It is a natural tendency among activists and concerned citizens to always feel as if the issue(s) we have committed our time and mental anguish to is/are reaching a defining moment -- a tipping point, climax -- whether or not it is actually true. We can get so immersed in the issue that we forget its real magnitude in our overall social context.
Still, given the recent convergence of events and trends, it's hard to argue that the state of the American food system is not in the midst of one of those defining moments -- one that could lead either to a nation caught off guard by emerging realities or to a nation that has transformed its food system into one that respects land, water, soil, local economies, families, and health.
I mean, when you have melamine in your animal food, salmonella in your peanut butter, ratcheted-up corn prices due to the ethanol craze, gas prices rising near or above $3/gallon, world oil production at or very near its highest plateau, impending natural gas shortages, at least 1/3 of your population obese and another 1/3 overweight (and over $100 billion spent annually because of it), farmland being gobbled up by development across the nation, and Congress hashing out a bill that will guide farming policy for the next five years -- when all of these challenges confront you -- you know it is a crucial time for food in American history.
So what is a community to do? For one thing, it can form a food policy council.
Food policy councils get communities thinking about food and asking the questions they should ask, the ones whose answers they have too often taken for granted since the rise of the industrial food system.
- Where does our food come from?
- Do lower-income residents have access to healthy food?
- How many small farms are in our area?
...and many others.
Food policy councils make an issue of food at a time when agribusinesses and large processors would have us remain ignorant of how they grew and manufactured it.
Food policy councils are an instrument for food system planning, a practice being incorporated more and more into urban planning. They are perfect for communities facing all the externalities of relying on taxpayer-subsidized, corporate control of our sustenance and nutrition, or lack thereof.
Urban planners never used to focus on food. They thought it was out of their purview and responsibilities, that it worked well enough on its own, provided by the free market.
Consider some of the findings from a survey of senior level planners in 22 city planning agencies to gauge the extent of their agencies' involvement in food system issues (Pothukuchi and Kaufman, 2000). The authors found that these planners on the whole said their agencies gave only limited attention to food system issues. A number of reasons were given ranging from "it's not our turf" to "planning agencies aren't funded to do food system planning." Two reasons stood out, though, more than others: "The food system is primarily driven by the private market" and "What's the problem — if it ain't broke, why bother fixing it?" (Source)
But now it is clear our food situation needs some fixing. Through the efforts of University of Wisconsin urban planning professor emeritus Jerry Kaufman and a few other food planning experts, things have changed for planners. Kaufman sparked the discussion that led the American Planning Association to publish the food policy overview linked above (as well as a white paper on the subject).
But the food system has significant impacts on communities and the lives of their residents in terms of the ll economy, jobs, the transportation system, the environment, health, and even waste disposal.
...
...the dominant industrialized food system produces many hidden costs that aren't really taken into account when we pay modest prices for our food goods at supermarket check-out counters.
They include:
- the costs of massive energy use all along the food chain from the production of food to transporting food to food processing;
*the costs of pollution of lakes, rivers, and streams from farm runoff due to pesticide use;
- higher public health costs resulting from too easy access to foods lacking in nutritional value which lead to more and more people becoming overweight and obese and thus more prone to cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease;
*and costs generated by increasing consolidation and concentration in the food industry sector which contribute to the significant loss of small farms and decline of some rural communities. (Ibid)
In addition to those listed above, food policy councils can address problems like "food deserts," which are areas of cities that lack access to substantial, healthy food. Food deserts are usually located in lower-income neighborhoods. Ever ride through parts of the inner city where the only food stores you can see are decrepit shops that sell potato chips, cigarettes, candy, liquor, and soda? They are like puddles of saltwater in these food deserts.
What about your schools? Are cheeseburgers and pizza puffs the standard hot lunch fare? What company provides lunch? Are there soda and snack machines in the halls? Is there a farm-to-school program? If not, what is the possibility of setting one up? How can schools get edible gardens? Where do kids go after school to get food? A food policy council can provide the motivation to ask these questions, and be the public forum through which they are answered.
Food policy councils from around the country (and Canada) have come up with other forward-thinking guidelines for transforming our food system at every step in the food chain:
A. Food production
- Enhance the viability of regional farms by ensuring the stability of the agricultural land base and infrastructure (Portland-Multonomah Food Policy Council)
- Support public campaigns that promote regionally produced foods (Portland-Multonomah FPC)
- Make community gardens a permitted use in all zoning districts (Madison Department of Planning and Development)
- Strengthen linkages between rural producers and urban consumers (Portland-Multonomah FPC).
B. Food distribution and food processing
- Promote regional food products and producers through a combination of farm-direct sales, farmers' markets, a public market and grocery stores (Portland-Multonomah FPC)
- Consider ways to make farmers markets and fresh food markets standard features across the city (Toronto Food Policy Council)
- Place a high priority on creating permanent sites for farmers markets and urban agriculture incorporating necessary utilities, parking, and loading areas into the design and provide these facilities at minimal cost to farmers markets (Madison dept p&d)
C. Food access and food consumption
- Develop community-based solutions for areas with inadequate food access. Just as local government works with communities to improve access to high quality transportation and housing; it has a key role to play in planning for adequate access to food in the neighborhoods and communities of the city and county. (Portland-Multonomah FPC)
- Preserve maximum access to nutritious, affordable, locally produced, and culturally appropriate food choices for all city residents (Madison dept p&d)
- Designate retail access to fresh food as an essential service in every community (Toronto FPC)
- Encourage the development of small and medium-sized grocery stores, and support Madison-owned stores and use of locally produced products (Madison dept p&d)
D. Food waste disposal
- Set a goal of "zero nutrient loss" from food waste for City resource management systems (Toronto FPC)
- Establish a citywide composting program to complement an aggressive recycling effort to minimize wastes to be land filled (San Francisco)
Some nonprofits here in Chicago (which has some great liberal dining, I hear) formed a food policy advisory council in 2001. Its latest policy recommendations echo some of the points above: farmer's markets in underserved communities, a larger local market for regional farmers, local food in schools, composting sites around the city, and several recommendations for strengthening urban agriculture.
With Democrats in control of Congress, we might get a better Farm Bill this year than in 2002, but we can't expect it to do everything for us. The imperative will remain to act locally to support sustainable food growing, production, distribution, and waste disposal practices.