Dissertation Research: Food System Localization and Community Sustainability

食品系统研究强调了人类决策和行为与环境之间的联系。在食物系统的每个阶段(生产、加工、分配、消费和浪费)，该系统都涉及到生态系统的社会和生物物理组成部分。对以集约化和专业化生产以及生产和消费的距离为基础的全球粮食系统的环境和社会影响的关切，导致呼吁在将消费粮食的社区内或社区附近生产更大比例的粮食。然而，很少有研究探索食品系统本地化的环境和社会后果。该项目的目标是在粮食系统本地化努力的背景下，探索粮食系统与相互关联的社会和生态系统之间的联系。阿拉斯加州费尔班克斯的社区多年来一直致力于当地的粮食生产，如社区花园、小农场和农贸市场，这使其成为研究本地化粮食系统尝试的影响的理想地点。该项目测试了以下假设：当地粮食生产减少了食物进入社区的距离(“食物里程”)；本地化努力改善了社区内食物的获取和负担能力；以及当地粮食生产增加了区域生物多样性。向社区供应食物的能源需求将基于对当地和进口食物的选择的食物里程计算。将利用地理信息系统创建粮食资产地图，对费尔班克斯当地的粮食可获得性和可负担性进行分析。与当地园丁和农民的访谈将提供有关当地生产的粮食总量以及耕作和园艺方法的信息。将通过对不同土地利用类型(森林、农业和城市)鸟类物种多样性和丰富度的调查，评估农业用地增加对生物多样性的影响。这种跨学科的方法将构建一幅关于食物系统本地化在社区可持续发展中可能扮演的角色的综合图景。从这项研究中收集的关于当地粮食生产的优势和劣势的信息将对许多寻求本地化和稳定其食物系统的方法的阿拉斯加农村社区特别有指导意义。北美各地的社区也将从费尔班克斯丰富的知识、经验和数据中受益，因为他们正在设计可持续的食品系统。该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，旨在改善系统一部分的战略可能会对系统的其他组成部分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我们的环境决策的结果，并帮助社区建立有效、可持续的食品系统。

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.