Realizing Resilient Food Systems

Schipanski, Meagan; MacDonald, Graham K.; Rosenzweig, Steven T.; Chappell, M. Jahi; Bennett, Elena M.; Kerr, Rachel Bezner; Blesh, Jennifer; Crews, Timothy E.; Drinkwater, Laurie E.; Lundgren, Jonathan G.; Schnarr, Cassandra

doi:10.1093/biosci/biw052

Cited by 203 publications

(222 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Berg and Damsann (1977) [18] described the bioregion as referring, "both to geographical terrain and a terrain of consciousness-to a place and the ideas that have developed about how to live in that place. Within a bioregion the conditions that influence life are similar and these in turn have influenced human occupancy" [12] (p. 399). The bioregion is about synergies between people and place with biophysical conditions, including climate, physical landscape, flora and fauna; this is the starting point from which to understand these relationships.…”

Section: Bioregions and Foodshedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bioregion is about synergies between people and place with biophysical conditions, including climate, physical landscape, flora and fauna; this is the starting point from which to understand these relationships. However, within this biophysical realm the final boundaries, "are best described by the people who have long lived within it, through human recognition of the realities of living-in-place" [12] (p. 399). Friedmann explicitly connects food to bioregional well-being as, " .…”

Section: Bioregions and Foodshedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in the case of the SDGs, food provides a cross-cutting entry point to support all the goals and can play a central role in achieving both local and global sustainability. Despite this focal role, implementing the SDGs and sustainability more generally is not scale-focused and needs a specific lens to help focus operationalization offered by the CRFS approach [5,12]. Addressing multiple challenges simultaneously, CRFS provide a mechanism for coherent, functional sustainability policy and action [1,4,5] (Table 1).…”

Section: Why City Regions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validating the City Region Food System Approach: Enacting Inclusive, Transformational City Region Food Systems

et al. 2018

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This paper offers a critical assessment of the value and utility of the evolving City Region Food Systems (CRFS) approach to improve our insights into flows of resources-food, waste, people, and knowledge-from rural to peri-urban to urban and back again, and the policies and process needed to enable sustainability. This paper reflects on (1) CRFS merits compared to other approaches; (2) the operational potential of applying the CRFS approach to existing projects through case analysis; (3) how to make the CRFS approach more robust and ways to further operationalize the approach; and (4) the potential for the CRFS approach to address complex challenges including integrated governance, territorial development, metabolic flows, and climate change. The paper begins with the rationale for CRFS as both a conceptual framework and an integrative operational approach, as it helps to build increasingly coherent transformational food systems. CRFS is differentiated from existing approaches to understand the context and gaps in theory and practice. We then explore the strength of CRFS through the conceptual building blocks of 'food systems' and 'city-regions' as appropriate, or not, to address pressing complex challenges. As both a multi-stakeholder, sustainability-building approach and process, CRFS provides a collective voice for food actors across scales and could provide coherence across jurisdictions, policies, and scales, including the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, and the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21. CRFS responds directly to calls in the literature to provide a conceptual and practical framing for policy through wide engagement across sectors that enables the co-construction of a relevant policy frame that can be enacted through sufficiently integrated policies and programs that achieve increasingly sustainable food systems.

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Section: Bioregions and Foodshedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bioregions and Foodshedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Why City Regions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validating the City Region Food System Approach: Enacting Inclusive, Transformational City Region Food Systems

et al. 2018

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“…Abstract. Most croplmnd in the U.S. is chmrmcterized by lmrge monocultures, whose productivity is mmintmined through m strong relimnce on costly tillmge, externml fertilizers, mnd pesticides (Schipmnski et ml., 2016). Despite this, fmrmers hmve developed m regenermtive model of fmrm production thmt promotes soil hemlth mnd biodiversity, while producing nutrient-dense fmrm products profitmbly.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Development of synthetic fertilizers, hybrid crops, geneticmlly modified crops, mnd policies thmt decouple fmrmer decisions from mmrket demmnds mll helped cremte m modern food production system which reduces the diversity of foods thmt mre produced (Fmusti mnd Lundgren, 2015;Pretty, 1995). This simplificmtion of our food system contributes to climmte chmnge (Cmrlsson-Kmnymmm mnd Gonzmlez, 2009), rising pollution (Bemmn et ml., 2011;Morrissey et ml., 2015), biodiversity loss (Butler et ml., 2007;Lmndis et ml., 2008), mnd dmmmging lmnd use chmnges (Johnston, 2014;Wright mnd Wimberly, 2013) thmt mffect the sustminmbility, profitmbility mnd resilience of fmrms (Schipmnski et ml., 2016). Fmrmers experience the highest suicide rmte of mny profession in the United Stmtes, m rmte nemrly five-fold higher thmn the generml public (McIntosh et ml., 2016); the driving depression rmtes mre relmted to conventionml production prmctices (Bemrd et ml., 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Regenerative agriculture: merging farming and natural resource conservation profitably

