Philip H. Howard's research while affiliated with Michigan State University and other places

... However, further research is essential to understand the underlying reasons for these differences, with the potential role of additional ingredients and additives beyond apples in "ciders" requiring investigation. The lack of compulsory ingredient labeling in alcoholic beverages globally, including cider (Staples et al., 2023), currently hinders comparison and understanding of the toxicological profile. ...

... D. McIntyre, Herren, Wakhungu, & Watson, 2009;Pretty, 2001). One of the key reasons for this situation lies within the structure of the agribusiness sector, as Constance, Hendrickson, and Howard (2014) examine. Since the 1990s the food industry has seen an increasing market power concentration and consolidation of MNCs. ...

... While further research is required in this area, the current indications suggest the possibility of dynamics similar to those observed in the conventional meat sector. As Howard (2022) emphasizes, there is a risk that cell-based chains and product offerings may be controlled by established players in the conventional animal-based meat industry, perpetuating the existing power dynamics in the meat sector. This is particularly concerning as these incumbents have made significant investments in technology development, creating barriers for new entrants. ...

... Growth in cider sales may have positive economic impacts throughout the supply chain, not only for cider makers but also for distributors, retailers, and consumers. In addition, growth may create new markets for apple growers, particularly for cider-specific varieties that currently garner higher prices than fresh or "dessert" apples (Ostrom et al., 2022). However, fluctuating consumer demand, competition from other craft beverage markets, and supply chain disruptions are limiting the hard cider market potential (American Cider Association, 2022;Lee-Weitz, 2023;NielsenIQ, 2023). ...

... Although the perception we have of the alternative protein world is often one of myriad 'smart' disruptive start-ups wrestling to create a little space for their own original innovation, the reality is quite different. What emerges from the most recent analyses (see, e.g., Clapp and Scrinis, 2017;Mouat et al., 2019;Howard et al., 2021) is, on the contrary, a world where the research and development (R&D) of those alternative protein products is now essentially controlled by the same TNCs that have been leading the meat industry for the last three to four decades. In the last few years, Cargill, for instance, invested in the lab grown meat company Aleph Farms, join ventured with the pea protein firm Puris, and later introduced its own plant-based meat substitute; JBS purchased Bio.Tech.Foods (a Spanish lab grown meat firm) in 2022 while investing another US$100M in developing lab grown meat (IPES, 2022). ...

... Facilitating connections with other farmers and providing the support of a community of like-minded farmers across long distances was an important role that several farmers (16%) identified PFI as filling. With fewer farmers on the land due to increasing farmland consolidation (Hendrickson et al., 2020), and even fewer farmers that use alternative practices, the distance to like-minded farmers can be prohibitive to networking. Farmers in the study said that only 10-25% of like-minded farmers in their network lived within 50 miles and many wished they had more local support. ...

... Second, we investigated rates of box occupancy and reproductive success. If kestrels successfully used boxes for nesting, this information would be useful for growers trying to manage crop pests that are commonly deterred and consumed by kestrels (Bardenhagen et al. 2020). Additionally, if box occupancy and reproductive success were high, these findings would indicate that nest boxes potentially provide benefits to local kestrel populations, which have been declining in many regions of North America for decades (McClure et al. 2017). ...

... One of the reasons for this failure is a simplistic understanding of farmers' motivations, dominated by rational, economic cost-benefit considerations [14,15]. There is increasing evidence for a far more nuanced and diverse decision-making behavior [16,17], and recent research on the role of agriculture in biodiversity conservation has applied a number of methodological approaches, for example, the theory of planned behavior [18] for analyzing the conservation of on-farm biodiversity [19], the role of intrinsic motivations and barriers for adopting conservation practices [20], or the relation of farmer's mental models to their land management practices [21,22]. ...

... This was a consequence of multinational pesticide firms in the US and Europe beginning to acquire biotech startups and investing heavily in biotechnology due to the profit potential of patentable GM seeds which led to a major consolidation in the global seed industry. Further, a recent series of mergers and acquisitions resulted in extreme concentration, with just four agrochemical giants-Bayer, Corteva, BASF, and ChemChina-today controlling over 50% of the global proprietary seed market (Hendrickson et al., 2019). Echoing this history of intellectual property rights, there is a new wave of concentration around NGTs. ...

... Beer is one of the most ancient and most widely consumed alcoholic beverages globally, contributing significantly to the economies of the producing countries [1,2]. In 2022, world beer production increased by 25 m hectoliters to 1.89 bn hectoliters, representing a growth of 1.3% [3]. ...