an inspiration for small tea growers across the country.