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The welfare impacts of the food security on the beneficiaries can be understood from multiple dimensions. This paper, thus, examines the impact of the India's National Food Security Act (NFSA) on the welfare of the beneficiary households from a multidimensional perspective.

The study is based on a sample household survey covering three different states of India. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select the states, districts and blocks. Sample villages and households were selected purposively. A total of 1,523 households comprising 1,069 beneficiary and 454 non-beneficiary households constituted the sample. In order to find out the impact of the programme on different dimensions of welfare, the endogenous switching regression model is employed as it helps control for any absence of randomization and the unobserved heterogeneity bias. Propensity score matching is also employed to supplement the results.

The substitution effect and income effect of the food subsidy policy combined improve the overall welfare of the households presented through the subjective measures of food consumption behaviour, income transfer and educational achievements. The bargaining effect of the food subsidy programme is reflected in the enhanced social status and women's empowerment. The food security programme seems to augment the food consumption of the beneficiaries as observed from the food consumption score.

The food security policy has improved the overall welfare of the households and can play a major role in enhancing household welfare even further. The non-beneficiaries' welfare could have increased if they would have been included in the food security programme. The subjective assessment may, however, be subjected to personal biases, and there is also absence of a common reference point. Hence, the implications of the findings may be generalized with caution.

This study provides evidences of the impacts of food subsidy from a multidimensional standpoint considering both subjective and objective dimensions of household welfare.

This paper is derived from a larger scale project investigating consumer attitudes towards organic food in the UK. Presents focus group results on consumer perceptions, attitudes and behaviour in relation to two key interrelated food trends: organic food and animal welfare. The results indicate that consumers often confuse organic and free‐range products because they believe that “organic” is equivalent to “free‐range” food. Focus group discussions were conducted to identify the main beliefs and attitudes towards organic food of both organic and non‐organic food buyers. Results indicate that, although health and food safety concerns are the main motives for organic food purchases, ethical concerns, specifically in relation to standards of animal welfare, play a significant influencing role in the decision to purchase organic food. The results are consistent with parallel research into consumer concerns about animal welfare, which showed that consumers are primarily concerned about food safety issues. Furthermore, the research illustrates the central outcome that animal welfare is used by consumers as an indicator of other, more important product attributes, such as safety and the impact on health. Indeed, ethical considerations seem to motivate the purchase of organic food and free‐range products and, therefore, may be viewed as interrelated. However, such ethical frameworks are closely related, if not contingent upon, the quality of the product, which includes perceptions of higher standards of safety and healthiness. Based on the qualitative data, suggests that the organic market could take advantage of research on consumer motivation to buy free‐range products, by embodying ethical concerns as an indicator of product quality.

The purpose of this review paper is to extend the literature on animal welfare in the hospitality industry by exploring how some of the major fast-food companies have publicly addressed this issue.

The paper reviews, and reflects on, the animal welfare statements and policies posted on the Internet by five major fast-food companies, namely, Yum! Brands, Restaurant Brands International, McDonald's, Domino's Pizza Group and Subway.

The findings reveal that four interlinked themes, namely, strategic corporate commitment, a focus on supply chains, policies on specific categories of animals and food products, and auditing, illustrated the selected companies approach to animal welfare. The authors also raise a number of issues about the selected companies' approaches to animal welfare including the aspirational nature of their commitments, the emphasis on regular audits, the role of external assurance in the reporting process, the role of animal welfare pressure groups and campaigns, and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The paper's empirical material is drawn from the corporate websites of five fast-food companies, but the paper has theoretical and practical implications and provides a platform for future research.

The paper offers a simple review of the way five major fast-food companies have addressed the issue of animal welfare.

The study aims to compare survey recruitment rates between Facebook, Twitter and Qualtrics and to assess the impact of recruitment method on estimates of energy content, food safety, carbon footprint and animal welfare across 29 foods.

