Course:ENVR400/Project Proposal
File:ENVRMindmapProposal.pdf
Draft Proposal (11/03/10)
Vancouver’s food system is a complex interconnected system, which can be observed from many perspectives. Our objective is to analyze the food system primarily from an environmental science perspective and determine ways in which the food system can become more sustainable. While this is a broad topic, the piece we hope to contribute will address the following; what are scenarios of an efficient and sustainable food system and how can Vancouver’s food system achieve these scenarios.
Our methods and execution will include the following:
- Create working definitions of ambiguous terms we will be using throughout our research and in our report (e.g. sustainable, efficient, etc.);
- Define the boundaries and limits of our analysis including but not limited to geographical boundaries, disciplinary limits (economic, political, social, etc.);
- Conduct surveys (possibly targeted at individuals, consumers, local farmers…) to obtain information about the food system including:
- what types of crops are produced locally on farms, in what quantities, what is the land required
- what types of crops are produced locally in community gardens
- how great a connection do consumers see between their food choices and their environment
- what are the local dietary habits, in what quantity is local food purchased/consumed, what types of local food
- why is there or isn’t there incentive for individuals to grow food for themselves and what barriers must be overcome to promote backyard farming
- Select variables of the food system we wish to consider in our analysis (see the attached figure which maps potential variables);
- Construct scenarios representative of the current food system and a modified system where one or more variable in the current food system has been altered;
- Determine the impacts of different scenarios;
- Make recommendations based on the findings and produce educational tools that will help achieve an ideal scenario;
While much research has already been conducted in this area we hope to build on existing research and we are confident we can contribute original ideas. Our analysis could include different scenarios based on food consumption, local food production, the effective distribution of local food, etc. Importantly, where our analysis builds on previous findings is in addressing the question of efficient land use to maximize food production. We hope to discover how changes such as diversifying locally grown crops or building communities surrounding urban food production, can increase the efficiency of the food system.
This topic is relevant and timely as threats to food security arise (e.g. peak oil). Furthermore on average a large portion of a Vancouverite’s greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the production and transportation of their food (will provide reference). Our analysis will focus on the local area and for that reason we hope to provide locals with a food guide that will help them make choices and act to create a more secure food system. We hope to provide locals with information about urban agriculture related projects in their communities such as community gardens, seasonal availability of local food, instructions for growing a backyard edible garden and more. We hope that by making recommendations to individuals there could be a bottom up shift in the food system towards a thriving local food economy.