LaCanne

Lundgren

2017

Preprint

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Most cropland in the U.S. is characterized by large monocultures, whose productivity is maintained through a strong reliance on costly tillage, external fertilizers, and pesticides ( Schipanski et al., 2016 ) . Despite this, farmers have developed a regenerative model of farm production that promotes soil health and biodiversity, while producing nutrient-dense farm products profitably. Little work has focused on the relative costs and benefits of novel regenerative farming operations, which necessitates studying in situ, farmer-defined best management practices. Here, we evaluate the relative effects of regenerative and conventional corn production systems on pest management services, soil conservation, and farmer profitability and productivity throughout the Northern Plains of the United States. Regenerative farming systems provided greater ecosystem services and profitability for farmers than an input-intensive model of corn production. Pests were 10-fold more abundant in insecticide-treated corn fields than on insecticide-free regenerative farms, indicating that farmers who proactively design pest-resilient food systems outperform farmers that react to pests chemically. Regenerative fields had 29% lower grain production but 78% higher profits over traditional corn production systems. Profit was positively correlated with the particulate organic matter of the soil, not yield. These results provide the basis for dialogue on ecologically based farming systems that could be used to simultaneously produce food while conserving our natural resource base: two factors that are pitted against one another in simplified food production systems. To attain this requires a systems-level shift on the farm; simply applying individual regenerative practices within the current production model will not likely produce the documented results. Abstract. Most croplmnd in the U.S. is chmrmcterized by lmrge monocultures, whose productivity is mmintmined through m strong relimnce on costly tillmge, externml fertilizers, mnd pesticides (Schipmnski et ml., 2016). Despite this, fmrmers hmve developed m regenermtive model of fmrm production thmt promotes soil hemlth mnd biodiversity, while producing nutrient-dense fmrm products profitmbly. Little work hms focused on the relmtive costs mnd benefits of novel regenermtive fmrming opermtions, which necessitmtes studying in situ, fmrmer-defined best mmnmgement prmctices. Here, we evmlumte the relmtive effects of regenermtive mnd conventionml corn production systems on pest mmnmgement services, soil conservmtion, mnd fmrmer profitmbility mnd productivity throughout the Northern Plmins of the United Stmtes.Regenermtive fmrming systems provided gremter ecosystem services mnd profitmbility for fmrmers thmn mn input-intensive model of corn production. Pests were 10-fold more mbundmnt in insecticide-tremted corn fields thmn on insecticide-free regenermtive fmrms, indicmting thmt fmrmers who promctively design pestresilient food systems outperform fmrmers thmt remct to pests chemicmlly. Regenerm...

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The use of food imports to overcome local limits to growth

et al. 2017

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There is a fundamental tension between population growth and carrying capacity, i.e., the population that could potentially be supported using the resources and technologies available at a given time. When population growth outpaces improvements in food production locally, food imports can avoid local limits and allow growth to continue. This import strategy is central to the debate on food security with continuing rapid growth of the world population. This highlights the importance of a quantitative global understanding of where the strategy is implemented, whether it has been successful, and what drivers are involved. We present an integrated quantitative analysis to answer these questions at sub-national and national scale for 1961-2009, focusing on water as the key limiting resource and accounting for resource and technology impacts on local carrying capacity. According to the sub-national estimates, food imports have nearly universally been used to overcome local limits to growth, affecting 3.0 billion people-81% of the population that is approaching or already exceeded local carrying capacity. This strategy is successful in 88% of the cases, being highly dependent on economic purchasing power. In the unsuccessful cases, increases in imports and local productivity have not kept pace with population growth, leaving 460 million people with insufficient food. Where the strategy has been successful, food security of 1.4 billion people has become dependent on imports. Whether or not this dependence on imports is considered desirable, it has policy implications that need to be taken into account.

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Realizing Resilient Food Systems

Cited by 203 publications

References 49 publications

Validating the City Region Food System Approach: Enacting Inclusive, Transformational City Region Food Systems

Validating the City Region Food System Approach: Enacting Inclusive, Transformational City Region Food Systems

Regenerative agriculture: merging farming and natural resource conservation profitably

The use of food imports to overcome local limits to growth

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