Category: Research

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UNSHARED BOUNTY: How Structural Racism Contributes to the Creation and Persistence of Food Deserts

NYLS-Food-Deserts-Report.pdf

This study does not purport to be an exhaustive one. Although the problems associated with food deserts are not peculiar to urban areas, the relationship between food deserts and structural racism is clearest in cities. Accordingly,
the serious issue of food deserts in rural areas is not addressed here. Further, the purpose of this report is neither to reiterate the findings of prior studies nor to review their conclusions. Rather, the report aims to bring to the discussion three aspects of food deserts that so far have not been sufficiently examined. First, the report traces the evolution of food deserts and identifies
the impact they have on the day-to-day lives of residents in neighborhoods lacking a supermarket. Second, the report considers not just the correlation between food deserts and race and income, but also examines the government policies and private practices that have contributed to the problem. Lastly, the report outlines approaches communities have used to address the scarcity of nutritious foods. It proposes that to have a long term impact on food deserts, efforts must not just address the lack of healthy
food options within a community, but also the underlying causes for the food disparities.

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Starting a Farm in Your City: Transforming Vacant Places

UrbanAgGoGuide_FINAL-for-Web1.pdf

Over the last decade, urban agriculture has emerged as a powerful movement addressing a range of issues from food security to community revitalization to economic development. In broad terms, urban agriculture is the raising, cultivation, processing, marketing, and distribution of food and food products in a town, city, or metropolitan area.

Growing food in cities has numerous social, economic and environmental benefits. Though backyard plots and community gardens provide many benefits, this Guide is focused on the more entrepreneurial forms of urban agriculture. The defining characteristics of entrepreneurial urban farms are their scale and intensity of operations, as well as their unique role in  ransformingt the urban landscape. Urban farms have proven to be an effective model for reusing vacant and underutilized spaces, including brownfields. Agricultural enterprises generally require less capital and time than many other commercial or industrial reuse options, and the benefits to the  ommunityc are immediate. The pervasiveness of neglected properties in low-income communities around the region, especially following the economic downturn, coupled with the rise in demand for high-quality local food, presents an interesting and viable business opportunity for urban entrepreneurs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that local food sales via
direct-to-consumer and intermediated channels totaled $4.8 billion from
over 107,000 farms in 2008, representing 1.9 percent of total U.S. farm sales
and 5.5 percent of all farms (Low & Vogel, 2011). Furthermore, small- and
medium-sized farms accounted for 95 percent of local food sales. While
efforts have been made to document the contribution of individual urban
farms to this movement, no comprehensive statistics have been gathered to
date. Nevertheless, the USDA expects local food production to continually
increase as demand from the consumer market steadily rises. Since most
of these markets are based in larger cities, entrepreneurs and nonprofit
organizations have begun to test various methods and models for urban food
production.

This Guide will you help understand the basic options and key considerations
in starting an urban agriculture enterprise, and provides resources for
further reading along the way.

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A POPULAR EDUCATION HANDBOOK

A Popular Education Handbook.pdf

‘Educacion Popular’ or Popular Education forms part of a current in adult education which has been described as ‘an option for the poor’ or ‘education for critical consciousness’. Most of the methodology and techniques of popular education are also those of adult education. But while many adult education programs are designed to maintain social systems, even when unjust and oppressive, popular education’s intent is to build an alternative educational approach that is more consistent with social justice.

Popular Education is called ‘popular’ be-ause its priority is to work among the many rural and urban poor who form the vast majority of people in most Third World countries. It is a collective or group process of education, where the teacher and students learn together, beginning with the concrete
experience of the participants, leading to reflection on that experience in order to effect positive change.

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
Brazil in the 1960’s

Popular education is barely twenty years old, tracing its roots back to Brazil in the 1960’s and the literacy training programs of an educator called Paulo Freire. In contrast to the traditional education system coming
from colonial times, which taught those Latin Americans with access to it, to accept the world view of a small elite, Freire’s students learned to read and write through discussion of basic problems they themselves were experiencing, such as no access to agricultural land. As the causes of their problems became clear, the students analyzed and discussed what joint action could be taken to change their situation. The term used by Freire for this process of action/reflection/action was ‘conscientization’- and it led participants not only to acquire new literacy skills, but also to understand their own reality. Brazil’s military coup in 1’964 put an end to Freire’s work there, but the seeds of a new concept of education had been sown.

