How will we feed 9 billion? "Go Local". Vermont: The poster child for the local movement

Two hundred years ago 1 billion people inhabited the earth. Now, 7 billion do, and recent studies project there to be 9 billion by 2050. How is this possible? One word: oil. Oil made industrialization possible, which meant fulfilling the “American Dream” for Americans; a life of convenience and efficiency. We discovered oil and utilized it for all its potentials with no regard of its flaws, realizing it could be used to fuel just about everything. Thus, we created the United States that stands today. What we didn't know was that in the meantime we hit peak oil. We burned excessive amounts of non-renewable energy, emitted greenhouse gases, harmed our bodies and economies, and sparked global warming. One of the biggest contributors of these harms comes from industrial agriculture, or in other words, the global food system. Oil is prevalent in every aspect of the food system, from production to transportation to consumption, it has made feeding 7 billion people possible. It is in the fertilizers that are spread into the soil for crops, it is used to fuel the machinery on the farms, and it is used to transport food an average of 1,500 miles to our dinner plates, but the consequences far outweigh any benefit that comes with. New waves of environmentalists are approaching the antidote; local and community supported food systems. With oil having peaked in the 1970s, industrial agriculture has no future. Large-scale America holds no promises; it is too expensive, destructive, and regressive. In order to be progressives, we must revert back to supporting local farms that support local communities. It is the first step to improving our health, environment, and communities.

(Evan Fraser's Feeding Nine Billion Video is insightful and provides solutions
He has a series of videos that can be found via this link)

Oil is used in almost every single aspect of industrial agriculture. As a consequence, industrial agriculture is responsible for about one-third of the globe’s total greenhouse gas emissions according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Greenhouse gases mainly consist of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, which all contribute to the “greenhouse effect” happening on earth; the entrapment of heat in our atmosphere. One of the ways oil driven industrial agriculture contributes to this greenhouse effect is on the land with the use of fertilizers and power machinery. Fertilizers are made from fossil fuels and then spread into the soil for crops to grow. The chemicals from the fertilizers only make the soil fertile for so long, however; until the soil is eventually damaged and unable to revive itself with the natural nutrients from rain, manure, and solar energy. When it does rain, these chemicals get caught in what is called “run-off” and end up polluting our waters and ground. To make it all worse, the use of power machinery on the land destroys much of the natural soil that is still left with rich minerals and nutrients, so even more of the land is eventually not usable. In the process of all this, manufacturing the fertilizers over and over again emits greenhouse gases, as well as using the machinery. Plus, we eat these crops, or eat the animals that eat these crops; which means we’re literally eating the fossil fuels that we used to produce them. (1)(2)(3)(6)

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri

Livestock is also a big contributor to global warming and needs to be cut down immediately. One way to prevent the expansion of livestock is to eat less meat, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), livestock alone contributes to 18 percent of the global warming affect. This includes deforestation to make room for crops and cattle. If we eat less meat, (so much of which we waste anyway), we can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production. The saddest thing about livestock production is that much of it is happening in the great rain forests of Brazil to make way for cattle. These rain forests are literally necessary to nurture in order to maintain climate balance.(2)

Janet McLaughlin

Vermont is the example the other 49 states should learn from. The people of this state are some of the few that are actually converting their education into action. Janet McLaughlin is the Special Projects Director of the Vermont Community Foundation. She oversees the food and farm initiatives in the state. McLaughlin said, “VCF exists to make Vermont a healthy place with healthy people, healthy land, and healthy communities. Supporting local food helps build community and capital.”

Many other people involved in the Vermont local movement say the same. It also isn't rocket science that supporting local businesses builds capital in the local community over time. So what’s the big deal? Every state should be self-reliant, or locally reliant. People need to be educated about this. “Schools are the perfect market place for local food. Vermont is starting to integrate farming into school programs. We use school lunches to educate kids on local food, value, and equity,” said McLaughlin.

Education is where it all starts, particularly with the youth; they are the future. We need to get these ideas out of the state and implement the same programs in schools everywhere. Farming needs to be taught in order to increase the number of farmers for the future. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization speculate that we’ll need to increase food production by 70 percent to feed 9 billion in 2050. Studies show that this means 20 percent of the U.S. population needs to revert back to farming; we are only around 5 percent now. (7)

Lindsay Arbuckle, farmer at Alchemy Gardens in Shrewsbury, VT agrees that there is not nearly enough education in agriculture. She and her husband, Scott Courcelle, are both college graduates who chose farming once earning their degrees.

Lindsay Arbuckle and Scott Courcelle

Arbuckle said, “There’s a lot of challenges, like lower pay, but we believe in [farming]. There are much greater intangibles than money can give. It makes us feel really good. There’s a nice network of collaboration in the local food community. People are intimate with each other.”

Still, farms like Alchemy Gardens are not getting enough support. If people buy local food then the capital will improve, along with their health and land. Again, this starts with education. Arbuckle is hopeful. “Awareness is on the upswing. People are starting to make the connection between what they’re putting in their mouths and their health,” she said. I was inspired to learn they are both college graduates, because in today’s world farming isn't the first thing the “higher educated” do with a degree. In 1870, 70-80 percent of the U.S. population was employed in agriculture. Again, we are now down to about 5 percent. This is a HUGE problem. (4)

Zach Messier

A friend of mine, Zach Messier, who was a student at St. Michael’s College until the end of his sophomore year, transferred to Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, VT to begin his hands on study of agriculture, aspiring to be a farmer someday. Sterling’s slogan is “Working Hands. Working Minds.” Messier is out on the land all day working with animals and crops, learning how to farm sustainably. I respected his decision then, and do even more so now. The U.S. needs more Sterling Colleges, where students are actually farming as an education. We also must trickle-down from there, teaching hands-on agriculture to the youth as well. “I love it here, I love working on the land. I am closer to God,” said Messier.

His words illustrate the beauty of working close to nature, close to God as he describes it. This connection he has made needs to ascend into the global human consciousness. We currently devalue our intimacy with nature, the one spirit that binds us all; we've neglected it. The human consciousness needs to be thinking and taking action on the environment daily, in progressive steps towards the future.

Stephen Chamberlain of Dutchess Farm in Castleton, VT serves his fresh organic veggies to the Rutland area, and has been for 28 years. His partner, Carol Cook, said Chamberlain does his part by giving speeches at colleges around the state as well. Cook spoke lively about the local food movement and the community it encompasses. “It makes us all One in one basic and very important way, eating good local food,” she said.

Stephen Chamberlain

Vermont speaking out on the local food movement illustrates the good that surrounds this type of community.With oil having peaked prices for everything are on the rise, the result is also expensive food. Why buy expensive food grown 1,500 miles away that derives from fossil fuels? People need to support the local food system. It improves the health of oneself and one’s community, the environment, the economy, the country, and the world. It is quite literally the answer to achieving sustainability for the projected 9 billion in 2050. Start today, buy something locally grown, preferably vegetables, and educate others on why you did it. By doing this we are taking action to a better future.

Sources:

1. "Agriculture." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
2. "Agriculture, Energy & Climate Change." GRACE Communications Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
3. "Emissions." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
4. "Neat Facts About United States Agriculture." Farmers Edge. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
5. NOFA. "Welcome to NOFA Vermont." Welcome to NOFA Vermont. N.p., 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
6. "Soil Quality." GRACE Communications Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
7. United Nations. Food and Agriculture Association. How to Feed the World in 2050. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_World_in_2050.pdf>