Jennifer L. Wilkins

Influences of pesticide residue and environmental concerns on organic food preference among food cooperative members and non-members in Washington State

Abstract Although consumers express concerns about the health effects of pesticide residues, consumption of organic food is minimal. A survey was conducted to investigate the role of concerns about the health and environmental effects of pesticides on consumer preference for organically produced food, and the implications for nutrition educators and the organic food market. Members of a food cooperative that stocks organic foods and residents from the same geographical region were randomly selected to receive a mail questionnaire. Compared to the general population, members of the food cooperative had stronger attitudes and concerns about food and environmental issues, and a higher preference for and more frequent consumption of organic food. Pesticide residue concern was highly correlated with the food-related environmental concern variables and was a significant explanatory variable for organic food preference in both groups. However, environmental concerns were not significant explanatory variables for either group. In both study groups, a positive attitude toward cooking and shopping was correlated with food-related environmental concerns and was a significant explanatory variable for organic food preference. The results support the hypothesis that concern about pesticide residues is a significant factor in preference for organic food. However, the connections between food choices and environmental effects are unclear to many consumers.

Buying into the food system: Trends in food retailing in the US and implications for local foods

The contemporary US food systemis characterized by both an unprecedentedconcentration of corporate control as well as afragmentation of sourcing and marketingprocesses, introducing both new constraints andnew opportunities for more localized foodsystems. The purpose of our study is to explorethese issues by investigating three keyquestions. First, what are the key trends inthe US grocery industry? Second, how dodifferent kinds of food outlets choose,procure, and promote food products? Finally,what are the implications of recent trends inthe food retailing process for strengtheninglocal flows of the production, distribution,and consumption of food? Background informationon the grocery industry and the results ofseven open-ended interviews conducted withowners and managers of grocery stores in oneupstate New York county indicate that theretailing process differs in complex ways fromstore to store and in most aspects cannot beinferred from store type. The paper concludeswith a discussion of the implications of ourfindings for local food system efforts,specifically in terms of new collaborationsamong producers, distributors, retailers, andshoppers, who play an indispensable role indeveloping viable alternatives to increasingcorporate control.

Testing a complete-diet model for estimating the land resource requirements of food consumption and agricultural carrying capacity: The New York State example

Agriculture faces a multitude of challenges in the 21st century, and new tools are needed to help determine how it should respond. Among these challenges is a need to reconcile how human food consumption patterns should change to both improve human nutrition and reduce agricultures environmental footprint. A complete-diet framework is needed for better understanding how diet influences demand for a fundamental agricultural resource, land. We tested such a model, measuring the impact of fat and meat consumption on the land requirements of food production in New York State (NYS). Analysis was confined to this geographic area to simplify the modeling procedure and to examine the states ability to reduce environmental impact by supplying food locally. Per capita land resource requirements were calculated with a spreadsheet model for 42 diets ranging from 0 to 381 g d −1 (0 to 12 oz d −1 ) of meat and eggs and 20 to 45% total calories from fat. Many of these diets meet national dietary recommendations. The potential human carrying capacity of the NYS land base was then derived, based on recent estimates of available agricultural land. A nearly fivefold difference (0.18–0.86 ha) in per capita land requirements was observed across the diets. Increasing meat in the diet increased per capita land requirements, while increasing total dietary fat increased the land requirements of low meat diets but reduced the land needed for high meat diets. Higher meat diets used a larger share of the available cropland suited only to pasture and perennial crops. Thus, only a threefold difference was observed for the potential number of people fed from the NYS land base (2.0–6.2 million). In addition, some high-fat vegetarian diets supported fewer people than lower fat diets containing 63–127 g d −1 of meat (approximately one- to two-thirds of the national average per capita consumption in the US). These results support the assertion that diet should be considered in its entirety when assessing environmental impact. To more completely understand how diet influences land requirements and potential carrying capacity, this model should be applied across a larger geographic area that encompasses a wider variety of climates and soil resources. To better understand the ability of a local region to supply more of its own food, the model should be moved into a geospatial framework.

Foodshed analysis and its relevance to sustainability

Providing a wholesome and adequate food supply is the most basic tenet of agricultural sustainability. However, sharp increases in global food prices have occurred in the past 2 years, bringing the real price of food to the highest level seen in 30 years (FAO, 2008). This dramatic shift is a fundamental concern. The role of ‘local food’ in contributing to the solution of underlying problems is currently being debated, and the debate raises a critical question: To what degree can society continue to rely on large-scale, long-distance transportation of food? Growing concerns about climate change, the longevity of fossil fuel supplies and attempts to produce energy from agriculture suggest that energy efficiency will be critical to adapting to resource constraints and mitigating climate impacts. Moreover, these problems are urgent because energy prices, biofuel production and weather-related crop failures are partially responsible for the current world food price situation. Tools are needed to determine how the environmental impact and vulnerability of the food system are related to where food is produced in relation to where it is consumed. To this end, analyses of foodsheds, the geographic areas that feed population centers, can provide useful and unique insights.

Mapping potential foodsheds in New York State: A spatial model for evaluating the capacity to localize food production

Growing interest in local food has sparked debate about the merits of attempting to reduce the distance food travels. One point of contention is the capacity of local agriculture to meet the food needs of local people. In hopes of informing this debate, this research presents a method for mapping potential foodsheds, land areas that could theoretically feed urban centers. The model was applied to New York State (NYS). Geographic information systems were used to estimate the spatial distribution of food production capacity relative to the food needs of NYS population centers. Optimization tools were then applied to allocate production potential to meet food needs in the minimum distance possible. Overall, the model showed that NYS could provide 34% of its total food needs within an average distance of just 49 km. However, the model did not allocate production potential evenly. Most NYS population centers could have the majority of their food needs sourced in-state, except for the greater New York City (NYC) area. Thus, the study presents a mixed review of the potential for local food systems to reduce the distance food travels. While small- to medium-sized cities of NYS could theoretically meet their food needs within distances two orders of magnitude smaller than the current American food system, NYC must draw on more distant food-producing resources. Nonetheless, the foodshed model provides a successful template for considering the geography of food production and food consumption simultaneously. Such a tool could be valuable for examining how cities might change their food procurement to curb greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to depletion of petroleum and other energy resources necessary for long-distance transport of food.

