how can you expect to chug along with your work, your relationships, and your hobbies when you see your community suffering? the summer began with new york city looking like a martian wasteland due to forest fires in canada and ended with mass flooding and torrential rainfall. this whiplash is exhausting to experience, especially when you are not seeing tangible steps to meet the moment. 

this emotional whiplash existed long before i called myself a climate activist. for me, gun violence impressed upon me the importance of grassroots mobilization. i remember the lockdown drills going back to when i was just 12 years old after the utterly tragic sandy hook elementary school shooting in newtown, connecticut during the holiday season in 2012. at the time i treated it like a fire drill rather than acknowledge that it was an abdication of responsibility by the adults in positions of power to take a more proactive approach to ending the violence.

flash forward to the end of high school, this violence did not cease and it reached a boiling point my senior year. one of the first protests i remember attending was the national school walkout on march 14th, 2018. after the stoneman douglas high school shooting in parkland florida a month earlier, thousands of high school students across the country banded together to take the streets demanding congress and the trump administration do more. there are few moments in my life where i saw so much anger and fear blossomed into dignity and purpose.

maximizing impact

the march to end fossil fuels arrived the same week as both nyc climate week and the united nations general assembly. the convening of global leaders came at the same time as youth climate advocates demanded ocean rights and called for climate justice in the food systems. these takeaways struck a chord with me as climate advocacy must embrace systems-level change to be considered both just and transformational.

the nutrition and food studies program at new york university and food tank hosted a series of discussions with industry leaders, youth advocates, former policymakers, artists, un officials, and students. at “food and agriculture as a solution to climate change,” i learned about the role that sustainable and nutritious food systems must play in climate action moving forward, including technological integration, human rights-centered policy, and political leadership.

it was rewarding to see my classmates sofia jimenez saborit and sasha dubose present their research and share the stage as visionaries for environmental justice in food systems. i also had the chance to officially meet food tank team members ian smith and liza greene in person for the first time. as a graduate student wrapping up my final semester and a former intern with food tank, the coalescence of my professional and academic experiences the past year helped me prepare for the march.

it was truly an honor to meet journalist michael pollan and watch an early screening of food inc. 2, a damning documentary that pollan produced, that uncovers how broken the american food system is for consumers, farmers, and the planet. storytelling is a balancing act of creativity and insight, narrative building to break down the consequences of our industrial food system, and contemplating more economically and ecologically sustainable pathways to sustain us as a society. 

a march by everyone, for everyone

leading up to the day of the march these ideas of grassroots communities, structural barriers to action, feelings of inadequacy, and fears of political complacency swirled in my mind like the jet streams zooming across the world’s oceans. the extreme heat sweltering the world this summer compounded the mounting feeling in my core that government officials need to start acting like public servants.

that morning i was grateful to design posters with other young activists with time for a better future, chatting about what brought us to new york. the irony of putting pen to recycled amazon cardboard boxes did not escape us, but neither did our resolve to do more than make noise. we were primed to build on the success of nyu students’ successful divestment campaign, pushing institutions to be allies rather than obstacles to the movement.

then there was the march itself. the crowds of parents, siblings, and children joined forces with activists, researchers, and students. it was less of a protest and more of an epic crossover event where excitement and comradery triumphed. young climate leaders that i met in miami earlier this year traveled across the country to stand in solidarity. representative alexandria ocasio-cortez called for the biden administration to stand by its commitments. live music harped on both the hopelessness and silver linings of coming of age during the climate crisis.

i took this energy to the united nations when, the very next day, i learned about the years-long campaign to declare universal ocean rights. it was a privilege to go from demonstrating in the streets to hearing from elected officials from cabo verde and panama on their successful policies to codify marine biodiversity protections. climate action means threading between the grassroots and working within existing power structures to make our voices heard. 

creating lasting change

grassroots and institutional advocacy play hand-in-hand. this realization would have felt quite absurd if i tried communicating with my high school self. if our voices matter so much to other students, then why are our calls not reverberating in public discourse beyond thinly veiled attempts to signal support without amounting to any concrete actions? 

in spite of this nagging anxiety that our chants fall on indifferent ears, young people in fact can play a pivotal impact in making change. 

on september 21st, the united states joined eighty-one nations and the european union signed the high seas treaty, leading to the codification of ocean rights protections at the international level. days after the march, the biden administration announced the creation of the american climate corps to train tens of thousands of young people in climate resilience and development jobs in the coming years. action is following after years of rhetoric and pleading, and youth are just getting started. 

why does this matter?

roughly 68% of the nation’s acres for fruits and vegetables are in california. meanwhile, a 2020 report by nature found that over half of water use in the crb relies on crops designated for cattle-feed. be it produce or livestock, water consumption in agriculture poses an existential threat in a region suffering from a decades-long drought. in this historic moment of crisis, there is yet to be a clear and coordinated mitigation plan from impacted states – arizona, california, colorado, new mexico, nevada, utah, and wyoming.

to better understand the lasting impact of public policy, look no further than the colorado river compact. as part of the law of the river, the compact was established in 1922 to enforce surface water use without consideration for depletion of groundwater reserves in dryer climates of the present day. traditional agriculture methods alongside federally enforced water cuts significantly contribute to decreased water availability in the region. 

as mentioned above, a heavy agricultural presence in the american southwest pressures groundwater reserves on top of surface water deliveries at unprecedented levels. then there is the issue of public water consumption by non-farmers. u.s. census data released last year declares that some of the fastest growing and most populous cities in the country are in crb states: arizona, california, and nevada. these trends are bound to cause all the more water-stress for the basin.

anthropogenic climate change will result in a 10% to 30% reduction of public water use in the colorado river basin, which will likely lead to demands for stronger accountability of water waste within an agricultural system that devours resources across the basin.

changing policies for the colorado river basin

while it may feel like there is little room to fight for a better future, there are several opportunities for solutions: funding from the inflation reduction act, the farm bill, and better cooperation across private and public sectors led by affected communities.

for starters, section 50231 of the 2022 inflation reduction act apportioned $550 million in funding to protect water security in the basin by providing “domestic water supplies to communities or households that do not have reliable access” to water. federal, state and local governments have the chance to apply for this funding until september 30th, 2031. there is no time like the present. 

