Food and Agricultural Organisation

El-Hage Scialabba, N and Hattam, C (2002) Organic Agriculture, Environment and Food Security, Environment and Natural Resources Series 4. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, 252 pp. 

The model was forced with agricultural application data of the insecticide DDT compiled by Semeena and Lammel (2003). Statistical data of DDT consumption reported by member of the UN states to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) were combined with other published data (details in Semeena and Lammel (2003)). The emission inventory assumed 100 % of p,p -DDT. After scaling the DDT consumption with crop land distribution, the data were extrapolated to the model grid. The result was a data set with spatially and temporally varying applications (accumulated application and temporal evolution shown in Figure 3.1). No seasonal or diurnal variation of the applications is considered. 

Fig. 2.4 DDT applications in 1980 [kg m 2 s ]. Applications were prepared by Semeena and Lammel (2003) from data reported to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

One of the most debated environmental issues of the past fifteen to twenty years has been the exploitation of the forests for wood for paper making. Approximately 30% of the earth s land surface is forested, and around half of this is harvested commercially for industrial purposes (Chapter 1). Over 80% of this wood for industrial use comes from the forests of North America, Europe and what was formerly the Soviet Union. Wood has been the primary fibre source for pulp and paper production world-wide for many years, and it is necessary to take a global view of its consumption. Wood consumption world-wide has more than doubled since 1950 from 1.5 billion to 3.5 billion m3 (United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation). Approximately half of this is used for fuelwood and half for industrial use. The principal driving force for this increase in consumption has been the increase in world population which shows a close correlation with wood consumption (Figure 10.1). 

FAO (2001). State of the World s Forests. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. 

The JECFA (Joint FAO/WFIO Expert Committee on Food Additives/FAO Food and Nutrition Paper No. 30 Rev. 1 and amendments (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, Via della Terme di Caracalla, Rome/Italy)) has made recommendations for the ADI (acceptable daily intake (in mg/kg body weight)) of food additives based on toxicological tests these include flavoring substances. 

If you ran the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, dedicated to increasing productivity in developing countries, on which crops would you expect your staff to be working and in which countries ... 

The secretariats of these Codex Committees are based at the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome. The secretariat of JECFA is based in Geneva at WHO headquarters. 

The risk to health from chemicals in food can be assessed by comparing estimates of dietary exposure with recommended safe levels of exposure. For most metals and other elements, these are the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intakes (PTWIs) and the Provisional Tolerable Daily Intakes (PTDIs) recommended by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation International Programme on Chemical Safety (JECFA). The European Commission s Scientific Committee on Food has established other relevant safe levels. These are Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADIs) for chemicals added to food, and Tolerable Daily Intakes (TDIs) for chemical contaminants. The use of the term tolerable implies permissibility rather than acceptability. All the above recommendations are estimates of the amount of substance that can be ingested over a lifetime without appreciable risk, expressed on a daily or weekly basis as appropriate. 

European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission [EIFAC]. 1980. Combined effects on freshwater fish and other aquatic life of mixtures of toxicants in water. Rome (Italy) Food and Agriculture Organisation. 

FAO (1999) Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organic Foods. Codex Alimentarius Commission, Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome. 

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation should ... 

Studies conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations show that there are around 100 000 tonnes of obsolete pesticide stocks in developing countries. Africa alone probably accounts for up to 48 000 tonnes. Obsolete pesticides cannot only be found in developing countries in Africa, the Near East, Asia and Latin America, they are also an environmental problem in many Central and Eastern European countries. The main hazard, however, is the acute toxicity of these pesticides. They present an acute and potential risk both for the community and the environment. These obsolete pesticides are not only a barrier to sustainable development in emerging countries, they arc also a hazard for the global environment. The countries concerned are not in a position to solve the problems on their own. They have neither die technical expertise, the facilities nor the necessary financial means. For this reason, it is essential that the OECD countries provide support. 

Food and Agriculture Organisation, The State of the World s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Rome, 1998. 

FAQ (Food and Agricultural Organisation), Food Balance Sheets. FAO, Rome (1984). 

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations for support of M. B. Hassan. We would like to thank Mrs. C. Usher for help with computing, Mr. Allen Munday for Atomic Absorption Analyses, and Mrs. G. Boffey for typing. 

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