Objective: To investigate the effects of providing free fruit and snack vegetables at a university on students’ fruit intake, snack vegetable intake and total vegetable intake. Design: Free fruit and raw snack vegetables (e.g. bite-sized tomatoes) were provided in a stand in the form of a miniature wooden house located in the central hall of the university’s main building, which students regularly pass through on their way to lectures and the cafeteria. Three interventions tested with a pre-test/post-test design were performed. In these three interventions, small changes to the appearance of the stand were made, such as placing potted plants around it. Demographic characteristics and fruit and vegetable intakes were assessed with questionnaires. Setting: A Dutch university of applied science. Participants: Intervention 1 included 124 students; Intervention 2 included ninety-two students; Intervention 3 included 237 students. Results: Longitudinal linear regression analyses showed that post-test snack vegetable intake was consistently higher compared with pre-test. In the three interventions, post-test snack vegetable intakes were between 11 and 14 g/d higher than at the pre-test, which is comparable to three bite-sized tomatoes. No differences in fruit intake or total vegetable intake were found. Subgroup analyses showed that, in all three interventions, students with the lowest pre-test fruit intake and total vegetable intake reported the largest increase in fruit intake and snack vegetable intake after the interventions. Conclusions: Providing free fruit and vegetables to students at their university might be beneficial for those with low habitual intakes.
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Until recently, we separated farmers and urban communities. Each had their own ministries, policy plans, cultures, knowledge and education institutes and even political parties. Now we accept that this division is gone in the Netherlands. Rural areas ceased to exist, and urbanity was found everywhere. Former rural areas were transformed into green spaces inside metropolitan areas. Farmers and peaceful villages woke up and saw themselves surrounded by cities. Even more: city dwellers became their neighbours. The time has come that we look upon farming and urbanised areas as an integrated system.
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Honger is nog steeds een wereldwijd probleem, terwijl iedereen genoegte eten zou hebben als we het beschikbare voedsel goed zoudenverdelen en benutten, en het niet zouden verspillen. Maar alleen al inNederland gooien we ruim 33 kilo voedsel per persoon per jaar weg. Datmoet anders!Door voedsel slimmer te verpakken, kunnen we voedselverspilling énonnodig verpakkingsafval voorkomen. Binnen het project Goed Verpakthebben we verschillende partijen samengebracht om integraal aan ditonderwerp te werken. Het breed samengestelde consortium bestond uitkennisinstellingen, producenten van aardappels, groente en fruit,producenten van maaltijden en portieverpakkingen, producenten vanverpakkingsmaterialen en een brancheorganisatie.Onze centrale onderzoeksvraag was:Hoe kunnen bedrijven in de voedingssector op een meer duurzamemanier in de behoefte van de eindgebruiker voorzien, waarbij degekozen totaaloplossing van de product-verpakkingscombinatie pastbinnen een circulaire economie en aansluit bij de vereisten van de heleketen?Samen hebben we naar slimmere product-verpakkingscombinatiesgezocht, waarbij we hebben geanalyseerd welke duurzaamheidsdilemma’s partijen in de keten ervaren en hoe we die kunnen oplossen of wegnemen. Daarbij hebben we ook in beeld gebracht wat de betrokken partijen zelf kunnen doen en wat zij voor elkaar kunnen krijgen door een nauwere samenwerking binnen de keten.Voor slimmere product-verpakkingscombinaties is ook de overheid eenonmisbare partner. Onduidelijkheid, een gebrek aan daadkracht en teeenzijdige wet- en regelgeving werken averechts en ondermijnen hetstreven naar meer duurzaamheid binnen de sector. Beleidsmakersonderschatten de expertise die nodig is om dit goed te regelen.Meer verduurzaming is dus vooral een kwestie van nauwersamenwerken. Met partners binnen de branche, met interessantepartijen buiten de branche én met de overheid. We formuleren in ditdocument alvast onze negen gouden regels van integraal duurzaamverpakken.Daarnaast blijven de betrokken kennisinstellingen onderzoek doen naardit onderwerp. Bijvoorbeeld naar consumentengedrag en –intenties ennaar de inzet van de Rethink-methode voor het herontwerpen vanproduct-verpakkingscombinaties. Zo zorgen alle betrokken partners voor een circulaire toekomst waarin voedsel steeds slimmer verpakt wordt en we met een minimum aan afval zo veel mogelijk voedsel beschikbaar maken voor iedereen.
