Opportunities and Challenges in More Localized Food Systems Michael W. Hamm C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture Depts. of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies Food Science and Human Nutrition Crop and Soil Sciences Michigan State University

Why is Sustainability an Important Central Tenet for Our Work?

Key Facts –Recent volcanic island so fertile soils –27 degrees south- overly cool for many things like coconuts to do well and water overly cool for coral reefs and associated fish abundance (about same south as Houston, TX is north) Picture from: Easter Island A Cautionary Tale 1300 miles Map from:

Food Supply and Ecology At time of discovery (Early 1700s ) –Sweet potatoes, yams taro, bananas, sugarcane, chickens –66 square miles of grassland with no trees or bushes above 10 ft. –No native animals larger than insects When early Polynesians first arrived –The island was forested with diverse understory –Trees were species that could provide rope material, dense firewood and boat making materials –1/3 of all bones were from porpoises –Bones of six bird species with at least 25 nesting species altogether

Chain of Events Wood gets cut Cant make many canoes Cant go out to hunt porpoises Find more chicken bones

Chain of Events Wood gets cut Soil more erodable Crop productivity declines

Social Consequences Starvation Population Crash Cannibalism War and Statue Defamation

American Farmland Trust

12 Billion Pounds Consumed (Mich) 360 Billion Pounds Consumed (USA)

The Three Challenges: number 1 – Farmer Loss 1-9 acres10-49 acres acres>500 acres 19642,65917,75370,7402, ,34313,28439,1954, ,62811,03722,9975, ,7569,98213,3755, ,8479,2296,5066,479 % Change ( )7%48%92%275% % Change ( ) +8%-16%-71%+125% From: Public Sector Associates: Michigan Land Resources Project (2001)

The Three Challenges: number 2 – Diet and Activity Loss

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults BRFSS, 1985 (*BMI 30, or ~ 30 lbs overweight for 5 4 person) From: Overweight and Obesity: Obesity Trends: U.S. Obesity Trends 1985–2005 (downloaded from: No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% 30%

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults BRFSS, 2005 (*BMI 30, or ~ 30 lbs overweight for 5 4 person) From: Overweight and Obesity: Obesity Trends: U.S. Obesity Trends 1985–2005 (downloaded from: No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% 30%

The Three Challenges: number 3 – Job Loss 98.4% of the 211,567 businesses in MI are classified as small MI lost over 2,000 businesses between 2000 – 2002 MI 37 th in the country in terms of firm formation for 2002 i.e. lots of opportunity and need

Growth and Development Growth = an increase in size through material accretion Development = realization of fuller and greater potential Is the Land Grant role at this point primarily one of growth or development?

The Land Grant Role Help provide a context for decision making about alternatives and options

A Framework Community Development Attribute-driven Production Place-Based Development Value-Chain Networks

Health Farming Economics A Strategy Environment Picture from SUSTAINABLE POULTRY: PRODUCTION OVERVIEW at pub/PDF/poultryoverview.pdf People maintaining a quality standard of life as they mature and age Our natural resource base enhanced for future generations Vibrant rural and urban communities A diversity of viable farms

Food Attributes Consumers Are Willing to Pay for in the Marketplace Place (Local - e.g. Select Michigan) Organic Scale (e.g. small family farm) Environmental (e.g. low pesticide use, bird friendly) Animal friendly/animal welfare Heritage breed/variety Labor standards and returns (e.g. fair trade)

Consumers Hartman group divides into: –Core (13%) –Mid-level (62%) –Periphery (24%) 10 years ago –Organic foods in the core Today –Organic foods in the mid-level –Local, bio-dynamic, fair food in the core –Periphery moved to healthier such as natural

Consumers (cont.) Some core consumers saying local more important 50% of consumers said locally grown affected purchases 38% of consumers said organic affected purchases

Case Study - Fruits and Vegetables in Michigan

Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables 7% of population achieves servings or more when french fries and potato chips are excluded Produce for Better Health Foundation State of the Plate

Taken from * C. Benbrook Minimizing Pesticide Dietary Exposure Through the Consumption of Organic Food: An Organic Center State of Science Review (2004) And on average imported have higher levels of pesticide residues than domestic in a particular product category*

What if Consumers in Michigan Ate 5 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables Per Day? Nearly 100 pounds of fruits and vegetables per adult more Approximately 78,000 acres of production And now we are recommending 7 -9 servings a day

Maximum crop acreage adjustments implied by full adoption of select recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans J. C. Buzby, H. Farah Wells, and G. V. Possible Implications for U.S. Agriculture From Adoption of Select Dietary Guidelines (ERS Report #31, 2006)

Nutritional Considerations

Marionberries Strawberries Corn conventional (gray bars), organic (white bars), or sustainable (black bars) agricultural practices D. K. ASAMI, Y.-J. HONG, D. M. BARRETT, AND A. E. MITCHELL J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003, 51, Production Strategies

Variety Variation E.g. Brown et al at Univ. of Illinois have found significant variation in phytochemical concentration due to genotype

Authors: Patty Cantrell David Conner George Erickcek Michael Hamm Download at: mottgroup.msu.edu or mlui.org

Potential Market Changes Market Estimated current share of MI production Proposed share of MI production Net gain to MI farms* Fruit – Direct Market0.5%Up to 1.6% $70 million Fruit – Fresh Wholesale 25%Up to 50% Vegetables – Direct Market 0.5%Up to 1.6% $81 million Vegetables – Wholesale 56%Up to 83% Potatoes-Direct Market 0.9%2.6% $13 million Potatoes- Wholesale 24%48% Total Increase**$164 million

Economic Impacts Up to 1,889 jobs $187 million in new, personal income

Improved Diet Iowa- 25% of current consumption of 37 fruits and vegetables shift to being grown in Iowa –Approx net new jobs if all direct markets –Approx net new jobs if 50% direct markets Iowa- all Iowans consume 5 servings per day –Approx net new jobs Iowa- all Iowans consume 7 servings per day –Approx net new jobs D. Swenson (2006) The Economic Impacts of Increased Fruit and Vegetable Production and Consumption in Iowa: Phase II (downloaded at

Michigan Farmers Markets in relation to Urban Areas (2000) Socio-Ecological and Geographical Analysis of Michigans Agriculture: Toward a Policy and Planning Tool for Sustainable Agriculture in Michigan Jim Bingen, Manuel Colunga, and Stuart GageResource Development and Computational Ecology and Visualization Laboratory (Entomology Department)

Greenhouse and High Tunnel Production- Sustainably Expanding the Season and the Markets

Organic Market $10 billion in % of total grocery sales BUT growing 8 times faster than grocery sector as a whole Projected $32.3 billion by 2009 Will likely exceed 20% growth rate in future

Recent Growth Patterns in the U.S. Organic Foods Market. By C. Dimitri and C. Greene USDA-ERS

What does this mean for Michigan? About $66 million of organic fruit and vegetable sales About $22 million of organic bread and grain sales About $15 million of organic milk sales

What might this mean for farmers? Recent Growth Patterns in the U.S. Organic Foods Market. By C. Dimitri and C. Greene USDA-ERS

Access for All Members of a Community Taken from K. Pothukuchi, The Detroit Food System (2003) Food Desserts

Household Expenditure for Fruits and Vegetables From: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey

E.g. MSU Product Center Business Dev. Training E.g. 2 yr Organic Farming Program at MSU Land E.g. Land Link Program E.g. MIFMA Markets Capital E.g. IDAs and Small Loan Program E.g. MSUE RSA Information New Farms – Seeding Economies

Food Is a Homeland Security Issue

The End mottgroup.msu.edu