My Theory of Change - Food Systems

The Need for Something New

Our modern, globalized world relies on a complex food system, with a dependency on corporate food names and a circulation of unsustainable transportation that comes with our reliance on global trade. It is apparent that “the ability of the world to provide healthy and environmentally sustainable diets for all its peoples” (Godfray et al. 2010) is declining, and those who hold the power to feed the hungry are choosing not to do so. Enough food is produced per day to feed all in need, but the issue is a “political and social problem” (Shaw 2007, quoted in Ingram 2011), which means that structural change is necessary. This change deserves our focus as we are involving ourselves deeper into wide-scale industrialized agriculture, a lack of effective foreign aid, the cultivation of crops for non-human consumption, etc.

How Localization of the Food System Will Bring Change

A systems change is necessary to solve this issue. The way that food is “grown, distributed and eaten also profoundly affects the environmental, social, spiritual and economic well-being of the community” (Feenstra 1997). This could look like taking a stance against corporate consolidation of the food system and advocating for legal change and policy through voting, or more hands-on approaches such as purchasing from farmer's markets, or creating a system of community gardens and a sharing economy where produce is grown for residents with little need for purchasing food and goods from corporate grocery stores. This concept of creating a localized economy focused on regional grains and locally-grown produce could, in theory, bring significant change to the issue.

Why This Strategy Will Generate Change

I hypothesize that if I advocate for and begin to develop localized food systems with a structure around commoning and a sharing economy, we will achieve food security and sovereignty. Localized food systems would increase accessibility and availability, reduce environmental degradation and the need for transport and trade, boost the careers of local farmers, and create communities of compassion that would ultimately lead to an increased quality of life and a consistent source of food for those who need it. This could be considered a form of “interstitial transformation”, aiming to “get on with the business of building an alternative world inside the old from the bottom up” (Wright 2006), eventually leading to the disintegration of the global food system.

A critique of this theory is that “for producers of local foods, who often run small-scale farm operations, it can be difficult to meet intermediary demands for high volumes, consistent quality, timely deliveries, and out-of-season availability” (Martinez et al. 2010). Efforts might have to be put in areas such as marketing for smaller farmers to expand their business and meet the demands of local people. This is where regional produce could come into play, as rediscovering these kinds of produce could help mitigate this issue, as well as placing focus on the needs of both farmers and consumers.

Analyzing Context

Change of this kind would be beneficial for bettering our relationship with the land and reducing environmental degradation while obtaining food security for all. Collective idealization of localized food systems and sustainable economies would be necessary to completely alter the state in which we interact with food. This is where complementary strategies come into play, as advocating for policy changes or taking smaller steps such as purchasing from farmer's markets could be viable steps toward this larger alternative.

My Place in the System of Change

Restructuring the entirety of the way we interact with and perceive our food system appears to me almost as a distant or unattainable solution to the issues of food insecurity and unsustainability that we see today. I have been attempting to decipher where I fit in this puzzle, and what my place is in the system of change. Ultimately, in this current moment, it seems as though I belong in the realm of like-minded individuals who strive to bring this kind of change and learn from those around me. This is simply a starting point, and as I educate myself and gain experience through classes, careers, and volunteer work, I believe that my role in this system of change will become more significant. It is difficult to break out of a system that does not abide by this vision of localized sustainable food systems. I still exist within the grasp of those in power who essentially control what I eat due to budgetary constraints, convenience, etc. While this is the case, I can still work towards my theory of change.

The work that I want to do involves connecting local farmers to those in need, whether that be through the work of food hubs and pantries, physically working on a small-scale farm, purchasing from farmer’s markets, etc. The work that I need to do may be bigger than this, and involve more parties than these more individualistic actions. This could mean starting my own farm or community gardens, educating the public on these issues and advocating for change, contacting political leaders and those in power, creating communities with like-minded people to obtain this goal, working internationally to study and develop food security methods globally, etc.

Currently, I feel as though I am called to be a driver of this change, even if it is at a smaller scale, such as in the High Country. I would work towards this goal by connecting with others and working towards a collective idealization of a sustainable food system, developing communities and organizations that would start at a smaller scale and eventually work towards reducing the worldwide reliance on the global food system. This would allow me to start something more attainable, and then work towards something bigger. I would work and communicate with those who are most in need, to not take away their agency and to maintain a focus on exactly what action needs to be taken.

To make such changes, my place in the social change ecosystem would rely quite heavily on the work and effort of others. I need to be engaged with those who have a similar passion and drive for this change, which I would most likely find among Sustainable Development students and staff. I would also need to be engaged with organizations that already work to address these issues. Connections with local farmers are vital, which could be made through working with the local Farmer’s Market and making connections with those around me. Eventually, I would like to work with national and even international organizations to develop a broader concept of how change can be made, taking concepts I learn from these conglomerates and applying them to my work, and vice versa. Educating others, educating myself, and advocating for the necessity of these changes will assist in creating the most powerful movement system that I can.

Sources

Feenstra, Gail W. “Local Food Systems and Sustainable Communities.” American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 12, no. 1 (March 1997): 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0889189300007165.

Godfray, H. Charles, Ian R. Crute, Lawrence Haddad, David Lawrence, James F. Muir, Nicholas Nisbett, Jules Pretty, Sherman Robinson, Camilla Toulmin, and Rosalind Whiteley. “The Future of the Global Food System.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 365, no. 1554 (September 27, 2010): 2769–77. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0180.

Ingram, John. “A Food Systems Approach to Researching Food Security and Its Interactions with Global Environmental Change.” Food Security 3, no. 4 (November 24, 2011): 417–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-011-0149-9.

Martinez, Steve, Micheal Hand, Michelle Da Pra, Susan Pollack, Katherine Ralston, Travis Smith, Stephen Vogel, et al. “Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues.” Economic Research Report 97 (May 2010). https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/46393/7054_err97_1_.pdf.

Wright, Erik Olin. “Compass points. Towards a Socialist Alternative.” New Left Review 41 (2006): 93-124.