We are preparing a special issue of our journal that will imagine what a
sustainable, bioregional food system might be like in Northeast Ohio. We
would appreciate ideas/comments on what the criteria should be for a
sustainable food system (all food grown locally? minimized transportation?
self-reliance? no energy inputs from other regions? all organic? equal trade
with other regions? no ecological/social burdens placed on other regions?
only small enterprises under local control? no strawberries in January?).
We are also trying to estimate how regionally self-reliant we could be in
Northeast Ohio if we maximized production of food for local consumption --
if we preserved our farmland from urban sprawl, grew a diversity of crops,
farmed organically to build soil, maximized urban agriculture and home
gardening, developed local markets and CSAs, and got everybody to eat
regionally and in season (whew!). Question: Has anybody estimated the local
self-reliance potential for a region like Northeast Ohio? What might be the
methodology for figuring out how far we could go with a local food system?
Thanks for your help!
David Beach
Editor, EcoCity Cleveland Journal
2841 Scarborough Rd.
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
216-932-3007
ecocleveland@igc.org