This thesis explores indicator tools to measure the ecological impacts of changes to the food system. The concept of a ‘foodshed’ provides a framework to explore the relationships between ecological impacts and where food system activities occur. Indicators of resource use and reuse are developed to describe the shape and size of the foodshed. Paper 1 presents a review of six indicator-based tools from the literature. Using a three criteria definition of ecological sustainability in the food system - increased resource efficiency, decreased pollutant loading, and increased output reuse - Paper 1 examines the suitability of these tools for evaluating the impacts of municipal food policy driven-changes in the location of activities, processes within activities and diet composition. Paper 2 describes the shape of a foodshed, and investigates how changes in Toronto’s waste management impacted the reuse of food-related nitrogen. Reuse increased from 1% in 1990 to at least 4.7% in 2001, through backyard composting and the land application of processed sewage. By 2004, in spite of household organics collection, reuse decreased to 2.3%, due to a reduction in land-applied sewage. The analysis suggests that sewage management has a larger impact on the reuse of food nitrogen than household solid waste management. Paper 3 quantifies the size of the foodsheds of Canada and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and evaluates the feasibility of self-sufficiency and its impact on the total land area used for production. Nationally, there is sufficient harvested land area to meet 95% of the land area needed for self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency is only feasible for the GTA by drawing from a foodshed extending 400 kilometres beyond its boundary. Given current yields, total self-sufficiency would occupy more land area than currently used domestically and abroad. Higher yields or a change in diet could decrease the size of the foodshed.

This thesis explores indicator tools to measure the ecological impacts of changes to the food system. The concept of a ‘foodshed’ provides a framework to explore the relationships between ecological impacts and where food system activities occur. Indicators of resource use and reuse are developed to describe the shape and size of the foodshed. Paper 1 presents a review of six indicator-based tools from the literature. Using a three criteria definition of ecological sustainability in the food system - increased resource efficiency, decreased pollutant loading, and increased output reuse - Paper 1 examines the suitability of these tools for evaluating the impacts of municipal food policy driven-changes in the location of activities, processes within activities and diet composition. Paper 2 describes the shape of a foodshed, and investigates how changes in Toronto’s waste management impacted the reuse of food-related nitrogen. Reuse increased from 1% in 1990 to at least 4.7% in 2001, through backyard composting and the land application of processed sewage. By 2004, in spite of household organics collection, reuse decreased to 2.3%, due to a reduction in land-applied sewage. The analysis suggests that sewage management has a larger impact on the reuse of food nitrogen than household solid waste management. Paper 3 quantifies the size of the foodsheds of Canada and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and evaluates the feasibility of self-sufficiency and its impact on the total land area used for production. Nationally, there is sufficient harvested land area to meet 95% of the land area needed for self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency is only feasible for the GTA by drawing from a foodshed extending 400 kilometres beyond its boundary. Given current yields, total self-sufficiency would occupy more land area than currently used domestically and abroad. Higher yields or a change in diet could decrease the size of the foodshed.

