Executive Summary
Food matters. As individuals and as a society, our choices about the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food can make us more or less healthy. The systems we use to create and consume food impact our bodies, environment, economies, and communities.
Over the past century, the U.S. food system has changed drastically. Rural communities have always played an important role in the production and processing of food, and thus rural America has been the frontline for many of the changes in agricultural technologies; farm and policy structures; and methods of food processing, distribution, and even consumption. The bounty of the changing food system has not always produced a healthier population, environment, or rural economy, however.
Concerns about the outcomes of industrial-style food production and processing, emerging inequities in food distribution, and public health problems associated with consumption patterns have led to new ideas for a more sustainable food system. Local and regional food systems have been re-emerging within the American food system as communities and consumers test out what they hope are sustainable ways to move food from farm to table. Local and regional foods are supported by different groups for many different reasons, including:
- To generate economic development in their communities by encouraging "buy local" campaigns and promoting local and regional entrepreneurship.
- To connect local food with social justice issues and better public health outcomes related to food security.
- To address food safety problems associated with the spread of disease through large-scale agricultural production by using the shorter supply chains of regional production systems.
- To pursue environmental sustainability through their local food systems, which consumers perceive to be more likely to embrace organic or other sustainable methods.
- To build more sense of community by inviting social interaction around local farm markets and community decision making.
The promise of local and regional food is great, but there is only limited research available on some of these goals. Critics and advocates alike have noted that smaller scale systems do not automatically create more just or environmentally sustainable practices, and many questions remain unanswered about the challenges and opportunities within local and regional food systems. In response, researchers and communities are working toward testing and measuring the outcomes of food systems at all levels.
The future of the system is difficult to predict. The sustained and rising popularity of local and regional food systems among diverse interests indicates that smaller-scale food systems will continue to be important in community life. For rural Americans in particular, food systems offer special opportunities and challenges. Rural communities and entrepreneurs will continue to contribute to food systems at all scales, but the question is whether they will prosper from their hard work.
Starting with this paper, the RUPRI Rural Futures Lab hopes to explore the opportunities and challenges for rural people in the local and regional food movement, and food systems in general. This paper takes a wide-angled look at the changes within the U.S. food system, including differences between local, regional, and larger scale food systems, and what research and on-the-ground examples tell us about the benefits and drawbacks of the different types of food systems.
In the longer term, the RUPRI Lab and its partners will investigate how food systems can be a key economic driver for rural communities looking to extract the best social, economic, and environmental outcomes from our complex food system. RUPRI's Lab may contribute to the field with future research on policy barriers to rural participation in local and regional food systems, or on preconditions or approaches that create better rural outcomes. The Lab can support good on-the-ground efforts by writing up promising practices and case studies, and promoting cross-regional learning. Our hope is to contribute a rural policy perspective to the ongoing discussion among experts, policymakers, practitioners, and communities who are pursuing an improved overall food system.