in the perspective of the agricultural industry, federal policy fails to address sustainable water governance, making sustainable food production a near impossible feat. case in point, the 2018 us farm bill has no explicit section dedicated to drought mitigation, which leads to room in senate and house negotiations over the 2023 bill for such language. 

technological innovations in the agricultural industry, such as controlled environment agriculture, present powerful tools for farmers to realize a sustainable business model while tracking their water and energy consumption. policymakers have the opportunity to center drought mitigation as a crucial component of agricultural policy. this can ensure food security, economic stability, and strategic climate action in a coordinated and holistic manner.

the lack of inter-state policy in groundwater management and the overutilization of surface water across most crb states has led to a need for federal leadership and policy that “[s]upports and embraces the diversity of locally tailored management solutions, particularly of communities facing groundwater depletion” to uplift the agricultural sector through a more generous return on investment.

even though water scarcity and food insecurity are scary, and sometimes nebulous, topics 2023 offers a new chance to defy the status quo with available funding, potential partnerships, and a fresh perspective.

this story was featured in our series, slipping through our fingers: the future of water.

in a historical context, the charter of indian forestry (1855) offered a model for imperial environmentalism under the british empire in africa in which colonial governments were bestowed the power to seize land that was not otherwise privately owned. (kashwan, 2021, p. 5-6) this toxic relationship between the global north and global south persists today through our globalized economy. for example, ghana is the largest gold producer on a continent that supplies 40% of the world’s gold. (al jazeera, 2022) at the same time, global justice now has reported that african countries in 2015 received $162 billion in foreign aid while $203 billion was extracted from the continent, either directly from multinational corporations or by costs necessary for climate change adaptation (mcveigh, 2017).

extractive economies that reinforce these oppressive systems of command and control have been imprinted into the head spaces of the ruling financial and political elite as the end-all, be-all solution to improving quality of life for humanity. due to these cultural setbacks, youth leaders and advocates around the world are frustrated about the lack of action their governments are taking on climate change. one such group in ghana has been incredibly active in terms of transitioning local and regional economies and communities to more sustainable mechanisms and relationships between people and the planet. 

founded in 2014, green africa youth organization (gayo) pursues a holistic path to mobilize and engage youth voices in ghana in order to challenge climate change and introduce a circular economy to the region. i had a conversation with betty osei bonsu, who is a project coordinator based in accra, about the work she does with gayo. their vision is to achieve environmental and economic sustainability through youth empowerment, skills development, and public education. gayo champions several initiatives that follow these thematic areas including climate change disaster risk reduction and circular economy. in tandem with the 2030 sustainable development goals, these initiatives encourage a multi-pronged approach to climate action and normalization of sustainability in local and regional economies. gayo refers to itself as a gender-balanced organization, in alignment with goal 10: reduce inequality within and among countries. gayo not only pushes for women leadership in environmental spaces, but also seeks to enhance inclusion within waste recovery and management.

the sustainable community project (scp) is meant to establish a zero-waste model for waste management led by community members within ghana. established in accra, cape coast, abuakwa, and pioneered from the ashanti region, edubiase in 2016, this project focuses on several waste-to-value initiatives including: composting, recycling arts, and charcoal briquette. composting is important to a sustainable community because it provides organic fertilizers within towns that can be sold to people within the community for better organic crop yield. meanwhile, recycling arts offer training to create items that can be sold and be reused for the creator or their family. additionally, charcoal briquettes are a biofuel meant to be a sustainable transitional energy source that is substituted for firewood. this work started as a pilot program in cape coast, but expanded into a full initiative in the adansi south district of ghana. these three areas of value addition are meant to establish circular communities by working with media outlets, activists, and local organizations/assemblies to implement this project throughout ghana and beyond. the main objectives for the sustainable community project are to divert waste from landfills, support the works of waste pickers while building community capacity, and promote revenue generation through upcyling what would otherwise be thrown out. ms. bonsu mentioned that the initiative offers other opportunities such as the creation of green jobs and green jobs training for alternative livelihood while maximizing resource recovery so that small-scale waste can be re-purposed and sold as sustainably-sourced products. waste pickers play a major role in the scp as they recover most of the waste. thus, gayo supports them by advocating for their rights, integrating them to work in coordination with the assembly, and providing them with necessary resources.

furthermore, the circular economy project is also focused on training youth, and fostering development so they can act as ambassadors for various gayo initiatives. following this, they have organized over 300 youth individuals within universities through the gayo ecoclub chapters. this is a student-led movement envisioned to raise future climate leaders and young ecopreneurs, create awareness on environmental protection, and increase the employability of youth through professional working experiences. gayo is also building the capacity of these students by pushing for the creation of environmental courses and initiatives through partnership with other institutions and community engagement activities. as a result, students and emerging professionals are able to learn more about climate change and the circular economy while making an impact in their communities.

meanwhile, the youth climate council provides a platform for youth-led individuals and organizations to gather actionable suggestions and to come together as a centralized power to pitch concerns they have to the government. the youth climate council was established by green africa youth organization and its independent partner, youth climate lab (ycl), and with institutional backing from the international development research centre (idrc). i found this project particularly compelling after learning from ms. bonsu that, in her own words, “[people] in the global south…are faced with a situation where youth do not have voices in decision making, are not being represented in government [and] are not included in the formation of climate policies.” a significant part of gayo’s mission is to empower and engage youth throughout the country and the world around comprehensive climate action, environmental education, and community-centric programs.

the youth climate council is a unified climate youth movement which amplifies youth voices and creates opportunities for young climate activists in ghana. the council is embedded within the ministry of environment, science, technology, and innovation, working hand-in-hand with the environmental protection agency ensuring a direct connection between youth and government, and vice versa. the youth climate council’s priority is to provide services to strengthen activism and the impact of its members.

betty went on to say that, “because of this platform, we were able to attend cop26 in order to highlight gayo and other youth experiences in ghana ” around climate action and environmental awareness. following this year’s cop 26, the ghana government pavilion was utilized by gayo and its partners to host capacity-building webinars and events for youth, while sharing initiatives and climate interventions carried out by youth climate activists, organizations, and institutions in the nation. government institutions providing platforms, and the autonomy to decide what actions should be taken, center the perspectives of youth leaders rather than perpetuate archaic systems that are damaging to people and the planet. 