The contemporary global food system is plagued by a myriad of problems. In recognition of the problematic nature of the conventional food system, practitioners and researchers have sought, throughout the past century, alternative, sustainable food production, consumption, and exchange systems. Some of the solutions proposed for these problems suggest the establishment of new institutional forms such as that of the food policy council, an organisation which, through the embodiment of a food systems perspective, proposes innovative local and regional level solutions to food systems problems. Over the past two decades numerous food policy councils (FPCs) have been created in North America and Australia. Research on FPCs still remains minimal, leaving many gaps in knowledge as to the role of these organisations concerning the ways that they can and do contribute to the sustainable development of food systems and ‘alternative food movements’. Research to date on the organisational structure of FPCs lacks consideration of organisation theory and the relatively substantial body of literature dealing with evaluation of collaborative, interagency organisations, an organisational type closely related to FPCs. There is a lack of consideration as to definition of the role of FPCs within the broader context of sustainable food systems movements and the procedures and protocol for effectiveness in achieving outcomes and fulfilling these roles. Considering the significant gaps in knowledge, this research focusses on identifying a clear definition of the mission or roles of FPCs and investigates some of the previously unexplored organisational characteristics of FPCs as a foundation for identifying what may lead to ‘best-practice’ organisational structure and process in fulfilling these roles. Since there is limited information and research to date specifically on FPCs, a qualitative and more specifically grounded theory approach was taken to provide an exploratory and reflexive research design framework. This design incorporated a continuous, interactive layering of data collection, classification, and analysis. Following a preliminary literature review, the inquiry focussed primarily on the gathering of information directly from FPCs involving several different types and sources of data. Research findings revealed several aspects of food policy council objectives that can be considered together as defining the organisational role of FPCs. This provides a basis for determining the most effective administrative structure and operations management for fulfilling this role. Findings and analysis also indicated certain components of structure and process that can lead to effectiveness in terms of capacity building and fulfilling organisational roles. A model of FPC structure is developed and presented to summarise these findings, considering those components revealed through the research as contributing most to effective FPC operation. The development of this model from a broad and diverse representative sample, indicates that such modelling of structure and process may be applicable to transferring the concept of and creating FPCs in new locations.

abstract: Advancing sustainable food systems requires holistic understanding and solutions-oriented approaches that transcend disciplines, so expertise in a variety of subjects is necessary. Proposed solutions are usually technically or socially oriented, but disagreement over the best approach to the future of food dominates the dialogue. Technological optimists argue that scientific advances are necessary to feed the world, but environmental purists believe that reductions in consumption and waste are sufficient and less risky. Life cycle assessment (LCA) helps resolve debates through quantitative analysis of environmental impacts from products which serve the same function. LCA used to compare dietary choices reveals that simple plant-based diets are better for the environment than diets that include animal products. However, analysis of soy protein isolate (SPI) demonstrates that certain plant-based proteins may be less preferable for the environment than some unprocessed meats in several categories due to additional impacts that come from industrial processing. LCAs' focus on production risks ignoring consumers, but the food system exists to serve consumers, who can be major drivers of change. Therefore, the path to a sustainable food system requires addressing consumption issues as well. Existing methods for advancing sustainable food systems that equate more information with better behavior or performance are insufficient to create change. Addressing food system issues requires sufficient tacit knowledge to understand how arguments are framed, what the supporting content is, the findings of primary sources, and complex and controversial dialogue surrounding innovations and interventions for food system sustainability. This level of expertise is called interactional competence and it is necessary to drive and maintain holistic progress towards sustainability. Development strategies for interactional competence are informed by studying the motivations and strategies utilized by vegans. A new methodology helps advance understanding of expertise development by assessing levels of expertise and reveals insights into how vegans maintain commitment to a principle that influences their daily lives. The study of veganism and expertise reveals that while providing information to debunk fallacies is important, the development of tacit knowledge is fundamental to advance to a stage of competence. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2015

Local Food Systems (LFS) is a relatively new concept in geographical and planning research. Academic, professional, and public interest in LFS is in part a reaction against the social, environmental, and economic effects of a dominant Production Agriculture paradigm (Lyson, 2004), and growing concern with the potential impacts of climate change on the food supply (Ostry, Miewald, and Beveridge, 2011). While there is a growing public and policy interest in making transformative change in LFS, there is a lack of theoretical work that addresses how change processes in food systems occur. In this study, a classic Glaserian grounded theory research project investigated the subject area of local food system planning. The primary research goal was the development of a theory grounded in the experience of practitioners, elected officials, and members of the public. The emergent theory, called Transformative Incrementalism (TI) describes the social process underlying planning initiatives focused on achieving significant (transformative) change in local food systems. The data for this research project are drawn from interviews with 29 elected officials, public stakeholders, and planning staff in five communities with local food system initiatives. In addition, 10 member checking interviews were also conducted. The core category identified in the emergent TI theory was Power, with Values, Praxis, and Outcomes being other main themes. From this research, Power could be defined as the ability, through authoritative and non-authoritative influence, to have an effect on a person, process, action, or outcome. Values act as sources of power to the extent that they motivate and drive the actions of individuals and groups. Praxis includes activities designed to create, use, and maintain power, such as building relationships with other people that will give ongoing support for food planning initiatives. Outcomes include broader system and social changes resulting from local food system planning processes and activities. The main findings from this dissertation underscore the fact that the role of power has been largely ignored in the planning literature (Friedman, 2011; Flyvbjerg, 2012; Assche, Duineveld, and Buenen, 2014). Power is the main driver of change; therefore, a lack of understanding about what power is and how it operates would seem to compromise the ability of planning efforts to be effective. This research identifies and illustrates the interrelationship between the political, public, and bureaucratic spheres of actors, and examines how values, praxis, and outcomes are pivotal to transformative change in food planning initiatives. Transformative change is achieved through a long process of incremental efforts (programs, policies, and actions) by actors within the public, political, and bureaucratic groups whose values and beliefs converge and align over time. The incremental efforts are intended to support a transformative change goal. / Graduate