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In greenhouse horticulture harvesting is a major bottleneck. Using robots for automatic reaping can reduce human workload and increase efficiency. Currently, ‘rigid body’ robotic grippers are used for automated reaping of tomatoes, sweet peppers, etc. However, this kind of robotic grasping and manipulation technique cannot be used for harvesting soft fruit and vegetables as it will cause damage to the crop. Thus, a ‘soft gripper’ needs to be developed. Nature is a source of inspiration for temporary adhesion systems, as many species, e.g., frogs and snails, are able to grip a stem or leave, even upside down, with firm adhesion without leaving any damage. Furthermore, larger animals have paws that are made of highly deformable and soft material with adjustable grip size and place holders. Since many animals solved similar problems of adhesion, friction, contact surface and pinch force, we will use biomimetics for the design and realization of the soft gripper. With this interdisciplinary field of research we aim to model and develop functionality by mimicking biological forms and processes and translating them to the synthesis of materials, synthetic systems or machines. Preliminary interviews with tech companies showed that also in other fields such as manufacturing and medical instruments, adjustable soft and smart grippers will be a huge opportunity in automation, allowing the handling of fragile objects.
Agricultural/horticultural products account for 9% of Dutch gross domestic product. Yearly expansion of production involves major challenges concerning labour costs and plant health control. For growers, one of the most urgent problems is pest detection, as pests cause up to 10% harvest loss, while the use of chemicals is increasingly prohibited. For consumers, food safety is increasingly important. A potential solution for both challenges is frequent and automated pest monitoring. Although technological developments such as propeller-based drones and robotic arms are in full swing, these are not suitable for vertical horticulture (e.g. tomatoes, cucumbers). A better solution for less labour intensive pest detection in vertical crop horticulture, is a bio-inspired FW-MAV: Flapping Wings Micro Aerial Vehicle. Within this project we will develop tiny FW-MAVs inspired by insect agility, with high manoeuvrability for close plant inspection, even through leaves without damage. This project focusses on technical design, testing and prototyping of FW-MAV and on autonomous flight through vertically growing crops in greenhouses. The three biggest technical challenges for FW-MAV development are: 1) size, lower flight speed and hovering; 2) Flight time; and 3) Energy efficiency. The greenhouse environment and pest detection functionality pose additional challenges such as autonomous flight, high manoeuvrability, vertical take-off/landing, payload of sensors and other equipment. All of this is a multidisciplinary challenge requiring cross-domain collaboration between several partners, such as growers, biologists, entomologists and engineers with expertise in robotics, mechanics, aerodynamics, electronics, etc. In this project a co-creation based collaboration is established with all stakeholders involved, integrating technical and biological aspects.
Unwanted tomatoes represent ~20% of the European market, meaning that ~3 million metric tons of tomatoes are wasted every year. On a national scale, this translates to 7000 tons of tomato waste every year. Considering the challenge that food spillage represents worldwide and that the Netherlands wants to be circular by 2050, it is important to find a way to circularize these tomatoes back into the food chain. Moreover, tomatoes are the largest greenhouse crop in the Netherlands, which means that reducing the waste of this crop will positively and significantly affect the circularity and sustainability of the Dutch food system. A way to bring these tomatoes back into the food chain is through fermentation with lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are already used in many food applications. In this project, we will assemble a unique new mix (co-culture) of LAB bacteria, which will lead to a stable fermented product with low sugar, low pH and a fresh taste, without compromising its nutritional value. This fermentation will prevent the contamination of the product with other microorganisms, providing the product with a prolonged shelf life, and will have a positive impact on the health of the consumers. Up until now, only non-fermented products have been produced from rejected tomatoes. This solution allows for an in-between product that can be used towards many different applications. This process will be upscaled to pilot scale with our consortium partners HAN BioCentre, Keep Food Simple, LLTB and Kramer B.V. The aim is to optimize the process and taste the end result of the different fermentations, so the end product is an attractive, circular, and tasty fermented tomato paste. These results will help to advance the circularity and sustainability of our food system, both at a national and European level.