Two versions of an online survey were developed on the citizen science platform, Zooniverse. The surveys explored citizen estimations of energy density (kcal) or carbon footprint (Co₂) and food safety or animal welfare of 29 commonly eaten foods. Survey recruitment was conducted via paid promotions on Twitter and Facebook and via paid respondent invites on Qualtrics. The study included approximately 500 participants (Facebook, N˜11 (ratings 358), Twitter, N˜85 (ratings 2,184), Qualtrics, N = 398 (ratings 11,910)). Kruskal–Wallis and Chi-square analyses compared citizen estimations with validated values and assessed the impact of the variables on estimations.

Citizens were unable to accurately estimate carbon footprint and energy content, with most citizens overestimating values. Citizen estimates were most accurate for meat products. Qualtrics was the most successful recruitment method for the online survey. Citizen estimates between platforms were significantly different, suggesting that Facebook and Twitter may not be suitable recruitment methods for citizen online surveys.

Qualtrics was the favourable platform for survey recruitment. However, estimates across all recruitment platforms were poor. As paid recruitment methods such as Qualtrics are costly, the authors recommend continued examination of the social media environment to develop appropriate, affordable and timely online recruitment strategies for citizen science.

The findings indicate that citizens are unable to accurately estimate the carbon footprint and energy content of foods suggesting a focus on consumer education is needed to enable consumers to move towards more sustainable and healthy diets. Essential if we are to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals of zero hunger, good health and wellbeing and responsible consumption and production. The study highlights the utility of Zooniverse for assessing citizen estimates of carbon footprint, energy content, animal welfare and safety of foods.

This chapter proposes a novel nonnormative approach to evaluating quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of food security.

On the demand side, we consider the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the food security system, whose mechanisms should be evaluated by their impact on the quality of life of an endangered population. On the supply side, the motives of food aid donors and food security providers (directly and via policy mechanisms) are discussed in the context of the deservingness heuristic.

The model illustrates three problems with measuring food security-related quality of life: peoples’ different expectations, the different points at which people stand on their food security trajectory, and the potential for an evolving reference value of peoples’ expectations. The deservingness heuristic is the mechanism behind the domestic and international food security aid that occurs via evolutionary forces, or cultural, institutional, and ideological forces.

Food security is a problem that requires a humanistic approach rooted in the evolutionary process/development of the human race. Food security can be misused by the food aid/welfare recipients for their own purposes. Likewise, food security programs by food aid/welfare donors can be targeted unethically when used to achieve the ideological, institutional, and political goals of the donors. Differentiating between the behavioral causes of providing food security may be helpful in predicting whether aid/welfare will be provided to the needy at all.

Similar to the recent emergence of food banks in other affluent nations, the genesis and ultimate entrenchment of food banks in Canada has been tightly intertwined with the dismantling of the welfare state. Through an examination of Canadian data, the authors elucidate the implications of entrenching voluntary, extra-governmental, charitable food assistance programs as an adjunct to publicly funded social assistance programs. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Publicly available food bank reports, population health survey data, and the results of a study of low-income families in Toronto are reviewed to examine the food security status of social assistance recipients and their use of food banks.

In 2012, 70 percent of households in Canada who were reliant on social assistance were food insecure. Social assistance recipients comprise at least half of food bank clientele and have done so for as long as this information has been tracked, but the assistance provided by food banks appears insufficient to alter households’ food insecurity. Although food banks currently distribute over 200 million pounds of food annually, the scale of their operations pales in comparison to the food needs of those who seek their help.

In the 30 years since food banks began in Canada, there has been considerable research into this response, as well as extensive population monitoring of food insecurity. Canada provides an informative case study of an affluent country's long-term dependency on charitable food assistance and the impact this has on the food insecurity of those reliant on social assistance programs.

