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Metropolitan foodsheds: a resilient response to the climate change challenge?

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  • Laura Lengnick
  • Michelle Miller
  • Gerald Marten

Abstract

The twenty-first century challenges of climate change and resource scarcity bring a new urgency to the widely recognized sustainability challenges of the US food system. Environmental and social impacts associated with the geographic concentration and specialization in production, processing, and distribution that accompanied industrialization of the US food system have degraded our nation’s capacity to adapt to changing climate conditions. A consensus is emerging in sustainable food system scholarship that two fundamental changes—a transformation of production methods from industrial to sustainable and a transformation of food system geography from regional specialization to regional diversity—should enhance the resilience of the food system to climate change. A review of the literature suggests that transition to a nationally integrated network of sustainable metropolitan food systems (“metropolitan foodsheds”) would improve climate resilience by enhancing three key qualities associated with resilience in social-ecological systems—diversity, modularity, and balanced accumulation of capital assets. These qualities promote the capacity of a system to respond, to recover, and to transform in ways that reduce damaging effects and take advantage of opportunities created by change. Using a set of behavior-based resilience indicators in a review of case study research, this article examines the general resilience of sustainable production and supply chain systems. Sustainable production systems managed by award-winning sustainable food producers expressed all of the behaviors of a resilient system and demonstrated remarkable resilience to weather variability and extremes. These producers attributed the climate resilience of their farms and ranches to high-quality soils, planned biodiversity, and diversified marketing. Like many sustainable producers, these farmers and ranchers not only produce crops and livestock, they also participate in processing, distribution, and retailing. Resilient behavior was also expressed in sustainable supply chains developed by networked community cooperatives and through government investment in a large nonprofit food terminal. As recent food system planning projects in the USA illustrate, there is growing recognition of the potential sustainability and resilience benefits of regional food systems designed to develop positive relationships between the metropolitan core and surrounding areas. We can begin now to shift public support for a transition to more diversified production, to develop regional food system infrastructure, and to conduct comprehensive research to refine resilience indicators and develop food system performance metrics to guide a transformation of the US food system to a more sustainable and resilient future. Copyright AESS 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Lengnick & Michelle Miller & Gerald Marten, 2015. "Metropolitan foodsheds: a resilient response to the climate change challenge?," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(4), pages 573-592, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:5:y:2015:i:4:p:573-592
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-015-0349-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Małgorzata Świąder & Szymon Szewrański & Jan K. Kazak, 2018. "Foodshed as an Example of Preliminary Research for Conducting Environmental Carrying Capacity Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Gerald Marten & Nurcan Atalan-Helicke, 2015. "Introduction to the Symposium on American Food Resilience (Part 2)," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(4), pages 537-542, December.
    3. Ana Moragues-Faus & Alizée Marceau, 2018. "Measuring Progress in Sustainable Food Cities: An Indicators Toolbox for Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Mariana Filipe & Angela Lomba & João Pradinho Honrado & Andreia Saavedra Cardoso, 2023. "City-Region Food Systems and Biodiversity Conservation: The Case Study of the Entre-Douro-e-Minho Agrarian Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    5. Heather L Reynolds & Leslie Brandt & Burnell C Fischer & Brady S Hardiman & Donovan J Moxley & Eric Sandweiss & James H Speer & Songlin Fei, 2020. "Implications of climate change for managing urban green infrastructure: an Indiana, US case study," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 1967-1984, December.
    6. R. G. Gracheva & A. V. Sheludkov, 2021. "Diffusion of Organic Agriculture in Russia: Features and Implications for Rural Development," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 578-588, October.
    7. Fritz Wittmann & Michael Eder, 2023. "Farmers facing changed urban dietary patterns: whether and what to adapt?," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 28(7), pages 1-26, October.
    8. Andreia Saavedra Cardoso & Tiago Domingos & Manuela Raposo De Magalhães & José De Melo-Abreu & Jorge Palma, 2017. "Mapping the Lisbon Potential Foodshed in Ribatejo e Oeste: A Suitability and Yield Model for Assessing the Potential for Localized Food Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-31, November.
    9. Patrick R. Huber & Matthew Baker & Allan D. Hollander & Matthew Lange & Daphne Miller & James F. Quinn & Courtney Riggle & Thomas P. Tomich, 2023. "Linking Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing in Systematic Conservation Assessments of Working Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, June.

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