Growing a Sustainable Urban Food System: People, Produce, and Profits

Abstract

The impact of the current prevailing food system is far reaching and disruptive on many levels. Some may point solely to the economic or environmental or human health impacts of the current mainstream food system, but it is difficult to separate the three. In a study on the external costs of agricultural production in the U.S., researchers Tetgemeier and Duffy note that "consumers pay for food well beyond the grocery store checkout. We pay for food in our utility bills and taxes and in our declining environmental and personal health." This awareness is growing as individuals and communities begin to understand how food security is economic security is national security. In this thesis I will investigate the current state of the food system, how it got into an unsustainable situation, and examine the environmental, economic, and social effects. Drawing on historical data and current information, I will investigate some of the changes that have taken place in agriculture and community development. While much has been written about the challenges society faces from the current food system, few offer solutions based on growing urban community food projects. I will illustrate how change can begin and how seeds can be planted to grow a sustainable urban food system by highlighting case studies from South Bend, Indiana. This community is typical in many ways in terms of how the food system has shifted from a regional one to one that is reliant on a global marketplace. To provide examples of how and why a sustainable urban food system develops, the projects and programs that have begun in this city offer a reasonable starting place which can serve to inspire other communities and inspire widespread food system changes.