The economic importance of palm oil produced by its producers in food requirement, income generation, production and consumption has led to a significant increase in its demand over the years. Thus, this chapter evaluates the effects of palm oil price fluctuations on the welfare of palm oil producers in Nigeria based on annual time series data (1980–2018). In achieving its objectives, the study employs Autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL). The result establishes the presence of a long-run relationship in the welfare of palm oil producers. The long-run estimates show that palm oil prices had a positive but insignificant relationship with the welfare of palm oil producers. In the short-run estimates, palm oil price and the exchange rate had adverse and significant effects on the welfare of palm oil producers, while the inflation rate positively and significantly influenced welfare. Therefore, the welfare programme should adopt policies that will stabilise the palm oil price and other foodstuffs to increase the standard of living of palm oil producers and raise their literacy levels.

Explores key trends explaining consumer concerns and actions on animal welfare. Concludes that concerns are not a fad, but deep‐seated and here to stay. UK livestock production, distribution and processing systems and practices have evolved, will and should evolve to allow farm animals “to enjoy a decent life” and to satisfy reasonable consumer concerns on animal welfare matters. Presents the UK industry with both threats and opportunities. Livestock products that are animal welfare‐friendly, produced with traditional/natural methods and carry “passports” offer important consumer benefits that can provide a competitive edge. The farm sector needs to forge alliances with organizations, such as the RSPCA, which are viewed as credible on welfare matters by consumers. However, addressing consumer concerns about animals, per se, will not reverse the declining domestic market for livestock products – this will require more comprehensive, industry‐wide efforts to deliver the full range of benefits to consumers that they demand from food products in the twenty‐first century.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how British print media have reported the emergence of food banks in the UK.

The research uses the news database Nexis and focuses on the period since the global financial crisis in 2007 in nine national UK print media titles. The search criteria included mention of the term food bank at least three times in the newspaper article and a UK focus. This resulted in 190 usable articles from the newspapers.

There were no UK-focused newspaper articles before 2008 and few until 2012 when the number increased dramatically. A key theme in reporting was increasing numbers of food banks and users of them. The data most often cited were from the Christian charity The Trussell Trust which runs a franchise system of food banks. There were clusters of newspaper articles indicating a common source. Few of the articles used direct quotes from current food bank users. A “frame contest” appeared in 2013/early 2014 with newspaper articles reporting both changes in welfare provision and the proliferation of food banks as the reason for the increase in food banks and food bank use. Tensions emerged between three key sets of players: government ministers, church leaders and The Trussell Trust as the key provider of food banks in England.

The authors only examined newspapers, the reporting in other media may be different.

The media reporting of food poverty and the use of food banks has the potential to influence public perceptions and policy.

This is the first study to look at how food banks are reported by the media.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted global food systems and consumer eating habits. The current study explores how country of origin and ethical status information impacts attitudes toward food.

Methods: A within-subjects survey design explored how perceptions of food safety/risk, animal welfare, deliciousness, purchase intention, energy density, carbon footprint of three foods (chicken, pasta, apples) are influenced by country of origin and ethical status information (UK, EU, China, USA, Fairtrade, Organic). Data were collected from 701 UK-based participants using an online survey from the 25-30th March, following the UK lockdown (23 March 2020).

Results: Perceptions of food safety, animal welfare, purchase intention, deliciousness and carbon footprint are influenced by origin and ethical status information. Chicken from the USA and China is perceived to be higher risk and have lower animal welfare standards. Apples from the USA and China are perceived to be higher risk. Pasta from China is perceived to be higher risk. Energy density estimations are not influenced by origin and ethical status information.

Conclusions: Consumer perceptions are influenced by country of origin and ethical information; foods from China are perceived least favourably, followed by foods from the USA; foods from the UK, EU, Organic or Fairtrade are perceived more favourably. The impact of origin and ethical information varies by food type with the perception of some foods appearing less susceptible to influence. These findings have implications for post COVID-19 (and post Brexit) food system, trade policy and public trust, and highlight the need for communication of food safety.