Avenging the environment does not require a sacrifice of our national interest. In fact, in the next fifty years I hope we see a convergence of environmental issues with national security issues. To demonstrate this, I focused on a vision of a more secure and environmentally friendly the food supply chain for the United States food chain, fifty years in the future.
As it stands now the food supply chain in the United States is largely centralized. Large corporations control processing plants that the majority of the foods that end up - in one form or another - on our grocery shelves must go through regardless of where they were locally grown. Local farming does still exist in our country, but on a minuscule scale compared to the big business farms. One of the issues of this centralization is the inherent weakness it brings in regards to national security. If these mammoth processing plants were attacked, the United States food supply chains would be in disarray and shortages would quickly follow.
To protect our food supply and the well being of citizens, in fifty years the United States would have regional food hubs instead of a centralized system.
Lastly, this regional food hub system would make the United States food infrastructure less vulnerable to attack and collapse. With five regional areas being mostly self-sufficient and relying on local business, an attack in California would not mean devastation in Maryland.
The regional food system I have described as happening in the next fifty years is admittedly idyllic, and I'm sure I have ignored many structural and political factors that would make this vision problematic. I paint this gilded image to poke at the problem. Our current food system should alarm people. It is vulnerable to attack, there are many injustices built into it. The mere difficulty of tracking food back to its source is concerning in regards to the public health and keeping our food clean and safe. I have suggested one avenue to explore in regards to improving our food system for all involved. Dare to dream bigger than I have.
As it stands now the food supply chain in the United States is largely centralized. Large corporations control processing plants that the majority of the foods that end up - in one form or another - on our grocery shelves must go through regardless of where they were locally grown. Local farming does still exist in our country, but on a minuscule scale compared to the big business farms. One of the issues of this centralization is the inherent weakness it brings in regards to national security. If these mammoth processing plants were attacked, the United States food supply chains would be in disarray and shortages would quickly follow.
To protect our food supply and the well being of citizens, in fifty years the United States would have regional food hubs instead of a centralized system.
Within these regional food hubs, each section of the country would focus on the local crops that grow well in their area, be it using large swaths of land for pasture for livestock, tropical climates for fruits, or adequate rain and mild temperatures for corn and other crops. Each region would aim to supply itself with the crops it could cultivate - in laymen's terms - each region would depend on local farmers for its food. In the public, farming would be held in high regard again, and work and school schedules would be such that even small local gardening of simple vegetables and fruit was encouraged at the family and community level.
When a region cannot cultivate a certain type of crop within their land, they would simply buy that crop from another regional hub that does specialize in the crop they want. For example, if Maine wanted oranges from Florida, the Northeast Regional Hub would trade something they cultivate - say, corn - for oranges from the Southeast Regional Hub. Changes in culture would push communities to value seasonal foods over non-seasonal foods to keep the focus on locally domestic grown foods as opposed to flying out of season fruits around the world just to keep them in stock.
These regional hubs would be managed by the United States Government, and to encourage food both staying in the country and being bought locally as opposed to globally, the government would offer incentives for corporations and business owners that stayed within the regional hub framework.
Overall, this system would cut down on carbon emissions because less food would be traveling across the country and across the world to satisfy niche American tastes. It would also foster communities and 'greener' living as farming culture would be integrated into modern life in every aspect, and valued as a honorable and absolutely necessary profession. As farming life becomes modern, and communities are living with it in their front and back yards, livestock abuses would hopefully diminish because chickens, cows, and pigs wouldn't be hauled off to a kill yard in the middle of the country, they would be visible in the community.
Lastly, this regional food hub system would make the United States food infrastructure less vulnerable to attack and collapse. With five regional areas being mostly self-sufficient and relying on local business, an attack in California would not mean devastation in Maryland.
The regional food system I have described as happening in the next fifty years is admittedly idyllic, and I'm sure I have ignored many structural and political factors that would make this vision problematic. I paint this gilded image to poke at the problem. Our current food system should alarm people. It is vulnerable to attack, there are many injustices built into it. The mere difficulty of tracking food back to its source is concerning in regards to the public health and keeping our food clean and safe. I have suggested one avenue to explore in regards to improving our food system for all involved. Dare to dream bigger than I have.
No comments:
Post a Comment