climate action demands intersectional, multi-generational collective action. even though the majority of ghg emissions and environmental degradation has been caused by the generations before us, it is up to youth voices, organizations, and movements to strive for a more sustainable and ethical future. gayo is one such organization achieving this feat in real time, with betty osei bonsu representing ghana and gayo at cop26 calling the world to action. global north countries and institutions, and its respective government entities, need to pass the microphone to leaders such as betty that are already transforming our relationship to the environment while also finding economic opportunities in alignment with environmental justice and sustainability. 

sources

al jazeera staff. 2022. mapping africa’s natural resources. al jazeera. 

bonsu, betty osei. (2021, november) personal communication [personal interview]. 

kashwan, prakash, et. al. 2021. from racialized neocolonial global conservation to an inclusive and regenerative conservation. environment. 63:4, 5-6.

mcveigh, karen. 2017. world is plundering africa’s wealth of ‘billions of dollars a year’. the guardian. 

dive deeper

gayo joins inaugural plastic action champions – green africa youth organization

ghana hosts first local conference of youth in climate change | wundef.com

are you an entrepreneur? apply to join the founder institute ghana and gayo fellowship. – green africa youth organization

in other words, the use of data and technology can minimize financial and logistical barriers for food insecure households to obtain high quality food, which in turn can expand the potential for food sovereignty in local communities, raise nutritional standards nationally and embrace indigenous and first nations communities.

the green revolutions of the 20th century forced the industrial economic model onto the agricultural system, which resulted in the loss of seed variety, traditional farming techniques, cultural identity and a sense of home. (clapp 2015)

small-scale farms should have increased access to federal and state funds to incentivize regenerative agriculture, which is marked by an agricultural landscape with biodiversity that includes multiple income streams. monocultures are senseless because they are destructive to soil health of fertile agricultural land, overuse valuable water resources, and involve the use of toxic and dangerous pesticides and chemicals that harm human health. today, much taxpayer money goes into subsidies for monoculture infrastructure, such as corn and soybeans, over 90% of which are genetically modified and go towards livestock, not human, consumption. instead, there should be a transition to regenerative agriculture through a series of guidelines, public funding and tax incentives for organizations that help bridge the divide between conventional and sustainable agriculture. 

large-scale monocultures are inherently more vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions. in the event of another epidemic, local farms and community members can keep a steady food supply and establish safeguards to minimize viral spread. trucks can be routed from local suppliers to retailers by healthy employees, with mandatory and frequent testing rather than unnecessarily spreading the disease across the country. this way, there is not as much of a shock to agribusiness and large food suppliers that may already be struggling amidst this public health crisis. 

meanwhile, the trump administration proposed a 15% funding cut to the usda in 2020, partly through limiting crop insurance subsidies to small-scale farmers. in response, the organic farmers association has also asked for the 2020 budget appropriations to provide foundational funding for the following programs: national organic program ($18 million),organic transitions program ($8 million) and organic data initiative: ($1 million). 

there is $2-3 billion in conservation spending through eqip (environmental quality incentives program) and csp (conservation stewardship program), which subsidizes farm conservation practices, such as cover crops and riparian buffers, which limit the human impact on ecosystem health and provide much-needed natural space for wildlife and biodiversity accumulation. at the state level it varies, and in pennsylvania there is the annual conservation innovation grant which provides eligible farms with up to $225,000 for 1-3 year long projects, and $5,000 to $75,000 for single projects.

organic provisions in the 2014 farm bill expanded the mandatory funding cap on organic agriculture research to $100 million, $57.1 million to the expansion of organic farm certification and $10 million to technological updates. if the federal government were to pass a federal policy that drew a  $3-5 billion in resources to database capacity-building, hire staff and personnel for farm-to-community outreach and a biodiversity management department, this would kickstart an industry that is already valued at $55.1 billion in 2020 at this point in the fiscal year. 

there are sections, or “titles”, for conservation (title ii), research (title vii), horticulture (title x) and crop insurance (title xi), which outline where the funding is appropriated for programs and initiatives. in this latest farm bill, there is no formal codified categorization and funding for environmental justice, collective action, restorative justice, artificial intelligence/data analytics and marketing, which could accommodate some of the obstacles posed by the current food supply system by expanding bargaining power and providing communities and government with the tools they need to see effective results and catch up to other departments’ institutional capacities.

now is the perfect opportunity for public policy and national food companies to invest in local food supply chains to protect the health of their staff and the public, to increase the value of organic food and supply more resources and assets to community supported agriculture (csa) farms that are in desperate need of assistance or better yet expansion. even if the government and national corporations do not get involved, the economic trends do not lie: organic food sales are increasing by 20-40% around the world as consumers look for products that provide essential health services and boost immunity. while the organic food industry has increased in value by 12.2% in the past two years alone, some worry that a lack of infrastructure may prevent as many sales as there could have been otherwise. 

the most fundamental distinction to organic farming is that it approaches agriculture as an interconnected ecological system that emphasizes non-chemical solutions to fertility and production obstacles. while not specifically part of organic certification, it also tends to encourage mindfulness of natural resources in regards to biodiversity and energy, not to mention the use of age-old mechanical processes such as cover crops, green manure and sustainable procurement of compost. 

csa provides a unique opportunity for sustainable agriculture in that members subscribe (i.e. pay) a certain amount for the farm to function, and in turn the farm produces enough for the subscribers. this establishes a strong sense of community while beginning to account for entrenched gaps in wealth and economic security for all members of the supply chain, with a focus on underserved groups.

the history of our food system is based on stolen land from indigenous communities and forced labor, and that legacy persists today: 2% of farmers are black while 95% are white; and 2% of farm owners identify as latinx even though they make up 80% of farm workers. meanwhile, 8% of farms own 40% of american farmland. workers get harmed, systems prevent the oppressed from wealth, while carbon emissions via agriculture have increased by 9% since 1990.