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Black Farmers in America, 1865-2000 The Pursuit of Independent Farming and the Role of Cooperatives

blkfarmhist.pdf

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GROWING LOCAL FERTILITY: A GUIDE TO COMMUNITY COMPOSTING

growing-local-fertility.pdf

Almost half the materials Americans discard – food scraps,
yard trimmings, and soiled paper – are compostable. While
58% of the 34 million tons of yard trimmings are recovered
for composting, the recovery level for the 36 million tons of
food scraps remains low at only 4.8%.1

Municipal and county governments and private food scrap generators increasingly recognize the importance of diverting food scraps from disposal
to reach recycling goals and manage solid waste handling costs.
More than 180 communities have now instituted residential food scrap collection programs, up from only a handful a decade ago. Countless supermarkets, schools, restaurants, and other businesses and institutions are also source separating their foodscraps for composting. One benefit of composting is that it can be small scale, large scale, and everything in between: small backyard bins, on-site campus systems, farm-based operations, low-tech and high-tech regional facilities. While large-scale
centralized facilities will undoubtedly be needed in order to reach
high recycling levels, close-by locally-based sites are not only
viable, but also bring many local benefits.

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AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON STRUCTURAL RACISM PRESENT IN THE U.S. FOOD SYSTEM

Annotated+Bibliography+on+Structural+Racism+in.pdf

The following is an annotated bibliography on selected resources and publications focused on structural racism in the U.S. food system.
Structural racism in the United States has been defined as the “normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics—historical, cultural, institutional, and interpersonal—that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic outcomes for people of color.”

Our intention was to look at literature that broadly covered structural racism across the entire food supply chain as well as to examine specific sectors of
the chain. We also identified literature that links the social construction of whiteness2 and its intentional or consequential impact on structural racism
within the United States’ local food movement. We intentionally focused on recent peer-reviewed and gray literature3 materials that are national, regional, and local in scope; we also identified materials that included significant references. Blog posts, news or media articles, and college class syllabi are for the most part not included in this bibliography; however, these writings contribute significantly to the discussion on structural racism in the food system and should be part of a more comprehensive education program on this topic.

The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to provide current research and outreach on structural racism in the U.S. food system for the food system practitioner, researcher, and educator. Our intention is to update this resource
on a recurring basis and suggest it be used as a companion resource for training or education sessions on structural racism in the food system.

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The importance of soil organic matter

Cadieuxslocum.pdf

Healthy soil is the foundation of the food system. It produces healthy crops that in turn nourish people. Maintaining a healthy soil demands care and effort from farmers because farming is not benign. By definition, farming disturbs the natural soil processes including that of nutrient cycling – the release and uptake of nutrients.

Plants obtain nutrients from two natural sources: organic matter and minerals.
Organic matter includes any plant or animal material that returns to the soil and goes through the decomposition process. In addition to providing nutrients and habitat to organisms living in the soil, organic matter also binds soil particles into aggregates and improves the water holding capacity of soil. Most soils contain 2–10 percent organic matter. However, even in small amounts, organic matter is very important.

Soil is a living, dynamic ecosystem. Healthy soil is teeming with microscopic and larger organisms that perform many vital functions including converting dead and decaying matter as well as minerals to plant nutrients. Different soil organisms feed on different organic substrates. Their biological activity depends on the organic matter supply.

Nutrient exchanges between organic matter, water and soil are essential to soil fertility and need to be maintained for sustainable production purposes. Where the soil is exploited for crop production without restoring the organic matter and nutrient contents and maintaining a good structure, the nutrient cycles are broken, soil fertility declines and the balance in the agro-ecosystem is destroyed.

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The Investment Case for Indoor Agriculture

indooragcon_whitepaper_investmentcase_100516.pdf

Whenever we talk with indoor growers about their businesses, discussion eventually turns to the
cost of establishing and running an indoor farm. For all of their many benefits, indoor farms are
hampered by higher initial capital costs than outdoor farms, and the need for funding is accelerating as the industry transitions from a niche activity to a commonplace companion to outdoor farming, another tool in the commercial farmers’ tool kit.

Indoor farming is at a tipping point, as improved indoor farm economics and increased
mainstream acceptance of the industry mean larger vertical farming projects are becoming
commonplace. In 2014, we estimate that $33mn was raised by the US indoor produce industry as a whole; a single company – a stealth-stage vertical farmer – recently raised not much short of that total alone.

