Planning Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems From Soil to Soil

Covid-19 was a canary in a mine. It exposed the vulnerabilities of 21st-century food systems but did not create them. Since then, the world has faced a ?polycrisis?: a cluster of weather-related crop failures, war-induced food and energy shortages, and import dilemmas with compounding effects. Going forward, we need to plan for more sustainable and resilient food systems that improve environmental outcomes and address economic disparities. But food systems planning is a relatively new discipline and guidance is scarce. This book fills that gap.

Where most food systems planning has focused on urban issues, this book takes a holistic view to include rural communities and production agriculture whose stewardship of the earth is so critical to public and environmental health, as well as to ensuring a varied and abundant food supply. Its goal is to inform planning practices and follow-up actions for a wide range of audiences?from professional planners, planning commissions, and boards to conservation districts and Cooperative Extension to the on-the-ground change-makers working to strengthen America?s food and farming systems. Embracing the fact that the U.S. is highly diverse in its people, places, and politics, the book lifts up principles and successful examples to help communities develop strategies based on their unique assets and the needs and preferences of their people.

Introduction Part One 1. Why Plan for Food and Agriculture? 2. The Public Framework for Food Systems Planning 3. Principles and Practices to Guide Planning for Food and Agriculture
Part Two 4. Federal Policies That Affect Food Systems 5. Land Use Policies that Support Farms, Farmland, and Food 6. Programs and Policies to Sustain Agriculture 7. Programs and Policies to Support Community Food Security 8: Evolving Issues Appendix: Organizational Resources

Julia Freedgood is Senior Fellow and Senior Program Advisor at American Farmland Trust, where she focuses on planning, policy, and programs to support farmers and ranchers, protect farmland for farming, and advance sustainable and resilient food systems.