"Eating local" is often presented as one way we'll cope with the contraction of supply chains as fuel prices rise again. But until now, we've seen very little analysis of whether the agricultural resources of our local area are actually sufficient to feed us.
In this month's TCLocal article, "Examining the potential local foodshed of Tompkins County," CU researcher Christian Peters has made the first serious attempt to answer this central question. His conclusion, based on extensive work in modeling New York State foodsheds, puts into perspective the challenge that faces us. Chris's article also includes links to several essential statistical resources and to the very cool interactive "Local Foodshed Mapping Tool for New York State" developed by the team he worked with in the CU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. You can find the article at http://tclocal.org/2009/03/examining_the_potential_local.html People who want to comment on this article or engage Chris in discussion should note that the TCLocal web site is specifically designed to get feedback on these ideas as they are developed. Please use the comment form at the bottom of the article so that we can keep all the input in one place. ABOUT TCLOCAL Every month TCLocal brings you another in our series of articles addressing various aspects of energy descent in Tompkins County. Contributors to TCLocal are members of the community committed to helping prepare for a future with less available energy. Articles that have appeared so far in this series can be found at tclocal.org. They include: Food Processing in Tompkins County by Persephone Doliner (February 2009) http://tclocal.org/2009/02/food_processing_in_tompkins_co.html Wasting in the Energy Descent: An Outline for the Future by Tom Shelley (January 2009) http://tclocal.org/2009/01/wasting_in_the_energy_descent.html Local and Urban Small Livestock and Poultry by Angelika St. Laurent (December 2008) http://tclocal.org/2008/12/local_and_urban_small_livestoc.html Health Care in an Energy-Constrained Environment (Part 1) by Bethany Schroeder (October 2008) http://tclocal.org/2008/10/health_care_in_an_energyconstr.html Preparedness Basics (Part 1) by Katie Quinn-Jacobs (September 2008) http://tclocal.org/2008/09/preparedness_basics.html Post-Peak Land Use Part 1: Ecocities and Post-Peak Land Use Part 2: The Country by Josh Dolan (July 2008) http://tclocal.org/2008/07/postpeak_land_use_part_1_ecoci.html http://tclocal.org/2008/07/postpeak_land_use_part_2_the_c.html Water Treatment, Water Power by Jon Bosak (May 2008) http://tclocal.org/2008/05/water_treatment_water_power.html Roads and Bridges in a Post-peak Tompkins County by Simon St. Laurent (March 2008) http://tclocal.org/2008/03/roads_and_bridges_in_a_postpea.html Fruits in a Post-Peak Tompkins County by Angelika St. Laurent (January 2008) http://tclocal.org/2008/01/fruits_in_a_postpeak_tompkins_1.html Other articles scheduled for publication in 2009 include: Household preparation, Part 2 (Katie Quinn-Jacobs) Health care resources, Part 2 (Bethany Schroeder) Food production systems (Karl North) Biomass options (Krys Cail) Local wood heat (Tony Nekut) Local biofuel production (Tycho Dan) Articles appearing at tclocal.org are published under the Creative Commons license and are owned and managed by the contributors as a group. People interested in becoming TCLocal contributors should first check the Terms of Reference at http://ibiblio.org/tcrp/process/terms.htm and then contact the TCLocal editor at the address below to sign up. Jon Bosak Editor, TCLocal [email protected] _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
