Regionalism: a New England recipe for a resilient food system

Ruhf, Kathryn

doi:10.1007/s13412-015-0324-y

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Regionalism may be one such framework. Ruhf (2015) argues that regionalism, defined as "a framework for economic, policy, and program development that responds to regional characteristics, differences, and needs and encourages regional approaches and solutions," (p. 651) can increase the resiliency of food systems and provide a context for addressing environmental and social concerns. The familiar problem of loose definitions is encountered here as well.…”

Section: Arguments For Regionalization and A New England Food Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for Leasing Institutional Lands in Windham County, Connecticut: Toward A New England Food Vision

Buchanan

2020

J. Agric. Food Syst. Community Dev.

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The social and environmental impacts of the modern industrial food system are ample reason to explore alternative scenarios. A New England Food Vision calls for building a resilient food system at the regional scale, with the goal of providing 50% of New England's food from within the region by the year 2060. Land access is a substantial challenge for aspiring farmers, particularly those from socially marginalized groups. Leasing farmland is less expensive than purchasing it outright, although not without its challenges. Institutionally owned land-properties owned by government entities, nonprofit organizations, educational organizations, religious organizations, or healthcare organizations-may be especially suitable for leasing to aspiring farmers due to their secure tenure and reduced development pressure. This site suitability analysis identifies institutionally owned lands in Windham County, Connecticut, excludes areas containing ecological or practical constraints, and assesses the new farmland acreage and food production that might be generated if these lands were converted to agricultural cultivation. Leasing the resulting lands to farmers would increase the agricultural acreage within the county by almost 19%. The majority of the land identified was owned either by state or municipal government entities, so farmer advocate organizations seeking to promote leasing arrangements should tailor their resources to this type of land ownership and audience.

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Section: Arguments For Regionalization and A New England Food Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for Leasing Institutional Lands in Windham County, Connecticut: Toward A New England Food Vision

Buchanan

2020

J. Agric. Food Syst. Community Dev.

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“…Diverse cropping systems such as Bbiointensive cultivation^increase water-use efficiency, yield, and nutrient retention while reducing damage from pests and pathogens. A diverse system of food production, processing, and distribution in the North Carolina Piedmont and a food hub in South Carolina illustrate improved access of consumers and producers to local markets, contributing to a resilient regional system Ruhf (2015) Discusses how strengthening regional food systems contributes to resilience. New England provides a case study highlighting the region as an effective scale for collaborative initiatives by government, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector to promote resilience on a variety of fronts through enhanced diversity, flexibility, appropriately scaled supply chains and infrastructure, and strong institutional relationships Tolley et al (2015) Reviews the history of federal government management of New England groundfish, which have suffered recurrent stock collapse during the past 50 years.…”

Section: The Symposium On American Food Resiliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Symposium on American Food Resilience

Marten¹,

Atalan-Helicke

2015

J Environ Stud Sci

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The resilience of the American food supply-the ability of the food system to withstand shocks or stresses that could lead to disruption or collapse-is a matter of genuine concern. While all seems well with supermarkets stocked to the brim, changes in the food system and our environment during recent decades have created risks that are no longer hypothetical possibilities. They are with us now. The 27 articles in the Symposium on American Food Resilience explore the vulnerability and resilience of food production and distribution from a diversity of perspectives. Four central questions provide a framework for the exploration:• What are the main lines of vulnerability?• What are leverage points for reducing the risks and improving the capacity to deal with breakdowns if they occur?• What is already being done by government, civil society, and the private sector to reduce the risks?• What can scientists, teachers, and other environmental and food system professionals do through research, education, community action, or other means to make the food system and food supply more resilient? Some of the articles use case studies that highlight various kinds of disturbances: influenza pandemic, war, nuclearreactor catastrophe, natural disasters (e.g., floods and earthquakes), and crop failure due to drought or other climatic perturbations. Lessons for improving resilience are drawn from the experiences. Other articles examine the significance of globalization, food system consolidation, diversity, and food storage; the interplay of efficiency, adaptive capacity, sustainability, and resilience; the potential and limitations of local or regional food systems to compensate for shortcomings in the mainstream food system; organizational learning and networking, integrating local food systems with the mainstream, channeling promising innovations into the mainstream; and success stories and the lessons they offer. The articles afford a wealth of material that can be mined by researchers, teachers, practitioners, and policy makers for application to their own circumstances.

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“…Lengnick (2015) outlines the principle risks to different crop and livestock systems across the U.S., arguing for the need to increase resilience. Ruhf (2015) provides details on how regionalism can result in increased food system resilience. Second, increases in energy costs (such as those in 2007 to 2009) call into question the viability of longdistance transport without concomitant increases in food costs, an example of the relationship between input price shocks and food price increases (Tadasse, Algieri, Kalkuhl, & von Braun, 2016).…”

Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, increases in energy costs (such as those in 2007 to 2009) call into question the viability of longdistance transport without concomitant increases in food costs, an example of the relationship between input price shocks and food price increases (Tadasse, Algieri, Kalkuhl, & von Braun, 2016). Third, in a more qualitative than quantitative trend, there has been a growing research base that examines the potential for regions to become more self-reliant in food provision, which can have positive impacts on food security, economic development, and ecological systems (Ruhf, 2015).…”

Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%