Non-Technical Summary
In this paper, we focus on the disruption that the current pandemic has created within the US industrial food system. We suggest that the pandemic has provided an opening for small producers. Attending to small-scale responses to the pandemic can guide policy and public investments towards a more just and sustainable future for food.
Technical Summary
Building on the IPES-Food Communique of April 2020, we examine the many ways in which the US industrial food system faltered during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Using Regime Theory as a guide, we suggest that such a catastrophic crisis may create significant opportunities for an emergent food regime. Drawing from our research and participant observation in the US Midwest, we examine changes in the food system occasioned by the pandemic that foreshadow a new food regime. We suggest several blockages and risks to this new regime and suggest policies that would make transition smoother to a more just and sustainable food system.
Social Media Summary (120 characters)
What will food be like after the pandemic? This new study outlines an alternative food system emerging in the American Midwest.
The European Green Deal aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The effort required to meet greenhouse gas emission targets or other sustainable development goals depends on the difference between baseline levels and policy targets. This paper provides a set of plausible world agricultural baseline scenarios through 2050 with a variety of agricultural indicators: food calories consumed, crop calories produced, average crop yields, and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Growth of agricultural activity varies widely across world regions, from Europe with a relatively stable population to sub‐Saharan Africa with rapidly growing populations and per‐capita incomes.
Most households in the United States, regardless of income, do the majority of their grocery shopping at supermarkets. However, due to the consolidation of the supermarket industry and some neighborhoods not being able to economically sustain a supermarket, more and more households are struggling to conveniently access affordable, healthy food choices. This article describes a participatory design process used to engage a diverse set of stakeholders in the Indianapolis community to cocreate solutions that improve access to healthy and affordable food. Indianapolis offers an insightful context, given that it was recently ranked the worst city in the United States for food deserts. Our results not only demonstrate the value of using a design‐thinking approach in addressing food access issues but also offer unique insight into the problem of food access itself.
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