IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jenvss/v5y2015i3p459-473.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Resilience and the industrial food system: analyzing the impacts of agricultural industrialization on food system vulnerability

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Rotz
  • Evan Fraser

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore how socioeconomic and technological shifts in Canadian and American food production, processing, and distribution have impacted resilience in the food system. First, we use the social ecological systems literature to define food system resilience as a function of that system’s ability to absorb external shocks while maintaining core functions, such as food production and distribution. We then use the literature to argue that we can infer food system resilience by exploring three key dimensions: (1) the diversity of the food system’s components, (2) the degree to which the components are connected, and (3) the degree of decision-making autonomy within the food system. Next, we discuss the impacts of industrialization on these three factors within Canada and the USA. Specifically, we show how processes of corporate concentration, farm-scale intensification, mechanization, and the “cost-price squeeze” have led to a decrease in ecological and economic diversity, a high degree of spatial and organizational connectivity, and a diminished decision-making capacity for individual farmers. While this analysis is qualitative and heuristic, the evidence reviewed here leads us to postulate that our food system is becoming less resilient to external shocks such as climate change. We conclude by discussing four possible strategies to restore resilience and suggest a more transformational shift in food system politics and practice. Specifically, we argue that publicly led multifunctional policies may support more diversified production while programs to promote food system localization can increase farmer autonomy. However, these shifts will not be possible without social-structural corrections of current power imbalances in the food system. This policy discussion reinforces the value of the social ecological framework and, specifically, its capacity to produce an analysis that interweaves ecology, economy, and power. Copyright AESS 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Rotz & Evan Fraser, 2015. "Resilience and the industrial food system: analyzing the impacts of agricultural industrialization on food system vulnerability," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(3), pages 459-473, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:5:y:2015:i:3:p:459-473
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-015-0277-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s13412-015-0277-1
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13412-015-0277-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. C. Hinrichs, 2014. "Transitions to sustainability: a change in thinking about food systems change?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(1), pages 143-155, March.
    2. Osteen, Craig D. & Vasavada, Utpal, 2012. "Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2012 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 132048, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Zoe W. Brent & Christina M. Schiavoni & Alberto Alonso-Fradejas, 2015. "Contextualising food sovereignty: the politics of convergence among movements in the USA," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 618-635, March.
    4. Evan D. Fraser, 2006. "Crop diversification and trade liberalization: Linking global trade and local management through a regional case study," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 23(3), pages 271-281, October.
    5. David Tilman & Kenneth G. Cassman & Pamela A. Matson & Rosamond Naylor & Stephen Polasky, 2002. "Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 671-677, August.
    6. Philip Mcmichael, 2013. "Value-chain Agriculture and Debt Relations: contradictory outcomes," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 671-690.
    7. Laura DeLind & Philip Howard, 2008. "Safe at any scale? Food scares, food regulation, and scaled alternatives," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(3), pages 301-317, September.
    8. Christopher Bryant & Barry Smit & Michael Brklacich & Thomas Johnston & John Smithers & Quentin Chjotti & Bhawan Singh, 2000. "Adaptation in Canadian Agriculture to Climatic Variability and Change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 181-201, April.
    9. Fulponi, Linda, 2006. "Private voluntary standards in the food system: The perspective of major food retailers in OECD countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-13, February.
    10. Verena Seufert & Navin Ramankutty & Jonathan A. Foley, 2012. "Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 485(7397), pages 229-232, May.
    11. Alberto Alonso-Fradejas & Saturnino M. Borras & Todd Holmes & Eric Holt-Giménez & Martha Jane Robbins, 2015. "Food sovereignty: convergence and contradictions, conditions and challenges," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 431-448, March.
    12. A. J. Challinor & J. Watson & D. B. Lobell & S. M. Howden & D. R. Smith & N. Chhetri, 2014. "A meta-analysis of crop yield under climate change and adaptation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(4), pages 287-291, April.
    13. Friedland,William H. & Barton,Amy E. & Thomas,Robert J., 1981. "Manufacturing Green Gold," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521285841.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jofri Issac & Robert Newell & Colin Dring & Charmaine White & Mohaddese Ghadiri & Stefania Pizzirani & Lenore Newman, 2022. "Integrated Sustainability Planning and Local Food Systems: Examining Areas of and Gaps in Food Systems Integration in Community Sustainability Plans for Municipalities across British Columbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Natalia Brzezina & Katharina Biely & Ariella Helfgott & Birgit Kopainsky & Joost Vervoort & Erik Mathijs, 2017. "Development of Organic Farming in Europe at the Crossroads: Looking for the Way Forward through System Archetypes Lenses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-23, May.