We estimate that a total build cost of $42bn would be needed to move 40% of just two crops –
lettuce and strawberries – into vertical farming systems, a goal which is less daunting when we
consider that the tomato industry moved from 10% under glass to 40% within the space of seven
years . In turn, this means a heightened need for capital to fund the wave of new indoor farm
builds.

This transition takes place against the backdrop of a period of rapid change in the financial services industry. The stable sources of funding on which startups have been able to rely for the past 20 years – traditional banks and wealth management firms – are ceding ground to newer forms of funding, such as, crowdfunding, microfinance and marketplace lending. In turn, this
opens funding opportunities for indoor farmers and entrepreneurs that go well beyond the venture capital, private equity and bank loans that are best known as capital sources.

The goal of this white paper is twofold; to outline the rationale for, and risks of investing in indoor
agriculture, and to examine potential funding sources. As such, it is intended for use by
entrepreneurs and investors alike. In preparing it, we have drawn on discussions with more than
fifty industry stakeholders, have conducted our own survey of industry financing needs and have
collated and analyzed data from crowdfunding platforms and from numerous industry, academic
and media sources.
The reason for our interest in this topic is simple: access to sufficient appropriate capital remains one of the greatest keys to success for indoor agriculture entrepreneurs. In our recent survey, more than half of respondents said that finding sufficient funding to operate or expand their firm was their greatest business challenge . Over three quarters of those who are planning to begin indoor farming say they will need to raise external funds before they do so .

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Indoor Crop Production Feeding the Future

IndoorCropProduction2015WebFinal.pdf

The purpose of this paper is to consolidate knowledge on the current state of the indoor agriculture industry, demonstrate its growing importance to our food system, and present the case for its long-term economic viability. Our target audience is those that do not know the industry well; the paper is intended as an introduction to indoor agriculture. As its authors, we do not consider ourselves expert in the industry, nor are we bound by any legal or contractual relationship to one another. We came together to create this paper out of a shared belief that, by better understanding the current state and trajectory of the indoor agriculture industry, we can collectively work to expedite its growth and create new opportunities for economic gain as well as wide-scale improvement in the US food supply system.

 

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The Business Case for Racial Equity

Xodo Document - the_business_case_for_racial_equity_10-23-13_1_0.pdf

 

“The Business Case for Racial Equity” quantifies the cost of racism in the U.S.

The brief was funded through WKKF’s America Healing effort, launched in 2010 to support programs that promote racial healing and address racial inequity. The program works with hundreds of organizations in communities across the country in an effort to build an understanding of how racial injustices of the past create inequities for today’s children. Throughout its more than 80-year history, WKKF has supported communities seeking to create conditions that improve the life outcomes of vulnerable children.In a note introducing the report, Dr. Gail Christopher, WKKF vice president-program strategy said, “The data and comprehensive analysis outlined in [this report] demonstrate how race, class, residential segregation and income levels all work together to hamper access to opportunity. With these proof points in hand, our partners across the country voice their concerns for vulnerable children and families – to find support needed to advance racial healing and racial equity.”

“The Business Case for Racial Equity” lays out the potential benefits to business, government and the economy of addressing racial inequities, pointing out specific areas of opportunity in housing, education, health and crime and justice. The document outlines the history of discriminatory policies across these areas and the disparities they created, going on to estimate the potential benefits of seizing opportunities to promote equality, including an increase of almost $2 trillion in minority purchasing power and millions of job opportunities for college graduates.

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Black is Beautiful: The Doll Study and Racial Preferences and Perceptions

Clark_6.pdf

Psychologists Kenneth Bancroft Clark and his wife, Mamie Phipps
Clark, designed the “Doll Study” as a test to measure the psychological
effects of segregation on black children. The Clarks’ “Doll Study” became the first psychological research to be cited by the Supreme Court and was significant in the Court’s decision to end school segregation.

Using four plastic, diaper-clad dolls, identical except for color,
African American children between the ages of three and seven
were asked questions to determine racial perception and preference.
Discouragingly, the majority of the children preferred the white doll and attributed positive characteristics to it, while attributing negative characteristics to the black doll. The Clarks concluded that “prejudice, discrimination and segregation” caused black children to develop a sense of inferiority and self-hatred. Clark concluded, “If society says it is better to be White not only White people but Negroes come to believe it. And a child may
try to escape the trap of inferiority by denying the fact of his own race.”¹

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