Since decades, several countries worldwide have developed policies to promote public procurement of organic foods in school feeding programs. For instance, central and local governments in Brazil, the US, South Korea, and France, have been supporting public procurement of organic foods since some years. Based on questionnaire surveys and literature review, this study aimed to reveal the processes of and supporting institutions in the above-mentioned countries involved in the transformation of public procurement for sustainable food systems. The results indicated that (1) problematization of the current food systems drove the transformation of public procurement, (2) supporting institutions were established for the stable procurement of organic agri-food products, (3) different initiatives in public procurement prevented cost increases, and (4) the relations between the roles of governments and free market system in these countries are presently controversial.

The present study explored the effectiveness of a physical protective fence in combination with an electric fence in preventing sika deer (Cervus nippon) invasions in grasslands. Specifically, we implemented a combined wire-netting and electric fence to prevent the invasion of sika deer in meadows and comprehensively evaluated the effectiveness of this strategy from the viewpoints of effort and cost for fence setup and maintenance. Further, we compared the frequency of emergence of sika deer as well as the yield of Japanese barnyard millet (Echinochloa utilis Ohwi et Yabuno) during summer cultivation and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) during winter cultivation. The following three treatments were assigned: (1) a control group (May 2017-May 2018), in which no measures to prevent deer invasion were implemented; (2) an electric fence group (June 2018-May 2019), in which electric fences (5-polywires, height: 20, 40, 70, 100, and 140cm) were set to prevent deer invasion; and (3) a combination group (June 2019-May 2020), in which a combined electric and wire-netting fence (height, 120cm; set 30cm beyond the electric fence) was set to prevent deer invasion. The average number of sika deer photographed per day with a sensor camera during the cultivation periods of Japanese barnyard millet and Italian ryegrass was respectively 7.4 and 11.1 heads in the control group, 1.6 and 6.1 heads in the electric fence group, and 0 heads in the combination group. Observation of the behavioral responses of sika deer to the fences revealed that the deer repeatedly passed through the electric fence without touching it with the tip of their nose in the electric fence group during the cultivation period of Italian ryegrass, however, the majority of the individuals in the combination group evaded the fences after looking at them merely without trying to pass through them during the cultivation period of both grasses. The reduction in the yield of both grasses was extensive in the control and electric fence groups (89-99% and 32-92%, respectively), while there was no yield reduction in the combination group.

In conclusion, a combined electric (5-polywires) and wire-netting (height, 120cm) fence effectively prevented sika deer invasions visually in grasslands without causing any harm to the animals.

The Seed Library is part of the informal seed system that has been installed and operated in large numbers around the world since the 1970s. In Europe and the United States, it is often called a community seed bank. The functions of the seed library and its management system vary depending on the country, region, and members, but the purpose of storing seeds is common. In this study, we clarified the position of the seed library in the informal seed system by conducting a field survey and interviewing the characteristics of the seed library in Korea and showed a new understanding and development of the seed system as a whole. Due to the financial crisis in South Korea in 1997, most of the leading domestic seed companies were acquired by multinational companies, and Korean crop genetic resources were also handed over to overseas multinational companies. In 2008, the US-Korea FTA was signed, and interest in food increased, and awareness of rights such as food sovereignty and seed sovereignty grew. Therefore, the Korean Seed Library considers the preservation of seeds to be part of food sovereignty and is associated with social issues. From an international perspective, the Korean seed library is an NGO, but it is a semi-formal seed system because it actively accepts support from the government and has close public-private cooperation in its activities. I evaluated it. Recently, the Korean Seed Library is considered to be a new finding that will lead to the development of a new informal seed system with the new purpose of preserving traditional knowledge about food sovereignty and seeds and transmitting it to the future.

In this study, we investigated the effect of energized and non-energized 5-polywires electric fences (heights of 5-polywires: 20, 40, 70, 100, and 140cm) in preventing invasion by captive sika deer (C. n. nippon). Two experiments were conducted in an identical enclosure (400×600cm). In the first experiment, two 2-year-old captive sika deer (one male, one female) exposed to energized electric fences exhibited exploratory behavior toward the wires with their lips. Once the animals received an electric shock, they responded by either passing through the wires or stepping back from them. After receiving electric shocks by touching the wires a few times, the animals began to avoid the fences. The invasion-prevention percentage for both the female and male deer was 100% on day 4 after exposure to energized electric fences. In the second experiment, when the animals previously exposed to energized fences were exposed to non-energized fences, the female and male deer avoided the fences in the beginning but exhibited exploratory behavior toward the wires by touching with their lips on days 4 and 19 after exposure, respectively. Thereafter, female and male deer finally passed through the wires on days 7 and 43, respectively. Passing through was only observed between the wires placed at heights 40 and 70cm. The invasion-prevention percentage for both deer decreased gradually and was less than 20% at the end of the experiment. In conclusion, energized electric fences were highly effective in preventing invasion by sika deer. However, it was shown that sika deer passed through non-energized electric fences within a week of exposure even though they had previously received an electric shock from energized electric fences and learnt to avoid them. These results indicate the importance of daily maintenance of electric fences to keep them energizing.