Economic and environmental performance of controlled-environment supply chains for leaf lettuce
We assess landed costs and selected environmental metrics for field-based andcontrolled-environment agriculture greenhouse (GH) supply chains for leaf lettucedelivered to New York City. Landed costs for a GH are 46 to 174 per cent higher thanfield production, with the lower value for an automated GH located in the peri-urbanarea. Energy use and global warming potential per kg lettuce delivered were larger forthe GH, particularly if located in a peri-urban area. Water use was much higher for thefield-based supply chain. Controlled-environment GH technologies will require further development to meet goals for lower costs and environmental impact.
An Economic and Environmental Comparison of Conventional and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Supply Chains for Leaf Lettuce to US Cities
Metropolitan agriculture, the production of food in urban and peri-urban areas, has captured the attention and excitement of municipalities and entrepreneurs as a means to improve fresh food access while contributing to environmental sustainability (Mougeot, 2000).
Multi-use Barley for Organic Systems
eOrganic was founded in 2009 as the Organic Agriculture Commmunity of Practice of eXtension (now the Extension Foundation).. Our mission is to foster a research and outreach community, engage farmers and ag professionals through trainings and publications, and support research and outreach projects. Find all our resources on our public website at https://eorganic.org.
Release: The EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act Seeks to Increase Equity in USDA’s Food Purchases
The EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act outlines a new, values-based approach for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase commodities that supply child, senior, and community nutrition programs across the nation. The Act also directs USDA to target technical assistance and food safety investments for small and socially disadvantaged producers and businesses to ensure they have fair access to USDA contracts.
The Movement to Revive Local Grains — and the Infrastructure Required to Keep It Going
Walk into an artisan bakery in New York or Seattle, Portland, Maine, or Portland, Oregon, and more likely than not, you’ll discover your baguette or boule was made from locally sourced flour.
A bakery using local flour was a rarity even a decade ago. But the current expansive landscape for these products is not an accident. It’s the result of years’ worth of dedication on the part of regional food systems advocates to revive wheats both ancient (emmer, einkorn, spelt) and heritage (red fife, white Sonora, warthog and some of more than 30,000 others), along with varieties of rye, barley, buckwheat and oats.
Centering Values in Food Procurement
In September, SFC changed the name of our newest program from the “Supply Chain” Program to the “Value Chain” Program. Read on to learn why we made that change and how the program is transforming our food system.
Which schools receive state-level support for local food purchases? Evidence from reimbursement incentive programs in Michigan and Oregon
State-level reimbursement programs are increasingly being used to incentivize procurement of local foods by US K-12 school food authorities (SFAs), which are schools or school districts that administer a food service program. However, few studies have explored the characteristics of SFAs that are associated with applying for and receiving reimbursement incentives. We consider reimbursement incentive programs in two states, Oregon and Michigan.
Promoting the Consumption of Beans and Other Pulses for Public Health
Beans and other pulses (i.e., the dry, edible seeds of non-oilseed legumes like chickpeas, cowpeas, dry beans, dry peas, and lentils) are linked to a myriad of positive impacts on human and environmental health, including promotion of gut health and healthy weight management, reduction of chronic disease risk, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, improvements in soil health, conservation of water resources, and more. Moreover, pulses are highly nutrient-dense, have a long shelf-life, demonstrate wide culinary versatility, and are relatively affordable compared to other foods. Accordingly, pulses offer the chance to consume a healthful diet based on sustainable food choices, all at an economical price point.
Navigating community engagement in participatory modeling of food systems
This paper describes the participatory modeling experiences of five discrete teams across the U.S. working to develop models of food systems to identify leverage points and policies to induce food system transformation. Collaboration between academic and community partners within these individual modeling processes enables teams to address food systems complexity, integrate scientific evidence and local knowledge into models, while improving a model’s credibility and accessibility for policymaking. While tools for facilitating participatory modeling are becoming more available, there is scant discussion on the practicalities of community engagement processes, including how teams respond to the needs of partners, navigate challenges that arise during projects, and communicate results. Synthesizing results from five independent teams in Albany, New York; Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Flint, Michigan, this paper provides an overview of each team’s approach to community engagement for participatory modeling of food systems. Analysis of engagement strategies across these five teams revealed four essential components to successful participatory modeling projects: 1) building research in collaboration with partners from the onset, 2) developing awareness of the challenges of community-researcher partnerships, 3) supporting transparent communication, and 4) promoting justice and trust through accessible dissemination processes. We emphasize that there is no single best approach to participatory modeling with community partners, rather that researchers need to understand and respond to various stakeholder needs. While each team faced challenges to the engagement process, including responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings reveal important considerations for research in participatory modeling for food system policy.