there is a rising coalition of organizations, such as the national young farmers coalition, that demand reform and transformational change. nyfc strives to support a diverse array of agricultural operations, and to incorporate stakeholders that have suffered from systemic oppression, forced migration, slavery, jim crow, mass incarceration. the mission for racial justice must address access to land, food production and access and economic mobility. additionally, groups such as northeast farmers of color land trust and familias unidas por la justicia are worker-owned, community organizations that aim to decolonize farmland ownership in the united states.

there can still be a variety of options, however in this system people will not starve or go hungry or face medical consequences due to lack of access, especially during a global health pandemic. now is the time for everyone to take a second look at csa farms and regenerative agriculture as a catalyst of economic growth and health.

the association for unmanned vehicle systems international breaks down precision agriculture into two components: remote sensing and precision application. remote sensors are set up throughout a given area to track the health of plants and water, record growth rate and resource usage, and scan for potential health concerns. this substantial accumulation of data allows farmers to selectively use (i.e., precisely apply) the exact amount of nutrients, resources, or pesticides necessary for their fields. 

family farms, such as the mcpheeters in nebraska, are able to survive with a fraction of their historical labor force due to the application of sensor technology and surveillance drones. with 3,000 acres of row crops (mostly corn for ethanol or fritos) that normally took 40 people and a handful of families, this small-scale operation employs just 5 workers through the usage of this new technology. 

to that end, the world food programme — the food assistance branch of the united nations — underscores the significance of improved access to and quality of data as the foundation for any impactful initiative on malnutrition, food security, or food access. 

the food and agriculture organization focuses on solutions to transform our food supply chains, resource economies and systems of production and distribution to a more food secure reality for its 194 member countries. “transforming our food systems requires innovative solutions to ensure food security and nutrition for all,” said fao director-general qu dongyu. “at fao, together with the development of ai tools, we work towards establishing the international platform for digital food and agriculture — an inclusive multi-stakeholder forum for identifying and discussing the potential benefits and risks of digitalization of the food and agricultural sectors,” he added. these efforts not only challenge the mainstream, international food apparatus, but also provide the chance to bridge technological inequities between the global north and global south. that being said, 6 billion people are without wide bandwidth data transmission today, 4 billion without internet, 2 billion without mobile phones, and 400 million people are without a digital signal.

in the spirit of revitalizing international cooperation for lofty goals, the rome call for artificial intelligence (ai) ethics is a multi-industry, private-public pledge to utilize artificial intelligence to harness the power of big data in solving food insecurity, poverty and starvation. the fao director-general and italy’s minister for technological innovation and digitalization, paola pisano, coordinated between global leaders in technology and food production (microsoft and ibm) in signing the “rome call for ai ethics” in a ceremony presided by archbishop vincenzo paglia, president of the pontifical academy for life and endorsed by pope francis himself.

there is some skepticism, however, in the efficacy of technology to be the end-all, be-all solution to growing food demand and consumption. jonah kolb, vice president at farmland management group moore & warner, and arne duss, the founder and ceo of highpath consulting, highlighted several areas of concern for the application of agtech into common practice: 

• application of yield-enhancing technology is impractical considering that most u.s. farms are owned by their operators (family farms).
• there is scarce interest in changing farm practice amongst u.s. farmers, 62% of which are near their retirement age.
• opportunities for technological applications are limited in the u.s., which only has one growing season.

regardless, precision agriculture provides a unique opportunity to correct unsustainable agricultural practices and norms. this form of agriculture may exacerbate the loss in farm jobs and pose issues for laborers without the means to adapt to this technology. more than just providing technical solutions, ethically-applied artificial intelligence can allow for a localized food system that enables small-scale production in the spirit of holism rather than the status quo by prioritizing big agriculture and the industrial agricultural complex. 

in response to the more than 100 fires since oct. 8, head of operations for the lebanon’s civil defence, george abu masa, said in an interview with agence france-presse, “we have mobilized 80% of our personnel and almost all our centers in lebanon.” the dire situation was echoed by syrian agriculture minister mohammed hassan qatana who reported dozens of fires still burning on oct. 9, with two provinces along the lebanese border, tartus and latakia. 

this is a pattern that began in october of 2019, due to rising average temperatures and increases in the wind. one factor that continues to plague lebanon, in particular, is the increase in human pollution in natural spaces without the proper infrastructure and institutions to account for the debris that will fuel future infernos.

there is a growing international movement and recognition of nature-based solutions to economic, ecological, and systemic conundrums. the undp equator initiative highlights local sustainable development achievements across all seven continents through the collaborative efforts of the united nations, governments, civil society, business, and grassroots organizations. 

in 2020, a community in the congo basin called vie sauvage was one of the equator prize awardees because of their commitment to the health of various native, endangered species (particularly the bonobo ape) and the accompanying economic development that arose from ecotourism, sustainable management, and community activism. this community proved that placing biological conservation and indigenous values as the main priorities is also the most economically beneficial move for this, and potentially other, isolated indigenous and local groups.

“the just shall flourish like the palm tree, shall grow like a cedar of lebanon.” (psalms 92:13)

there is a deep connection between the strength and vitality of the cedar trees and that of the lebanese culture and identity. given the obvious linkage between this natural capital and social capital, i believe that there are plenty of opportunities to restore faith in institutions and the role of government through a biological conservation drive. green cedar lebanon is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that leads reforestation drives and social media campaigns to raise awareness on green solutions and galvanize political will for climate action.

while the influence of civil society in lebanon may not be as great as other nations due to unrest, its existence and collaboration with other groups demonstrate a tepid, yet growing demand for climate action and civic engagement in a nation that has struggled with both since its inception.

projections estimate that more than 54.3 million americans may experience food insecurity in 2020, according to a report by feeding america. before the covid-19 crisis began, that number was 37 million. as of the first week of july, more than one in ten americans had trouble putting food on the table, while a 2012 pew research report says nearly one in five adults in the u.s. have received food stamps at one point in their lives.

food insecurity is the inability to purchase enough nutritional food for a whole household. in developed nations such as the united states, food insecurity is a result of numerous factors, including poverty and lack of financial resources, as well as inadequate access to nutritious food. 

why do people continue to go hungry in one of the wealthiest nations in the world?  

to understand the problem, and the repercussions of these disruptions to our food system, it is important to know a bit about how our food supply chain works.

a food supply chain refers to various actors that produce, process, transport, distribute and sell to the public. lancaster central market in lancaster county, pennsylvania, serves as a local intermediary for a regional food economy that supports small-to-medium scale farms, fisheries, and other producers.