University Student Perceptions of Seasonal and Local Foods

Abstract This study examined how university students conceptualize “seasonal” and “local” in relation to food. Because starting college often represents the first time many people assume primary responsibility for their meals, food beliefs of students are particularly relevant. A one-page written questionnaire was developed, pretested, and used to survey 166 undergraduate students from a nutrition and an economics class at one university. Students were asked to describe the concepts of “seasonal” and “local” foods and to name “seasonal” and “local” foods. Three-fourths of the students had heard the terms “seasonal” and “local,” but only about one-fourth reported using the terms themselves. A multitude of meanings were attached to the concepts of “seasonal” and “local” foods. Meanings having to do with food availability or production were most common for the seasonal food concept. Fewer meanings were identified for the concept of local foods; most commonly, those having to do with local foods had to do with where food is produced. Virtually all students could name “seasonal” and “local” foods. Nutrition students were more familiar with these terms than economics students. These results suggest that assessing and understanding how people define concepts such as “seasonal” and “local” may be beneficial in developing and implementing effective food and nutrition education.

Consumer perceptions of seasonal and local foods: A study in a U.S. community

Food descriptors like local, seasonal, farm-fresh, or home grown convey a connection to place and time. Little is known about how U.S. consumers conceptualize local and seasonal as applied to foods. Using a questionnaire, 120 shoppers in a grocery store and a food cooperative were surveyed. Shoppers were asked to describe the concepts of local foods and seasonal foods and to name foods that were local, not local, seasonal, and not seasonal. The concept of seasonal was multidimensional and had more meanings than the concept of local. Many foods named as local were fruits and vegetables, and many not local foods were tropical fruits. Many foods named as seasonal were fruits and vegetables, and many named as not seasonal were staple foods like meat, breads, and cereals. Locality and seasonality have specific agricultural meanings, and clarifying consumer meanings may be important in food marketing and community food systems. As the food system becomes increasingly global and decreasingly seasonal, consciousness about local and seasonal foods has implications for community economic development, environmental sustainability, human nutrition, and the operation of food markets.

Mechanisms of Power Within a Community-Based Food Security Planning Process

A community food security movement has begun to address problems of hunger and food insecurity by uti-lizing a community-basedapproach.Althoughvarious models have been implemented,little empirical researchhasassessed howpoweroperateswithincommunity-basedfoodsecurityinitiatives.Thepurposeofthisresearchwas to determine how power influenced participation in decision-making, agenda setting, and the shaping ofperceived needs within a community-based food security planning process, with particular reference to disen-franchised stakeholders. Power influenced participation in decision-making, agenda setting, and the shaping ofperceived needs through managing 1) problem framing, 2) trust, 3) knowledge, and 4) consent. To overcomethese mechanismsof power, practitionersneed to address individual-,community-,and institutional-level barri-ers to participation in community-based food security planning processes. Practitioners and researchers canwork with disenfranchised groups to determine which agents have the power to create desired changes by utiliz-ing theory-based methods and strategies that focus on changing external determinants at multiple levels.

Seasonality, Food Origin, and Food Preference: A Comparison between Food Cooperative Members and Nonmembers

Abstract A growing body of evidence supports the link between optimal health and diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods. Most areas of the United States experience significant seasonal variation in the availability of locally produced fresh fruits and vegetables. However, little is known about consumer attitudes toward locally grown produce that is available on a seasonal basis. A mail survey was used to explore differences in preference for local foods, concerns about food and health, environmental concerns, and dietary habits between food cooperative members and nonmembers in the greater Seattle area. In contrast to nonmembers, food cooperative members displayed a stronger preference for seasonal and local foods. They also evinced less doubt about the nutritional adequacy of regionally based diets and a stronger commitment to buying locally produced food as a way to conserve natural resources. In both groups, a preference for seasonal and local fruits and vegetables was significantly correlated with concern for the environment. For food cooperative members, a concern over the use of natural resources in food production was a significant explanatory variable for seasonal and local food preference. Implications for food and nutrition education, policy, and the food system are discussed.

Use of a participatory planning process as a way to build community food security.

The purpose of this study was to determine the multiple meanings of community food security among stakeholders with diverse interests and to assess the degree to which these stakeholders could find common ground around community food security during a participatory planning process called a search conference. The conceptual framework of citizen politics guided all aspects of the research design. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with 44 participants purposefully recruited to attend a 2 1/2 h-day search conference. Open-ended questionnaires were distributed to all participants during the search conference, and a document review was performed. Prior to the search conference, 4 community food secruity groups emerged: anti-hunger advocates (n=12), agricultural visionaries (n=12), food traditionalists (n=10), and agricultural entrepreneurs (n=8). Participants were able to find common ground around 6 community food security action agendas: distribution of surplus food, education, family and community values, food processing and marketing, legislative initiatives and action, and new agriculture. Other salient community food security issues emerged, but they were not included on any of the action agendas. Formal training in facilitation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and how to influence the public policy-making process will enable dietetics professionals to effectively collaborate with community-based groups that have a stake in food security issues.