CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
The most commonly encountered species of sorghum in Africa is Sorghum bicolor (Harland & de Wet, 1972; Norman, Pearson, Searle, 1995). It is a cereal grain plant of the family Gramineae. Historically, Sorghum bicolor is a grass species mainly cultivated for food to feed humans and animals and for producing ethanol (CAC, 2011). It originated in northern Africa, but now cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions. The crop although treated as an annual, is a perennial that is mostly found in the tropics and harvested many times (Stroade, Boland & Taylor, 2013). Most cultivated varieties of sorghum have their origin in Africa, where they grow on savannah lands and cultivated extensively
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in larger scale production (Tewari, 2006). They are also used to provide easy-to prepare convenient foods in a society that is busy and spends less time in the kitchen than in the past. Additives are also added to produce new food products for instances snacks and confectionery in novelty shapes and colours (Tull, 1996). Food additives may be direct or indirect. Direct food additives are those that have intentionally been included to food for a functional purpose by the food processor such as to improve its sensory quality, nutritive value, stability, ease in processing and retention of quality during handling and retailing, whereas indirect additives are those migrating into food products in very small quantities as a result of growing, handling, processing or packaging (Tewari,
Corn, or maize, plays a vital role in many areas of the world today, and each location views and handles corn in a different way. How they manage corn can show small details about the area and culture as a whole. Not only is corn a staple today, it also had a huge presence in the ancient Native American’s lives; corn is sometimes revered as a deity and other times as a gift to the people from the Creator or a hero of the culture.
The processed food we eat has many chemical additives that mislead our scenes, which are actually mascaraing the manufacturing process of the food industry. Eric Schlosser does an excellent job proving this fact in his report “Food Product Design”. His arguments point out that fast food industries main goal is to entice you with a brand of flavor that you eventually will be addicted to. Subsequently over the last fifty years the flavor industry has manipulated the population into spending 90 percent of the money that they spend on groceries, to ensure they are buying branded processed food. In effect these corporations are employing scientific research and a human beings natural instincts and scenes to persuade us into eating their certain brand of food.
WHEN Zhang Yimou made his directorial debut, Zhang Yimou made his directorial debut, Red Sorghum, in 1987, he was better known as a cinematographer whose talent had been crucial to the success of critically acclaimed films like Zhang Junzhao's One and Eight (1984, released 1987) and Chen Kaige's Yellow Earth (1984). Not only did Red Sorghum become a seminal film of the Fifth Generation, it also won the Golden Bear at Berlin in 1988, becoming the first mainland Chinese film ever to be awarded the highest honour at a major international film competition.
The grain sorghum variety planted must be resistant to charcoal rot and sugarcane aphids. The yield goal for the wheat crop this year is 30 bushels to the acre. We believe this is an accurate assessment because this field was continuous wheat and it is dryland. Continuing into field two we decided to get a jump on the rotation of wheat, fallow, sorghum. This 80-acre field was a continuous wheat field so we wanted to let it rest.
Food additives are substances that are added to food to enhance it; they can be both chemical and natural ("Food Additives: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia"). Recently many food additives have been questioned by both the public and scientists world wide. One example of the food additives that have been studied is sodium stearoyl lactylate. It has recently been looked at due to indications that it might be unsafe for consumption. In this essay a couple main points and questions will be explained; what is sodium stearoyl lactylate, what are its effects both positive and negative, what are some indirect effects SSL has on society, is it ethical to use, and if sodium stearoyl lactylate safe for human consumption.
Describe the types of farming that occur in the savannah biome in the Sahel region.
Overall, this field remained in fair condition throughout the growing season. A few areas developed some unevenness in the stand and where the corn was shorter the plants looked slightly weaker and discolored. During the fifth week, the temperatures increased causing some of the corn to develop heat stress. However, the duration of this period did no last more than a few days and should not greatly affect the crop’s yield. The final population for this field was about 30,670 plants per acre. Tasseling occurred around the eighth week and pollination was mostly complete by the end of week nine.
To ensure that all food meets consumers expectation in terms of nature, substance and quality and is not misleadingly presented
Today, a group of crops called cereals provide over half of all calories eaten by humans. Five of the current twelve leading crops are cereals: sorghum, wheat, barley, corn, and rice. The people of West Africa and Sahel domesticated sorghum; the people of the Fertile Crescent domesticated wheat and barley; the people of Mesoamerica domesticated corn; and the people of China domesticated rice. Corn took a large amount of effort and time to domesticate, resulting in a slower population growth than that seen in the other countries that domesticated major cereals. The major cereals of eastern Asia and the Americas had reduced protein quantities that led to many nutritional
All foods in their natural state are considered functional, as they provide taste, aroma, or nutritional value. Within the last decade, however, the term functional as it applies to food has adopted a different association; that of providing an additional physical or nutritional benefit beyond that of meeting basic nutritional needs. These foods are also known as ‘functional foods’ and are thought to provide additional nutritional befits beyond that of its natural state, whilst playing a role in the prevention or minimization of risk of certain diseases and health conditions. Functional foods can include food products, beverages, or food ingredients that contain known bioactives that have been minimally or substantially transformed.
A food additive is anything that has been added to food to enhance it in texture, appearance and taste, or to preserve it. For example, in orange juice, one can find a daily dosage of Vitamin C. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a hydrocarbon with a chemical formula of C6H8O6 that can preserve food, as well as add nutrients to whatever it is added to. Vitamin C can be found in every citrus fruit, as well as many non citrus fruits, such as papayas, strawberries, pineapples and cranberries. From the 16th century to the 19th century, almost two million sailors were killed by a disease known as scurvy, caused by a lack of Vitamin C. While almost no one has scurvy today, Vitamin C is used to treat gum diseases, colds and bronchitis.
Food has been a common source of necessity in our everyday lives as humans. It helps gives us nutrition and energy to live throughout our life. Over several decades, the development of making foods has evolved. They have changed from natural to processed foods in recent years. Nowadays natural ingredients are barely used in the making of foods like bread, cheese, or yogurt. The food industry today has replaced natural food making with inorganic ingredients. The cause of this switch is due to processed foods being easier, cheaper and faster to make. Artificial nutrition and processed foods have been proven to last longer in market shelves then natural foods. Also, due to artificial additives in processed foods they help satisfy consumers taste more than natural ingredients. The method of producing processed foods is common in today's food industry and helps make money faster and efficiently for companies. Examples of this can be found in all markets that distribute food. Even though processed foods may be easier and faster to make, they are nowhere near as healthy for consumers compared to natural foods. Natural foods are healthier, wholesome, and beneficial to the human body and planet then processed foods.
Food is “composed of synthetic chemical additives, such as colorings, preservatives, sugar substitutes and trans-fats” (Fitzgerald, 2006, p.72). Fitzgerald reported that by the “1970s most meats and dairy products that were factory farmed were laced with growth hormones, antibiotics and a range of pesticides” (p.72). Furthermore, food that is frozen, packaged and canned is considered processed food. A brief explanation of the chemical additives in processed food. 1.
K.C. WILLSON p 4 ). Studies indicate that thanks to the country’s favorable ecological factors such as suitable altitude, optimum temperatures, appropriate planting materials, and fertile soil.). (Alemayehu p 6) , coffee grows in Ethiopia in several places at various altitudes ranging from 550-2750metrs above sea level. More than any other country, Ethiopia has abroad genetic diversity among its coffee verities. It is the center of origin and source of genetic diversity of the Arabica coffee plant to the world. Nine different coffee species are cultivated in the four region of Ethiopia, all with distinctive tastes, size, shapes and colors.