Dissertation Research: Food System Localization and Community Sustainability

粮食系统研究强调了人类决策和行为与环境之间的联系。在粮食系统的每个阶段（生产、加工、分配、消费和浪费），该系统都涉及生态系统的社会和生物物理组成部分。全球粮食系统的基础是生产的集约化和专业化以及生产和消费的距离，人们对全球粮食系统的环境和社会影响表示关注，这导致人们呼吁在消费社区内或附近生产更大比例的粮食。然而，很少有研究探讨食物系统本地化的环境和社会结果。该项目的目标是在粮食系统本地化工作的背景下探索粮食系统与相关的社会和生态系统之间的联系。阿拉斯加州费尔班克斯社区多年来一直致力于当地食品生产，如社区花园、小农场和农贸市场，这使它成为研究食物系统本地化影响的理想场所。这个项目测试了以下假设：当地生产的食物减少了食物进入社区的距离（“食物里程”）；本地化工作改善了社区内食物的获取和可负担性；当地粮食生产增加了区域生物多样性。为社区提供食物所需的能量将根据本地和进口食物的食物里程计算。通过使用地理信息系统（GIS）创建食品资产地图，分析费尔班克斯当地食品的可获得性和可负担性。与当地园丁和农民的访谈将提供有关当地生产的食物总量以及耕作和园艺方法的信息。通过调查不同土地利用类型（森林、农业和城市）的鸟类物种多样性和丰度，将评估增加的农业用地对生物多样性的影响。这种跨学科的方法将建立一个关于食物系统本地化在社区可持续性中可能发挥作用的综合图景。从这项研究中收集到的关于当地粮食生产优势和劣势的信息，将对许多寻求本地化和稳定其粮食系统的阿拉斯加农村社区具有特别的指导意义。北美各地的社区在设计可持续粮食系统时，也将受益于费尔班克斯提供的丰富的知识、经验和数据。这个项目将促进我们对社区和全球范围内环境决策结果的理解。由于环境决策通常是在不确定和复杂的状态下做出的，旨在改善系统某一部分的策略可能会对其他系统组件产生意想不到的后果。了解意图和结果之间的联系将有助于我们更好地预测环境决策的结果，并帮助社区建立有效、可持续的粮食系统。

Food systems research highlights the links between human decisions and behaviors and the environment. At every stage of the food system (production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste) the system touches both social and biophysical components of the ecosystem. Concerns about the environmental and social effects of the global food system, which is based on intensification and specialization of production and distancing of production and consumption, have lead to calls for production of a greater proportion of food within or close to the community in which it will be consumed. However, little research has explored the environmental and social outcomes of food system localization. The goal of this project is to explore the connections between food systems and linked social and ecological systems in the context of food system localization efforts. The community of Fairbanks, Alaska has been engaged in local food production efforts such as community gardens, small farms, and a farmer's market for many years, making it an ideal site to study the effects of attempts to localize a food system. This project tests the hypotheses that local food production reduces the distance food travels into a community ("food miles"); localization efforts improve access to and affordability of food within a community; and local food production increases regional biodiversity. Energy requirements to supply food to the community will be based on calculation of food miles for a selection of local and imported foods. Analysis of local food accessibility and affordability in Fairbanks will be conducted through the creation of a food asset map using a geographic information system (GIS). Interviews with local gardeners and farmers will provide information on the total amount of food produced locally and farming and gardening methods. The effect of increased agricultural lands on biodiversity will be assessed through a survey of bird species diversity and abundance across land-use types (forest, agricultural, and urban). This interdisciplinary approach will build an integrated picture of the role food system localization might play in community sustainability.Information collected from this study on the strengths and weaknesses of local food production will be particularly instructive to the many rural Alaskan communities seeking ways to localize and stabilize their food systems. Communities throughout North American will also benefit from the wealth of knowledge, experience, and data available in Fairbanks as they design sustainable food systems. This project will advance our understanding of the outcomes of environmental decision-making at community and global scales. Because environmental decisions are often made in a state of uncertainty and complexity, strategies intended to improve one part of a system can have unintended consequences on other system components. Understanding the links between intent and outcome will help us to better anticipate the outcomes of our environmental decisions as well as help communities build effective, sustainable food systems.