International audience | Background: Viral detection in food and water is a major challenge for food safety and public health. Foodborne viruses such as noroviruses and hepatitis viruses are responsible for significant outbreaks worldwide. Reliable and rapid detection methods are essential for monitoring contamination and preventing infections.Scope and approach: This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness of viral detection techniques, including genetic, immunoassay-based, optical, sequencing, and biosensor-based methods. The PRISMA 2020 statement was followed for article selection. The techniques were assessed based on trueness, precision, accuracy, and selectivity to compare their performance in food and water matrices.Key findings and conclusion: Genetic methods, particularly RT-qPCR, remain the most reliable approach due to their sensitivity and standardized protocols. Biosensors show potential for rapid viral detection but require further validation for complex matrices. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) provides valuable insights but is costly and not widely adopted for routine analysis. Immunoassays offer an alternative but face limitations in food applications. Optical and emerging techniques such as molecularly imprinted polymers and aptamers present promising avenues for improving speed and selectivity. Overall, while RT-qPCR is the current gold standard, advances in biosensors and alternative techniques may enable faster, more selective, and cost-effective viral detection in the future. Further research is needed to optimize these technologies for real-world food safety applications.

【Objective】Food production is the primary consumer of water resources in many countries. At the catchment and basin scale, understanding the spatiotemporal variation of food production and the underlying determinants is crucial for improving water resource use efficiency and promoting sustainable development. We propose a new method in this paper to analyze this issue.【Method】Our study focuses on the Yangtze River Basin. The water used for food production and its spatiotemporal variation from 2000 to 2020 in the basin were calculated based on crop water demand. Path analysis was used to elucidate the underlying determinants affecting the blue and green water footprint per unit area.【Result】① The annual average grain water footprint in the basin from 2000 to 2020 was 205.25×109 m3, with the green water footprint accounting for 66%. ② Due to differences in cultivation scales, the upper, middle, and lower reaches contributed 36.5%, 46.8%, and 16.7%, respectively, to the total grain water footprint of the basin. Additionally, the grain water footprints in the middle and lower reaches have increasingly relied on green water. ③ Meteorological factors positively influenced the density of the green water footprint and negatively affected the density of the blue water footprint. Social development and economic factors significantly impacted the density of the blue water footprint. 【Conclusion】 The middle reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, where irrigation demand for grain crop production is high, are likely to face growing pressure due to land and water resource shortages. This challenge is particularly acute in Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, where investments in agricultural infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and advanced water management technologies, are essential. In Gansu, Qinghai, and Henan provinces, where water scarcity and pollution persist, adopting technologies such as soil mulching, rainwater harvesting and water storage can enhance green water utilization and alleviate regional water resource pressures.

The research on optimizing agricultural water and land resources is significant for improving resource utilization efficiency, ensuring food security, protecting the ecological environment, and promoting sustainable economic development. However, few studies have been conducted on the spatially optimized allocation of water and land resources based on the multidimensional coupling of water quantity, water quality, efficiency, carbon, ecology, and food. Therefore, this study establishes the Coupling Optimization Model of Water Resources and Landscape Structure (COM-WL). The objective is to optimize resource allocation within the irrigation area by comprehensively considering multiple factors. The COM-WL model integrates our improved genetic algorithm, PAEA-NSGAⅢ, with the landscape allocation model, GridLOpt. PAEA-NSGAⅢ builds upon the traditional NSGA-III algorithm, incorporating a progressive fitness adjustment strategy along with an elite preservation strategy. These enhancements enable the algorithm to explore the solution space more efficiently when addressing complex multi-objective problems to validate the effectiveness and practicality of the COM-WL model, we selected the Daan Irrigation District as the study area. Twenty-four scenarios, spanning four hydrological years, were designed for analysis. Each scenario focuses on six optimization objectives: increasing carbon sequestration, improving irrigation efficiency, enhancing ecological benefits, ensuring food production, reducing groundwater extraction, and controlling pollutant emissions. The GridLOpt model enables grid-based layout and spatial allocation of landscape structure in optimized scenarios, improving ecological connectivity and controlling the costs associated with landscape changes. The optimization results indicate that the irrigated area of rice increased by 0.04–6.08 %, while the irrigated area for corn decreased by 6.20–0.02 %, with the overall irrigated area remaining relatively stable. Additionally, emissions of agricultural pollutants decreased by 1.95 %, reaching 4.52 %. Meanwhile, carbon sequestration increased by 0.01 %, reaching 0.59 %. The efficiency of crop water resource utilization improved by 2.05 %, reaching 4.08 %. Ecological connectivity rose by 11.6 %, reaching 20.3 %. Furthermore, land-use conversion costs ranged from 58.82 million to 207.97 million yuan, consistent with the expected landscape structure. The model established in this study provides an approach to the multidimensional optimization of the coupling between water and land resources.

