DIGGING DEEPER: Bringing a Systems Approach to Food Systems: Another Argument for Adaptability

Kate Clancy

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2015, vol. 5, issue 2

Abstract: First paragraph:I thought of some of the systems concepts I've been writing about here when I saw the paper by Marty Heller and Greg Keoleian in the Journal of Industrial Ecology last fall (2014). In it they reported that a shift from the present-day average American diet to a diet based on the current USDA dietary recommendations results in an 11% increase in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). On the other hand, a shift to a 2,000 calorie diet (Americans now "consume" an average of about 2500 calories according to the USDA's retail-level food availability data [Heller & Keoleian, 2014]) results in only a 2% overall decrease in GHGE. Most people would expect larger decreases in GHGE given the 20% decrease in calories and considerable decreases in recommended meat consumption. But the shifts to food patterns needed to move to a healthier diet include the substitution of dairy products for meat proteins, and solid fats and added sugars represent relatively low emissions per calorie. The authors state that this may be a surprising result—but it shouldn't be if one has been following the research on foodprints for a while. What I find of most interest, however, is how the new science in the article again calls forth a need to understand the complexity in dynamic food systems, including feedback and how it is heard and treated, and heterogeneity—many actors who have different goals and decision-making procedures. What follows from this reality is the need for adaptability, clear thinking, and overcoming innate biases....

Keywords: Agricultural; and; Food; Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/359674/files/295.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:joafsc:359674

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development from Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().