“pre-covid-19 numbers were around 5,000-6,000 customers a day,” said lancaster central market manager of operations mary goss. “but between march and may it would barely break 1,000.”

food waste was another problem during the early days of covid-19, as much of our impressive agricultural output was going to waste — even before the pandemic. recycle track systems, a sustainable waste advising organization, has explained the bottom line: 80 billion tons of food – or roughly 30-40% of the american food supply – is wasted in landfills, contributing to an astounding loss of $161 billion in revenue each year. 

for producers, particularly small-scale, sustainable agricultural operations, their success is both reliant on and a product of local community support. community-supported agriculture is so successful because local members collectively pay for the production capacity ahead of the growing season, ensuring financial security, higher returns on goods and reliable consumers moving forward, according to a 2003 cornell university report.

lancaster central market and several of its local, sustainable partners, such as barr’s farms and horse shoe ranch, have depended on the local community to get through the uncertainty. could this be a necessary step in the right direction to eradicate american food insecurity?

the food system amidst covid-19

there are numerous concerns for safety assurance in the current food supply chain amidst the covid-19 pandemic, largely due to the scale at which factory farms operate in the united states, as vox reports. 

self-sufficient family farms like horse shoe ranch in lancaster county have managed to overcome public health concerns and weathered the economic struggles that came with the pandemic. 

the ranch is run by bryan and brittany donovan, a married couple who represent a new generation of young farmers, and who produce 100% pasture-raised chickens and hens (outside 24 hours a day) for eggs, as well as varieties of non-gmo produce. 

even though community members ensured their existence in the short term, many restaurants had to cut business arrangements due to the pandemic. as of september, the ranch noted, “business…is not the same as it was pre-covid and our sales to lancaster restaurants have all but disappeared.”

meanwhile, the trump administration ordered that meat processing plants could not shut down that are not structured to accommodate safety concerns as covid-19 cases surged and fears of the food supply chain rose.

the third phase of the federal government’s relief program, the cares (coronavirus aid, relief and economic security) act, included $450 million to emergency food assistance programs (such as food banks), $300 million to the supplemental relief assistance program (snap), and $100 million to indigenous communities. 

the century foundation, which identifies as a “progressive, independent think tank,” said in a commentary published earlier this year that “it is clear that these efforts, while an excellent start, are not sufficient” to having 100% food security in this country. if the cares act allocated specific funds for farms that reached certain sustainability standards, then there could have been more assistance for small-scale farmers like the donovans. 

“we have applied for various grants and loans through(out the pandemic) and we have not been chosen for any,” brittany donovan said. “there are still a few that we are waiting on but there are very little grants out there that give to small, diversified farms like ours.”

some larger brands, such as annie’s, are supporting small-scale, conventional farms to transition to non-chemical, organic methods. last year, general mills pledged to transition 1 million acres of farmland to a model based on regenerative agriculture by 2030, but this is not the norm in agribusiness. instead, agricultural funding continues to be allocated to conventional farming methods rather than investing in organic methods for pest-removal, production efficiency, and expertise training programs. 

 

 

 

 

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it’s that time of year again, the extraordinary give! a day of giving back to our community. the lancaster central market trust is one of the organizations available to donate to this friday. our very own, ben barr, serves as one of the two standholders on the board. we are honored to be a part of this organization! #extragive

a post shared by barr’s farms (@barrsfarms) on nov 19, 2019 at 6:09am pst

barr’s farms, a family farm that has been in operation since 1926 and grows fruits and vegetables in lancaster county, is facing a similar situation in terms of their reliance on the communities they operate in.

“we did not apply for any help,” owner and farmer benjamin barr said, when asked about applying for federal assistance. but he said he plans on learning more about potential opportunities as a second round of funding approaches this fall. 

barr said his family’s farm has invested in the local community for decades, and the community showed up in force when they most needed it.

“the local community is the best support hands down,” he said. “customers and other businesses were more than willing to help and partner up and get creative to come up with new ways of doing business. proud to live and be able to do business in lancaster.”

once a week, rain or shine, i — as well as groups of students from 12 high schools on the lower west side of manhattan — would spend three to four hours in a boathouse on pier 66 at hudson river park. for the first 30 minutes students would catch up with fellow sailors and instructors before conducting various water quality tests. we would check the ph level, confirm change in temperature, and record the direction and speed of the current in order to prepare for a sail. feeling the brisk and fresh air of the hudson river shoot by you while sitting at the bow is a rush, not to mention the various other sailboats, tourist vessels, and barges trailing off the port and starboard sides we had to keep in mind! 

these simple, yet impregnable, moments on and around the hudson river, and the long island sound in my third year, left a permanent, venerable impact on my relationship with the natural world. the combination of environmental and engineering sciences coupled with live experiences with nature and water systems in an urban setting established my passions for science communication, community activism, and environmental governance.

what is hrcs?

the sailing program i joined, hudson river community sailing (hrcs), is an educational nonprofit that partnered with several high schools in lower manhattan to teach sailing and maritime skills and offer for-credit classes.

to be honest, hrcs was one of the reasons why i went to my high school, lab high school for collaborative studies. i had always struggled with math throughout my childhood even though i was very passionate about science and understanding the natural world. even though other schools had better facilities or more class options, i wanted an interdisciplinary program that would foster a sense of community while encouraging an appreciation of stem fields.

so when i learned that i had a chance to sail in my spare time while receiving academic support for math, i knew that this would be an incredible opportunity.

skills and lessons 

hrcs is structured in three stages: sailing by numbers, ocean literacy, and first mates. as a first year, the course sailing by numbers delves into basic mathematical concepts in algebra and geometry while incorporating on-water sailing and boat-building components. the year ends with a sailing trip to dyckman marina, another hrcs port in inwood park. students in this program earn 1 math credit and 1 gym credit. 

