Overview: Reflect on the past few lectures and identify an issue within our curr

Overview: Reflect on the past few lectures and identify an issue within our current food system that would have come up in your lecture topics or readings (DO NOT use problems we have not yet squarely covered, such as SNAP or food waste). Research potential solutions to this issue and select one piece of evidence (e.g. peer-reviewed manuscript, science-based report from a credible organization, etc…be sure it is a credible source.) Use the selected solution/evidence to complete the assignment instructions below.
This assignment is worth 125 points. Have a draft ready by 4.28! The rubric we will use to evaluate the assignment is below for reference!
Instructions: Today’s problems often cannot be solved by being broken down into specific components. We must often address interlinking and underlying issues in order to find a solution. For example, if our main problem is the excess waste and spoilage of food by consumers, we often think about how to teach consumers to more optimally buy and utilize food, particularly items such as fresh produce and seafood. This can often result in consumers buying less over time and result in unintended consequences for farmers and fishers in terms of profits.
In the first few class topics, we reviewed several problems with plant and animal agriculture in the U.S. For this assignment, let’s focus on one of the problems that we have been discussing in these first few classes. (**This is important! If you choose an assignment on a topic that has nothing to do with what we have covered in lecture or readings, you will be docked a significant amount of points. I am requiring this because in the synchronous lab we will be sharing and if you have covered a topic that we have not, then your colleagues may not understand your example.) Please use the following steps to complete this assignment and then answer the overarching questions below. Instructions on what to upload and what to bring to class are below, as is what you will be graded on.
Steps to the assignment:
First, establish the need for a solution. The purpose of this step is to clearly and concisely identify the problem and, in our case, the impacts of the problem on human, environmental, occupational, and community health.
For example: “We waste 30-40% of the food we produce, with consumers wasting more than retailers or at the farm level. This has economic (e.g., wasted money and labor), environmental (e.g., increased greenhouse gas emissions, wasted natural resources), and social (e.g., missed opportunities to feed food insecure people) impacts predicted to worsen as the population increases in size. It is estimated that Americans spend $166-218 billion each year growing, harvesting, processing, distributing, and disposing of food that is never eaten. This equates to a loss of 1,250 calories per day per person and costs each household an average of $1,800 per year. While most food waste is likely inedible by the time it reaches the garbage, food is the number one contributor to landfills, with 95% of food waste ending up in the garbage rather than being fed to animals or being composted, producing negative impacts on the environment. In landfills, the decomposition of food produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide. Uneaten food also represents wasted land, soil, nutrients, water, energy, labor and missed opportunities to feed hungry people . Currently 13% of U.S. households are food-insecure and the Emergency Food Assistance Program spends nearly $700 million annually to provide food to low-income people. It is projected that recovering one-third of wasted food would be enough to feed all 42 million Americans considered food-insecure. These problems will be exacerbated by predicted population growth and increased food demand, assuming current waste levels.”
Second, identify a recent or current effort to solve the problem. I recommend you use a peer-reviewed manuscript or a more major effort (such as one that has a website or has produced a report in the grey literature) to do this or you may not have enough information on what was done to answer the questions. (Note: While I am not opposed, most news articles will not provide enough information for this assignment. However they can be useful in helping you spot and locate a bigger resource.) What was the scope of this solution? How did they measure success? You can use a broad or a narrow solution.
For example: “National efforts to reduce household food waste, such as those in the United Kingdom (UK), have been successful. In 2007, the UK launched a “Love Food Hate Waste” campaign to help households tackle food waste. The campaign worked with retailers, brands, authorities, businesses, and communities, to help design and promote effective anti-waste messages to households. They worked with industry to make changes to products (such as creating clear “use by” date marks, offering a range of pack sizes, and giving clear storage and freezing guidance). Between 2007 and 2012, the UK population grew 4.5%; yet total food demand stayed constant and food waste declined by 1.4 million tons, a 17.5% reduction. This helped consumers save 3.3 billion pounds ($) a year and positively impacted the environment to a level equivalent to taking 1.8 million cars off the road.”
Third, assess the potential impact of this solution. Did they consider a systems approach and/or consider unintended consequences? Is this solution scalable or sustainable long-term? Be sure to consider what elements were left out that might have been impacted. You can go in many, many directions for this response.
For example: The UK effort was certainly approached in a systems way and considered many players in the continuum. However, farmers were generally left out of those for whom impact was measured. This might have been because UK consumers largely source from farmers abroad rather than within-country. However, it would have been important to know if there were unintended consequences in relation to farmer livelihoods and/or if any farmers were able to offset any negative unintended consequences by embarking on innovative projects. To know if this example was sustainable for other countries, we would have needed to know if the campaign would allow others to adopt their campaign messaging and pieces from their website (e.g., to know if smaller countries with tighter budgets could afford such a campaign). It would have also been helpful to know how much it cost the UK to conduct this campaign as compared to the cost savings. Finally, do other countries have a similar problem and similar reasons for the problem and thus similar needs (e.g., is consumer food waste in other countries similar to how, what UK consumers waste, etc….)?
Fourth, reflect. Many current food systems solutions tend to be “alternatives” to the mainstream system rather than “fixing” or “disrupting” the current system. Which category/type best describes your proposed solution? How do you feel about the potential of alternatives to change the food system vs. disruptors? Should we be evolving the system or disrupting it? Please elaborate on why you feel this way.
You will turn in the following materials to Canvas!
Your responses to the overarching questions below (no pre-essay is needed. All you will turn in will be the responses to the FOUR overarching questions. These responses should model after the example paragraphs above in terms of detail and evidence but be longer. Err on the side of adding more detail/evidence than the above example rather than less!) Ideally, you will not write more than 2 pages using 1.5 spacing. (MAX of 2.5 pages 1.5 spaced) and you will number each paragraph to match the corresponding question below. Upload a PDF or word document (.doc or .docx) to Canvas.
Include your citations in a reference list and using in-text superscript AMA style citationsLinks to an external site..
An article or web screenshot of the “solution” you used. Upload it to Canvas. Make sure to cite in your reference list. This is not part of the page count.
OVERARCHING QUESTIONS:
What food system problem did you choose? Why was this problem so compelling for you? Please clearly and concisely define the problem and its impacts on human, environmental, and/or occupational health.
What solution did you choose? Please clearly and concisely define the solution. What is its scope? How was success measured? Is there evidence that this solution has been successful?
What is the potential impact of this solution? Was a systems-approach used and/or were unintended consequences considered? Do you think this solution is scalable or sustainable long-term? Why or why not?
Reflection: Many current food systems solutions tend to be “alternatives” to the mainstream system rather than “fixing” or “disrupting” the current system. Which category/type best describes your proposed solution? How do you feel about the potential of alternatives to change the food system vs. disruptors? Should we be evolving the system or disrupting it? Please elaborate on why you feel this way.