This research was designed to understand current school gardening efforts in Pinellas County, Florida. School gardens have become an important aspect of experiential learning and nutrition education in schools throughout the United States. Many not-for-profit organizations have attempted to increase the prevalence and efficacy of school garden programs as a means of providing educational opportunities and working to curb diet-related health issues in children. Most of these organizations are seen as apolitical in nature, because they access mainly private sector funding sources and volunteer support. This provides flexibility for these social projects, but also takes pressure off of the state to support school food and nutrition education efforts and reinforces neoliberal ideas about food systems. Paradoxically, strict public school standards and measures of success as a result of neoliberal education reform often prevent teachers and school administrators from utilizing these school gardens fully, and from using them as a sufficient means to fully discuss nutrition, healthy eating, and local food (instead focusing on other topics that fit more closely with state-regulated education standards). This research analyzed one such organization in Florida that installs gardens in “failing” Title I schools. Ethnographic research was conducted with these two organizations in an attempt to uncover some of the infrastructural challenges faced and uses a comparative approach to offer critical insights, suggestions for improvements, and best practices for navigating these challenges as determined by teachers, school administrators, and organization staff and volunteers.

En växande global befolkning och tilltagande problem med klimatförändringar är starkt bidragande faktorer till ett ökande behov av mer hållbara och näringsrika livsmedel, varav ett livsmedelsalternativ som har presenterats är ätbara insekter. Konceptet med ätbara insekter är relativt nytt i Västvärlden och speciellt i Sverige där engagemanget inom fältet fortfarande är väldigt begränsat. För att bidra till en eventuell marknadsintroduktion av ätbara insekter har ett litet antal involverade aktörer en central roll för frågans utveckling. Därmed är syftet med denna studie att analysera hur involverade aktörer ser på marknadsintroduktion av ätbara insekter i Sverige. Syftet är även i ljuset av forskning om ätbara insekter och tidigare debatt om genmanipulerade grödor (GMO) bidra till en vidare diskussion om möjligheter för användningen av ätbara insekter i Sverige. Analysen och slutsatser från studien visar att aktörerna ser positivt på en marknadsintroduktion av ätbara insekter både som livsmedel och foder, men endast som en väldigt begränsad del av Sveriges livsmedelssystem. Utifrån aktörers syn och även tidigare forskning är det möjligt att introducera ätbara insekter på marknaden. Det finns dock även flera faktorer som kan hindra marknadsintroduktionen i Sverige. Exempelvis träder en ojämn konkurrenssituation mellan länder fram i analysen som ett möjligt hinder för införandet: en del länder som Nederländerna har kommit längre i processer i fråga om ätbara insekter, vilket kan minska motivationen hos svenska företagare och andra aktörer att utvecklas inom branschen. Orsaken till detta är diverse tolkningar av den ursprungliga förordningen för nya livsmedel (EU) No. 258/97 som innebar oklarheter angående ätbara insekter. / The climate change and the growing global population have led to a need for new, more sustainable, and nutritious sources of food. Edible insects are one of the presented alternative solutions to cope with the problem. The concept is relatively new in the Western world, especially in Sweden where the involvement in the field is limited. In order to contribute to the market introduction of edible insects, the dedication of different actors in the field has a central role in this issue. Consequently, the aim of this study is to analyse how actors involved in the edible insects network perceive the market introduction of edible insects in Sweden. The aim is also to contribute to a further discussion on possibilities for the use of edible insects in Sweden in the light of the introduction of GMOs. The analysis and the conclusions from the study show that the actors have relatively positive perceptions of a market introduction of edible insects both as food and feed, though only as a relatively limited part of the national food system. Based on the actors´ views and previous studies there are opportunities to introduce edible insects to the Swedish market. However, there are several factors that can hinder the market introduction in Sweden. For example, competition between countries has been highlighted as a possible obstacle: the original novel food regulation had led to different interpretations between countries concerning edible insects, which included differences between Western countries in possibilities to introduce insects to the market. Countries such as the Netherlands have more conducive market conditions and have already had insects on the market for several years, while in Sweden the market is still negligible, which can lead to lack of motivation to develop this branch of industry.