as a second year, the course ocean literacy focuses on ecology, environmental science, and meteorology, while implementing this knowledge on the water through more advanced sailing navigation. at the end of the fall, students will sail past the statue of liberty. my trip to the palisades was truly an eye-opening experience in that it made me realize the built environment (e.g., new york city) and the natural environment (e.g., the palisades) were co-equal parts of the human experience. at the end of the spring, students sail to palisades park and engage in water quality testing. running my fingers through the water while the sailboat maneuvered the hudson river coast for other vessels and marine debris reinforced this notion that humans are just one part of the earth, and yet our impact was far more intrusive and toxic than it should be. picking up litter and trash throughout the palisade trails while interacting with a baby raccoon, deer, and other wildlife convinced me of the direct, positive impact humanity can have with fellow lifeforms if we set the intention and take action.

for the remainder of their time at hrcs, students have the opportunity to choose a series of specialty tracks — skipper, exploring, racing, and building — in first mates. during my two years as a first mate, i was a skipper, explorer and builder because i wanted to gain a broad understanding of what i could learn about environmental problems, solutions, and their impacts.

as a skipper, most of the time is spent on nautical skills and operating various forms of on-water-vehicles, including catamarans, dinghies, j24s and j40s. j24s and j40s are classic sailing boats with one main hull/body, with the numbers referring to the length of the boats themselves. a catamaran is a boat with two parallel-sized hulls and a wide-beam connecting the two. meanwhile, a dinghy is a small vessel that allows sailors to get to and from the docks and the sailboats. one of my favorite pastimes while on the water was practicing emergency maneuvers around a substantial piece of marine debris (e.g., car tires, rotten wood with nails or metal, plastic bins, etc.) because i knew that it would have a direct impact on the health of marine life, as well as prevent any unnecessary accidents for other vessels. in other words, the notion of the gaia hypothesis principle — living and non-living organisms interact in a symbiotic manner that perpetuates life as we know it — was instilled before i even learned about it in an academic setting.

the explorers are responsible for understanding the logistics of sailing expeditions and carrying out one themselves. there are instructors present during the preparation of and the trips themselves, however it is the explorers’ responsibility to know what supplies to pack, which courses to set, what the weather forecasts will be (in real time), among other things. during one of our trips into new york city, we split up into groups along the gowanus canal in brooklyn — one of new york state’s 87 superfund sites — to conduct water quality tests and monitor oyster growth and health. gowanus was marked as a site in 2008 and restoration began in 2013, approximately two years before we went on this trip. even though the gowanus canal was an environmental and public health disaster for a long time, it was inspiring to see the rejuvenation of wildlife and revitalization of the built environment around it.

builders have plenty of creativity to utilize woodworking and engineering skills to build a myriad of projects. in the past, students have built dinghies of varying lengths and shapes as a way to supply more vessels for the program. i worked in a group that brainstormed and prepared a self-catching marine debris contraption that we planned to place in the hudson river right next to the hrcs boathouse.

the impacts

i had the incredible opportunity to explore my passion for social and environmental issues during my time at hrcs. more than that, i also learned practical skills while bonding with other high school students that i probably would not have met otherwise.

i had the opportunity to be a skipper, explorer and builder during my four semesters in the first mates program. as a skipper, i gained my new york state boat operator’s license which gave me permission to operate any aquatic vehicle less than 65 feet in length. moreover, i acquired plenty of experience on the water through hours of sailing, rigging, and derigging j24s. 

as i mentioned earlier, as a builder i worked with a team that designed a rudimentary, pulley system device, made of twine and pcp rods, that would hypothetically catch marine debris in a passive way. even though it never made it further than various models, the combination of physically designing and creating these models coupled with determining an environmental impact assessment encouraged me to take on a holistic approach to multi-faceted problems such as marine-debris collection in an urban environment. as a city kid, it was incredibly profound to have constant interactions with wildlife because it instilled a kinship to the natural world which, i believe, mirrored that of transcendentalist thinkers like ralph waldo emerson and henry david thoreau. the fluttering wings of geese and seagulls wavering over the  mirage of blue and green waves on the hudson reminds me of a quote by the former: “every natural action is graceful.”

the nation was able to achieve carbon-negative status through four steps: establishing a gross national happiness (gnh) index; creating a unique approach to sustainability; developing a strong environmental governance and policy; encouraging a diversification of the national economy. 

in a world that has become more interconnected and polarized simultaneously due to globalization, it is important to observe these bhutanese initiatives individually. first, and most significantly, is the unique way in which the nation tracks productivity: their gross national happiness.

1. gross national happiness 

the “gross national happiness index,” or gnh, is the measurement of the collective happiness in a nation. the concept entails a holistic approach toward economic progress while also asserting equal importance to non-economic indicators of development. essentially, the gnh is an alternative form of measuring national productivity to gross domestic product (gdp). 

despite the bhutanese government’s use of gnh as a main productivity factor, the government still holds productivity and economic success in high regard. however, the concept of gross national happiness set the precedent for environmental and conservation policy in bhutan. 

former prime minister of bhutan tshering tobgay conveys this sentiment in his 2014 ted talk when he admits that “economic growth is important, but that economic growth must not come from undermining our unique culture or our pristine environment.”

so how does the gnh index actually work? the concept of gross national happiness can be broken down into four pillars: good governance, sustainable and socio-economic development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation.

good governance is how fair and responsible the government, both federal and local, is in leading the people of bhutan.

sustainable and socio-economic development is the process by which businesses and the well being of people improve over time. 

cultural preservation is the maintenance of buddhist values and traditions through government-sponsored initiatives. 

environmental conservation is how well bhutan’s forests, mountains, and wild-life reservations are protected through government and business policy. 

as of 2015 and the third iteration of this index, 43.4 percent of bhutanese are deeply or extremely happy and 91.2 percent of the people are sufficient in five or more of the domains. 

but how did this rapid increase in personal happiness come to be in just five years? 

environmental policy is encouraged and deeply rooted in the gnh concept. after all, one of the four pillars of gnh is environmental conservation. additionally, one of the nine domains in evaluating happiness is ecological diversity and resilience. 

a history of ethnic tensions between the buddhist, bhutanese majority and nepali minority have prompted questions about the gnh model. despite the controversy surrounding particular government decisions, it does not compromise the concept of gross national happiness today because controversy is measured on a number of indicators that safeguard any type of prejudice, be it along spiritual, religious, or ethnic lines.

in summation, gross national happiness is an effective socio-economic model because it provides public insight into policy. polling gathered from gnh indices encourages government institutions like the national environmental commission to pass environmental laws, all of which contributes to bhutan’s carbon-negative status. additionally, the indexes provided insight into potential sustainable development projects that could benefit bhutanese citizens struggling to find jobs. 