    3. Aguilera, Eduardo & Díaz-Gaona, Cipriano & García-Laureano, Raquel & Reyes-Palomo, Carolina & Guzmán, Gloria I. & Ortolani, Livia & Sánchez-Rodríguez, Manuel & Rodríguez-Estévez, Vicente, 2020. "Agroecology for adaptation to climate change and resource depletion in the Mediterranean region. A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    4. Rylea Johnson & Evan D. G. Fraser & Roberta Hawkins, 2016. "Overcoming Barriers to Scaling Up Sustainable Alternative Food Systems: A Comparative Case Study of Two Ontario-Based Wholesale Produce Auctions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, April.
    5. 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.
    6. Sarah Rotz, 2018. "Drawing lines in the cornfield: an analysis of discourse and identity relations across agri-food networks," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(2), pages 441-456, June.
    7. Taghikhah, Firouzeh & Borevitz, Justin & Costanza, Robert & Voinov, Alexey, 2022. "DAESim: A dynamic agro-ecosystem simulation model for natural capital assessment," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 468(C).
    8. Berthet, Elsa T. & Bretagnolle, Vincent & Gaba, Sabrina, 2022. "Place-based social-ecological research is crucial for designing collective management of ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    9. Ensor, Jonathan & de Bruin, Annemarieke, 2022. "The role of learning in farmer-led innovation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    10. Lenore Newman & Robert Newell & Colin Dring & Alesandros Glaros & Evan Fraser & Zsofia Mendly-Zambo & Arthur Gill Green & Krishna Bahadur KC, 2023. "Agriculture for the Anthropocene: novel applications of technology and the future of food," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(3), pages 613-627, June.
    11. Philip H. Howard, 2016. "AFHVS 2016 presidential address: Decoding diversity in the food system: wheat and bread in North America," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(4), pages 953-960, December.
    12. Natalia Brzezina & Birgit Kopainsky & Erik Mathijs, 2016. "Can Organic Farming Reduce Vulnerabilities and Enhance the Resilience of the European Food System? A Critical Assessment Using System Dynamics Structural Thinking Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-32, September.
    13. Sutcliffe, Chloe & Knox, Jerry & Hess, Tim, 2021. "Managing irrigation under pressure: How supply chain demands and environmental objectives drive imbalance in agricultural resilience to water shortages," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    14. Miloš Ćirić & Dragan Tešanović & Bojana Kalenjuk Pivarski & Ivana Ćirić & Maja Banjac & Goran Radivojević & Biljana Grubor & Predrag Tošić & Olivera Simović & Stefan Šmugović, 2021. "Analyses of the Attitudes of Agricultural Holdings on the Development of Agritourism and the Impacts on the Economy, Society and Environment of Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-15, December.
    15. Meilin Ma & Jayson L. Lusk, 2022. "Concentration and Resilience in the US Meat Supply Chains," NBER Chapters, in: Risks in Agricultural Supply Chains, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Muxue Liang & Hong Liao & Yue Huang & Zifang Qiao & Chenchen Tan & Ruoxin Liu, 2021. "A Questionnaire Case Study of Opinions of Chinese Agricultural Workers on the Coordinated Control of Emissions of Ammonia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    17. Luke Bergmann & Luis Fernando Chaves & Carolyn R. Betz & Serena Stein & Brian Wiedenfeld & Ann Wolf & Robert G. Wallace, 2022. "Mapping Agricultural Lands: From Conventional to Regenerative," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-41, March.
    18. Christophe Béné, 2020. "Resilience of local food systems and links to food security – A review of some important concepts in the context of COVID-19 and other shocks," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 805-822, August.
    19. Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi & Tendai Polite Chibarabada & Vimbayi Grace Petrova Chimonyo & Vongai Gillian Murugani & Laura Maureen Pereira & Nafiisa Sobratee & Laurencia Govender & Rob Slotow & Albert The, 2018. "Mainstreaming Underutilized Indigenous and Traditional Crops into Food Systems: A South African Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    20. Jacobi, Johanna & Mukhovi, Stellah & Llanque, Aymara & Augstburger, Horacio & Käser, Fabian & Pozo, Claudia & Ngutu Peter, Mariah & Delgado, José Manuel Freddy & Kiteme, Boniface P. & Rist, Stephan & , 2018. "Operationalizing food system resilience: An indicator-based assessment in agroindustrial, smallholder farming, and agroecological contexts in Bolivia and Kenya," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 433-446.
    21. Brune, Sara & Vilá, Olivia & Knollenberg, Whitney, 2023. "Family farms' resilience under the COVID-19 crisis: Challenges and opportunities with agritourism," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    22. Kelly J. Hodgins & Evan D. G. Fraser, 2018. ""We are a business, not a social service agency." Barriers to widening access for low-income shoppers in alternative food market spaces," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 149-162, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Valeria Borsellino & Emanuele Schimmenti & Hamid El Bilali, 2020. "Agri-Food Markets towards Sustainable Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-35, March.