This work aimed at replacing per- or poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS)-based food-serving containers with wood-based, oil- and grease-resistant food-serving containers. A novel container was developed by laminating wet cellulose nanofibril (CNF) films to both sides of yellow birch wood veneer using a food-grade polyamide–epichlorohydrin additive (PAE) as an adhesive. CNFs significantly improved the wood veneer container’s mechanical strength and barrier properties. The container’s mechanical testing results showed significant increases in flexural strength and modulus of elasticity (MOE) values in both parallel and perpendicular directions to the grain. All formulations of the container showed excellent oil and grease resistance properties by passing “kit” number 12 based on the TAPPI T 559 cm-12 standard. The water absorption tendency of the formulation treated at higher temperature, pressure, and longer press time showed similar performance to commercial paper plates containing PFASs. The developed composite demonstrates superior flexural strength and barrier properties, presenting a sustainable alternative to PFASs in food-serving containers. Both wood and CNFs stand out for their remarkable eco-friendliness, as they are biodegradable and naturally compostable. This unique characteristic not only helps minimize waste but also promotes a healthier environment. If scaled up, these novel containers may present a solution to the oil/grease resistance of bio-based food containers.

Agricultural expansion has caused groundwater overuse and ecological water loss, increasing Water-Food-Ecosystems (WFE) conflicts. Differing water interests between regional managers and farmers, along with poor WFE coordination, have impeded large-scale sustainability. To address this, we developed a multi-objective programming model at dual scales (regional and farm) that considers the feedback between water and arable land resources. The model was applied to a major irrigation region in Northeast China, which has seen substantial cropland expansion and groundwater depletion. Results show that the dual-scale model can link sustainability with water use (equilibrium amount of groundwater), food production (economic benefits of agricultural systems), and ecosystem integrity (satisfaction of wetland ecological water use). Changes in water supply and demand under different scenarios affect the total arable land area and the structure of crop cultivation. Both irrigation efficiency and water diversion can ease WFE conflicts, with water-saving irrigation providing greater economic benefits for farmers. However, efforts to reduce groundwater overexploitation and secure ecological water use may reduce economic benefits by 6.9 % and 12.2 %, respectively. These findings offer valuable insights for WFE co-development planning in regions with extensive agricultural expansion. The modeling concept at two scales is transferable to other farming systems in the world to provide practical guidelines for regional sustainable development in balancing water resources, food security and ecosystem integrity.