2. sustainable development 

sustainable development is economic development that does not compromise the current and future populations of a nation. this balance can be difficult to maintain when there are various interest groups that will endorse policy beneficial to their own agendas. for example, the american oil and natural gas lobby and the natural resource defense council (nrdc) will speak in the house of representatives to promote their own interests. in bhutan, there are various influences and contrasting opinions that have resulted in meaningful policy writing — but that will likely be swept under the rug, so to speak. 

in an article titled “bhutan: a review of its approach to sustainable development,” bob frame writes that “the strong, centralized, government-led agenda (rather than a donor-driven one) provides a secure sense of national cohesion on policy issues and one that donors respect and use as an example of good practice.” 

this allegation is easily justifiable. a government that entertains deals or treaties with foreign businesses and governments may be more susceptible to outside influence in domestic affairs. these international entanglements have led to conflict in the past. 

as frame puts it: “bhutan has been careful to maximise the benefits of its ‘brand image’ internationally and to reduce the impact of mitigating factors. as a result it maintains, for now, its reputation as a ‘shangri-la’ destination for tourism and for development, with the likelihood that this will continue to ensure a steady flow of donor and private-sector (including academic and student exchange) funds for some time to come.” 

instead, the bhutanese government centers its focus for sustainability investments into national programs and forge deals with particular nations in support of the aforementioned programs. 

one national project utilized nearly $13 million in funding from the asian development bank (adb) and germany. this project “will build new training centres, rehabilitate others, and strengthen links to the private sector including providing career counseling and job-placement services,” all of which benefited the bhutanese economy and the happiness of the bhutanese people. 

as previously mentioned, 98% of all bhutanese have some level of happiness for the government and its policies. additionally, the bhutanese government-led another project that invested in sustainable transport and subsidized the purchase of electric vehicles, according to the latest gnh index report. the government also subsidized the cost of led lights. environmentally friendly initiatives enacted in the past two decades have helped preserve bhutan’s carbon-neutral status and brought about its carbon-negative status. 

some critics are doubtful of these initiatives because of ethnic tensions between the government and the people. ethnic discrimination against certain social groups in bhutan, particularly on nepali-born bhutanese, have in the past led to turbulent social and political movements, as well as harsh international criticism. 

journalist joseph c. mathew critiques the anti-nepali propaganda fabricated by a previous bhutanese king and government in his article. former prime minister jigme y. thinley was, in the 1980s, a bureaucrat who endorsed a series of laws that restricted the rights of certain bhutanese citizens, otherwise known as the bhutanisation drive. he was known to have “articulated the stereotypical ‘nepalese aggressiveness’ which threatened the integrity of bhutan.” 

in spite of ethnic stereotyping, thinley helped usher in the gross national happiness index to help improve the quality of life for all of bhutan’s citizens. 

3. environmental policy 

environmental conservation is of utmost importance in bhutanese politics. in his 2016 ted talk, prime minister tobgay shared how the government’s environmental awareness translated into conservation policy. 

he announced, “today, more than half our country is protected as national parks, nature reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries. but the beauty is that we’ve connected them all with one another through a network of biological corridors. now, what this means is that our animals are free to roam throughout our country.” 

technically, tobgay was not completely accurate. bhutan’s official protected areas do not just make up 50 percent, but in fact, claim 70 percent of bhutan’s total land area. how is this possible? the bhutanese constitution explicitly enforces the protection of bhutan’s wildlife, incentivizing the government and businesses alike to uphold an environmentally conscious perspective. 

line three of article five of the 2008 bhutanese constitution states, “the government shall ensure that, in order to conserve the country’s natural resources and to prevent the degradation of the ecosystem, a minimum of 60 percent of bhutan’s total land shall be maintained under forest cover for all time.” 

this particular line, as well as all others in this article, prevent the government from pursuing policy that would destroy or harm protected areas. king jigme singye wangchuck, author of the 2008 bhutanese constitution, cared deeply about the future of bhutan’s wildlife and natural habitats. seeing the industrialization of developing countries and the toll it took on the quality of life for their people, the king wrote in the constitution a means to protect the land from mass industrialization.

a majority of the bhutanese people, many of whom live in urban areas, look highly upon stricter environmental and conservation laws. 

mani ram moktan, journalist for the international mountain society, submitted a report on the use of and transition from firewood as the people’s main energy source. in his report moktan said, “urban respondents overwhelmingly chose electricity as an oak firewood substitute because it was associated with clean energy, improved sanitation, and forest conservation.” 

this makes sense on numerous levels. a substantial byproduct of burning firewood is ash, a material that is hard to dispose of and can affect the air quality of local communities. more importantly, however, is that firewood is a large contributor to carbon emissions in bhutan, so reducing it is of top priority for the government and the people. clearly the practical option is to switch to electricity. 

however, later on in the report, moktan introduces an alternate perspective on firewood: the rural communities. the main professions practiced by those citizens are in the agricultural sector. firewood is an integral aspect of day-to-day life for bhutanese farmers, used as a means to heat their homes and power their tractors. moktan argues that even though firewood is necessary for many rural-based citizens, there needs to be some form of regulation on how much is being harvested and used. obviously there cannot be a total ban on firewood because that would ostracize many farmers and prevent them from properly working off their land, so calling for a transition to a predominantly electrical national supply with a ban on unnecessary firewood could be an acceptable approach for all parties. 

the implementation of environmental and constitutional policies led to bhutan’s carbon-negative status. the promotion of electricity and clean energy and the reduction of firewood production would incentivize local businesses to convert while maintaining a high quality of life in bhutan.

