ABSTRACT
Values play a significant role in decision-making, especially regarding nature. Decisions impact people and nature in complex ways and understanding which values are prioritised, and which are left out is an important task for improving the equity and effectiveness of decision-making. Based on work done for the IPBES Values Assessment, this paper develops a framework to support analyses of how decision-making influences nature as well as whose values get prioritised. The framework is used to analyse key areas of environmental policy: a) the present model for nature protection in market economies, b) the role of valuation in bringing nature values into decisions, and c) values embedded in environmental policy instruments, exemplified by protected areas for nature conservation and payments for ecosystem services. The analyses show that environmental policies have been established as mere additions to decision-making structures that foster economic expansion, which undermines a wide range of nature's values. Moreover, environmental policies themselves are also focused on a limited set of nature's diverse values. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'.
Subject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources , Decision Making , Conservation of Natural Resources/methods , Environmental Policy , Humans , Ecosystem , Nature , Social ValuesABSTRACT
The fermented food, trahanas (a milk-wheat flour combination prepared in Greece), was studied to determine the microbiological and chemical changes that occur during fermentation. It is a lactic acid bacterial fermentation in which Streptococcus lactis, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Leuconostoc cremoris, Lactobacillus lactis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Lactobacillus acidophilus play the major acid- and aroma-producing role. The whole fermentation lasts about 50 hours. The pH of the final dried trahanas was 4.07-4.75, the acidity 0.60-1.00%, the moisture content 8.6-11.5% and the protein content 10.4-13.6%. The product offers possibilities as an increased nutritive value or high-protein food.
Subject(s)
Fermentation , Flour , Milk , Triticum , Animals , Greece , Hot Temperature , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Lactobacillus/metabolism , Leuconostoc/growth & development , Leuconostoc/metabolism , Milk/chemistry , Milk/metabolism , Milk/microbiology , Proteins/analysis , Streptococcus/growth & development , Streptococcus/metabolism , Triticum/chemistry , Triticum/metabolism , Triticum/microbiologyABSTRACT
Defatted pumpkin (C. pepo and C. maxima) seed flour has potential food uses because of its high protein content, 61.4 +/- 2.56%. The functional and electrophoretic properties of the defatted flour were investigated. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electrofocusing indicated 14 bands of water-soluble protein subunits with isoelectric points between 3.81-8.08 and apparent molecular weights between 19,200 and 97,000 daltons. Minimum nitrogen solubility was observed at pH values between 3.0-7.0 and exceeded 90% at pH above 9.0. Solubility was a function of ionic strength. It appeared that, even at the pH of minimum solubility, the pumpkin seed proteins could be dissolved up to high concentrations by increasing NaCl molarity. The viscosity of flour-water dispersion was affected by flour and salt concentrations, and temperature. The least gelation concentration was 8% (w/v) and the water and oil absorption 24.8 +/- 2.03 and 84.4 +/- 4.05 g/100 g respectively. Sorption isotherms, BET monolayer moisture and binding energy of sorption were also calculated. Both foam capacity and stability were pH dependent.