    2. Anna Yusa & Peter Berry & June J.Cheng & Nicholas Ogden & Barrie Bonsal & Ronald Stewart & Ruth Waldick, 2015. "Climate Change, Drought and Human Health in Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-54, July.
    3. Dapeng WANG & Liang ZHENG & Songdong GU & Yuefeng SHI & Long LIANG & Fanqiao MENG & Yanbin GUO & Xiaotang JU & Wenliang WU, 2018. "Soil nitrate accumulation and leaching in conventional, optimized and organic cropping systems," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 64(4), pages 156-163.
    4. Benjamin Blumenstein & Torsten Siegmeier & Carsten Bruckhaus & Victor Anspach & Detlev Möller, 2015. "Integrated Bioenergy and Food Production—A German Survey on Structure and Developments of Anaerobic Digestion in Organic Farming Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-24, August.
    5. Efe Can Gürcan, 2018. "Theorizing Food Sovereignty from a Class-Analytical Lens: The Case of Agrarian Mobilization in Argentina," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 7(3), pages 320-350, December.
    6. Diana Stuart & Michelle Worosz, 2012. "Risk, anti-reflexivity, and ethical neutralization in industrial food processing," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 287-301, September.
    7. Sacha Amaruzaman & Douglas K. Bardsley & Randy Stringer, 2022. "Reflexive policies and the complex socio-ecological systems of the upland landscapes in Indonesia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 683-700, June.
    8. Luz Maria Castro & Baltazar Calvas & Thomas Knoke, 2015. "Ecuadorian Banana Farms Should Consider Organic Banana with Low Price Risks in Their Land-Use Portfolios," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-23, March.
    9. Lombardi, G.V. & Parrini, Silvia & Atzori, R. & Stefani, G. & Romano, D. & Gastaldi, M. & Liu, G., 2021. "Sustainable agriculture, food security and diet diversity. The case study of Tuscany, Italy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 458(C).
    10. Marney E. Isaac & S. Ryan Isakson & Bryan Dale & Charles Z. Levkoe & Sarah K. Hargreaves & V. Ernesto Méndez & Hannah Wittman & Colleen Hammelman & Jennifer C. Langill & Adam R. Martin & Erin Nelson &, 2018. "Agroecology in Canada: Towards an Integration of Agroecological Practice, Movement, and Science," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    11. Tiziano Gomiero, 2013. "Alternative Land Management Strategies and Their Impact on Soil Conservation," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-20, August.
    12. Marull, Joan & Padró, Roc & La Rota-Aguilera, María José & Pino, Joan & Giocoli, Annalisa & Cirera, Jacob & Ruiz-Forés, Núria & Coll, Francesc & Serrano-Tovar, Tarik & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl, 2023. "Modelling land use planning: Socioecological integrated analysis of metropolitan green infrastructures," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    13. Cees Leeuwis & Birgit K. Boogaard & Kwesi Atta-Krah, 2021. "How food systems change (or not): governance implications for system transformation processes," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 761-780, August.
    14. Oksana Puzniak & Natalia Hrynchyshyn & Tetiana Datsko & Sylwia Andruszczak & Bohdan Hulko, 2022. "Consequences of the Long-Term Fertilization System Use on Physical and Microbiological Soil Status in the Western Polissia of Ukraine," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, November.
    15. Jason Konefal, 2015. "Governing Sustainability Transitions: Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and Regime Change in United States Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-22, January.
    16. Alia, Didier Y. & Zheng, Yuqing & Kusunose, Yoko & Reed, Michael R., 2017. "Trade effects of food regulations and standards: Assessing the impact of SPS measures on market structure," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258368, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Anugu Amarender Reddy & Indrek Melts & Geetha Mohan & Ch Radhika Rani & Vaishnavi Pawar & Vikas Singh & Manesh Choubey & Trupti Vashishtha & A Suresh & Madhusudan Bhattarai, 2022. "Economic Impact of Organic Agriculture: Evidence from a Pan-India Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-22, November.
    18. Jill Fernandes & Dominique Blache & Shane K. Maloney & Graeme B. Martin & Bronwyn Venus & Frederick Rohan Walker & Brian Head & Alan Tilbrook, 2019. "Addressing Animal Welfare through Collaborative Stakeholder Networks," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-14, June.
    19. Douglas H. Constance, 2023. "The doctors of agrifood studies," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 31-43, March.
    20. Rosegrant, Mark W. & Fan, Shenggen & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2021. "Global issues in agricultural development," IFPRI book chapters, in: Agricultural development: New perspectives in a changing world, chapter 2, pages 35-78, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:5:y:2015:i:3:p:459-473. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.