4. economic diversification 

a successful economy is a requirement for a healthy society. the peaks of economic and social prosperity, or “golden ages,” of empires throughout human history, including the roman empire in the fourth century and the polish-lithuanian commonwealth in the seventeenth century, were made possible by booming economies. what these countries had that bhutan does not is copious amounts of land and significant manpower to work off of it. bhutan’s meager population of nearly 750,000 people, about the size of poses a challenging question: how do the government and businesses increase the bhutanese gdp? 

despite having limited manpower, they have plenty of options to consider. foreign nations, such as germany, and non-governmental organizations, such as the asian development bank, have funded national sustainable development projects for bhutan in the past. investment, both national and international, in hydroelectricity and the diversification of the agricultural sector solidified bhutan’s carbon-negative status.

the bhutanese government has taken advantage of its fast-flowing rivers by investing in the hydroelectricity sector. tobgay notes how successful renewable energy is for the economy and environment of bhutan in his 2016 ted talk. he said: “we export most of the renewable electricity we generate from our fast-flowing rivers … by 2020, we’ll be exporting enough electricity to offset 17 million tons of carbon dioxide.” 

hydroelectricity is a dual-purpose investment for the bhutanese society, simultaneously contributing to a sizable portion of bhutan’s energy production, providing 14 percent of bhutan’s exports (2016), and enforcing stricter protections on bhutan’s rivers. it’s also been one way that bhutan has greatly minimized its own carbon emissions, and it will continue to work to that end for decades to come. 

separately, the agriculture sector in the bhutanese economy is one of the most lucrative and successful industries due to the prevalence of the agricultural sector in the country, historically. a combination of outdated farming techniques and antiquated technologies have restricted the nation from reaching its full agricultural potential. 

the solution to these problems is quite simple: national or international investment in technology. updated technologies are practical for bhutanese farmers, considering how “hand-operated diesel- or petrol-powered tilling devices similar to those developed for the terraced hills of japan have been tested in western bhutan with apparent success.” 

so if these “petrol-powered tilling devices” were utilized for agricultural means in bhutan, then production rates of the crops could skyrocket, in addition to the increase in quality of said crops. 

munro follows with how productive these machines truly are for farming purposes, explaining how they “require only one person to operate, in contrast to the two people and two livestock normally used in traditional ploughing methods, and are faster than the bullocks.” if every two farmers that were using one animal to gather crops each controlled their own tilling machine than production rates would more than double. 

if bhutan continues to improve its agricultural sector and expand its hydroelectric capabilities, both its economy and environment will be bolstered and empowered.

the bhutanese approach

bhutan, not the united states or any european nation, has championed and led the charge on cutting edge, comprehensive action against climate change. now is not the time to disregard meaningful policy that has functioned successfully for the people of an entire nation. now is not the time to invest in backward legislation that will engender more environmental catastrophes or harm against it. now is the time to consider the bhutanese approach to carbon-negativity. 

1. assess what your college is already doing. 

i so was disappointed in my college’s lack of focus on what i perceived as sustainability or environmental ethics, in both the administration and the student body, that i did not even look at what it was doing. upon further research, i learned that the franklin & marshall college sustainability master plan was established in 2015 after several years of deliberation and drafting between the administration, faculty, and students—a product of collaboration between multiple constituencies working towards common objectives. nonetheless, i was dissatisfied with the limited role the center played at f&m, so i began pursuing other avenues to influence sustainability on campus. this includes collaboration with local csa farms, including homefields, inc where students can volunteer some of their time each week in exchange for a farm share. passionate about sustainable agriculture, waste management, energy consumption/use, upcycling, or another eco-topic? find an ally, be it faculty or administration staff, to be both a soundboard for your ideas and a support mechanism to get matters moving.

2. communication is key.

communication can go a long way in trying to plan events or start new initiatives on campus. while keeping up with numerous contacts is not my strong suit, it has pushed me to have better organization, time management and transparency with both my peers and superiors. many environmental groups and organizations love free help and are often open to volunteers. sometimes that volunteer work can turn into an internship or job. the former was the case for me with the alliance for the chesapeake bay and with citizens’ climate lobby, where i became a project intern and social media coordinator, respectively. did you do a community service event with an environmental group? introduce yourself to that group’s representative, ask for a meeting to brainstorm and share your vision for environmental ethics or sustainability on and off your campus. who knows? their projects or partner organizations may be working towards the same end.

3. expand the scope of what “environment” means to you.

the environment is traditionally viewed as a single issue, which is inherently misrepresentative of what it should be. as jim sandoe of citizens’ climate lobby lancaster put it in a workshop, in order to pass legislation like the green new deal or the carbon fee and dividend act, there needs to be a coalition of organizations pushing for change. climate change, pollution, and lack of access to healthy food or clean water are environmental issues that disproportionately affect communities of color and working-class neighborhoods. when planning events on campus or looking for collaboration from off-campus organizations, do not limit yourself to just conservation or sustainability. in order to holistically solve systemic issues and institutional failings, we as a society need to focus on environmental justice and how policy can change behavior and restore faith to all groups, placing emphasis on marginalized, working-class and minority communities. talk to the members and/or leadership of an organization that is not environmental-centric, and discuss ways that it can be run sustainably or if particular goals/events align with environmental agendas. you don’t have to be green to be green, if you know what i mean.

4. collaboration, not isolation.

you may be surprised by the volume and intensity of environmental organizations in your community. at least, i know i was. lancaster city is a town of around 60,000 people, not including college students and commuters. yet, i have been able to coordinate with multiple groups and their initiatives, including the alliance for the chesapeake bay and their riparian rangers program, which is a volunteer-led group that monitors the health of riparian buffers throughout the county. there is a hunger for finding solutions to big issues like climate change at franklin & marshall college, just like there may be at your school as well, and all it takes is one person to begin a culture shift if there isn’t. mention your name, your interests and why you want to work with that organization, and that is usually enough to spark a new dialogue.

5. get off campus!

when i was a freshman, there were few organized volunteer events or activities that my college would provide for students. i found this all-the-more troubling when i began reaching out to numerous environmental groups in the area who were ecstatic that f&m students were interested in green activism, such as tree planting or invasive species removal. while it is important to educate students and provide workshops on campus, nothing is more important than immersion and community service. getting off campus offers the educational experience for students while assisting environmental and conservation ngos with their own initiatives, which usually lack the manpower. support local green organizations by inviting them to campus to showcase their products, services, and background in the green economy. talk to a local florist about showcasing/selling their greenery in your dormitory. talk to your local congressperson or government about what their stances are on issues you care about or ways to get your student body involved.