As global climate change continues to pose significant challenges, it is increasingly essential to explore sustainable agricultural development strategies. This study aims to develop a multi-objective collaborative optimization model, using the Fen River Irrigation District as a case study. It examines strategies based on the water-energy-food-carbon nexus and seeks to maximize bioenergy production. The research methodology integrates multi-objective optimization theory with the ideal point method to obtain optimization solutions. This approach ensures the maximization of bioenergy output while minimizing carbon emissions and economic costs. The findings reveal that optimized bioenergy production in the study area can reach 1.17 × 1012 J, with contributions of 29.50 % from agriculture and 70.50 % from animal husbandry. Notably, animal husbandry emerges as the primary source of bioenergy production, generating 8.27 × 1011 J, predominantly from pigs, followed by sheep and cattle. The total optimized agricultural cultivation area is determined to be 6.76 × 104 ha, with corn taking the largest share at 73.86 % of the total cultivated area, which improves the economic benefits of agriculture while increasing the production of bioenergy. Fruits and vegetables account for 8.69 %, wheat for 3.45 %, and legumes for 13.99 %. In terms of the economic and environmental implications of bioenergy production, agriculture contributes more significantly to the agricultural economy compared to animal husbandry. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are the major contributor to overall carbon emissions, followed by methane (CH4). The optimized allocation of water resources results in a more reasonable ratio between surface water and groundwater supply, with 0.41 × 108 m3 coming from groundwater and 1.93 × 108 m3 from surface water, effectively alleviating the problem of regional water resources tension and guaranteeing the long-term stability of agricultural production. The optimization model focuses on generating solutions that conserve resources and reduce costs while simultaneously protecting the environment. This ultimately provides decision-makers with improved alternatives for managing agricultural resources.

Water resources are of vital importance to human survival and development. This study systematically analyzed the coupling coordination mechanism between China&rsquo:s food security (FS) and water resource management (WRM) from 2010 to 2022 using the TOPSIS model, Dagum Gini coefficient, coupling coordination model, and fixed effects regression model. The results indicate that FS exhibited a &ldquo:U-shaped&rdquo: evolution: an average annual decline of 1.4% before 2017 followed by recovery to 2.39% due to policy optimization and technological upgrades, though significant regional disparities persisted with 15 provinces maintaining ecological vulnerability scores below 0.3. WRM showed an average annual increase of 1.33%, later accelerating to 1.76% driven by projects like the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which significantly improved 28 provinces. The FS-WRM coupling coordination degree escalated from mild imbalance to near imbalance, forming a spatial pattern of &ldquo:central region leading&ndash:northeast following&ndash:eastern fluctuation&ndash:western catching up&rdquo:, with 10 provinces reaching barely coordinated levels in 2022. The study reveals that policy support, infrastructure development, technological innovation, and management model transformation are key influencing factors for FS-WRM coupling coordination.

The Virtual Special Issue: Social Equity published by Current Research in Environmental Sustainability focuses on the importance of social equity for climate adaptation in land, water and food systems in the Global South. Emphasizing that theory is ahead of practice and that empirical examples are vital for learning, we introduce the set of articles, which each present the results of empirical research relevant to equity considerations. The papers demonstrate how vital is transdisciplinary research that engages critical social science perspectives and addresses how different actors give meaning to social equity, fairness and justice based on their experiences and lived realities. Taken together, they reinforce the need for further learning on how social equity can be fostered within transformative adaptation.

International audience | Regional and national food policies must seek to attain equilibrium among social, economic, political, agricultural, and environmental factors. As a developmental objective, food self-sufficiency (FSS) responds to a region's need for increased autonomy and control over its own food supply. In this systematic review, we employed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to assess the state of the art, then, we explored 109 final selected studies, focusing on the main interactions associated to achieving FSS goals. We found that FSS objectives can be realised through context-dependent interactions with 47 identified factors. The main limitations associated with attaining FSS goals emerge from the confluence of trade-offs with water and agricultural land. The positive interplay between FSS and agricultural management highlights the synergies that result from adopting advanced sustainable technologies and practices and optimizing resource-use efficiency, which holds promise for achieving FSS goals. We identified a shortage of studies focusing on food consumption, distribution, and access related factors, despite their relevance in promoting FSS and food security. We identified four primary developmental strategies rooted in local agricultural management practices, each aimed at addressing the achievement of FSS goals while mitigating associated trade-offs: cropland expansion/cropland-water resource management, yield gap closure, cropping systems diversification/integrated crop management, and urban agriculture. In conclusion, identifying factors that limit or strengthen FSS can help to facilitate the transition away from siloed government strategies to arbitrate between different holistic development strategies according to local contexts.