Onkwehón:we Food Systems throughout Turtle Island have always been and continue to be foundational to Onkwehón:we worldviews, social interactions with all living kin, and community health. However, the process of colonization and federations of the settler states now known as “Canada” and “The United States,” have greatly impacted all Onkwehón:we peoples’ abilities and capacities to maintain their ancestral food systems; this thesis will illuminate how colonial-imposed structural barriers, laws and phenomena such as the Indian Act, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirited (MMIWG2S+) gender-based genocide and environmental violence have particularly affected Onkwehón:we women’s engagement with their ancestral food systems historically and continually. Yet, Onkwehón:we women have remarkably found innovative ways to regenerate their ancestral food systems, which is an actionable way for them to reclaim and reembody their traditional roles in leadership, governance, decision-making and nation-building. Underlying impacts of these undertakings by Onkwehón:we women are improved wholistic health and wellness for Onkwehón:we women, which can pave a positive pathway for Onkwehón:we communal healing especially by promoting collective relations, collaboration, and normalizing women’s leadership. To bring this theoretical argument to life, I include a case-study of an Indigenous food sovereignty project that I initiated and co-created in my community, Kahnawà:ke. As a Kanien’kehá:ka, Rotinonhsón:ni and Onkwehón:we woman, initiating an Indigenous food sovereignty project with the ultimate goal of contributing to the regeneration of my own ancestral food system was important for me to attempt to address community health issues and improve community relationships through fostering an inclusive and empowering environment for Onkwehón:we women. Ultimately, this thesis celebrates Onkwehón:we women’s excellence in resurgence, particularly highlighting their work in reclaiming and regenerating Onkwehón:we food systems. / Graduate

Farm to School is a program that connects local and regional foods and other farm products to school meals, develops school gardens, and develops other types of Farm to School experiential learning programs for K-12 students. Since Farm to School began in the mid-1990\'s, Farm to School programs have been developed in all 50 states and Washington D.C. The National Farm to School Network has estimated that almost 12,500 schools are involved with Farm to School, and that during the 2011-2012 school year, 5.7 million students were reached through Farm to School programs and activities. Research to date investigating Farm to School has primarily focused on food system and school system stakeholders including school nutrition directors, food distributors, farmers, school teachers, students, and principals. Not as much research has explored Cooperative Extension\'s role in Farm to School. Farm to School programs are one method for Extension professionals to support community food system development while addressing pressing social concerns related to agricultural viability and public health. Drawing on reasoned action theory and social movement theory, the purpose of this study was to explore food system change through an analysis of Cooperative Extension\'s role in the Farm to School movement. In this two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods research study, the behavioral intentions/behaviors of Cooperative Extension professionals were analyzed. Additionally, the goals, strategies, and knowledge production of Cooperative Extension professionals participating in the Farm to School movement were explored. Data were collected through an online survey distributed to Extension professionals in eight states. A total of 931 Extension professionals completed the questionnaire resulting in a 48 percent response rate. Data were also collected through a state-based case study that explored Ohio State University (OSU) Extension involvement and leadership in the Ohio Farm to School Program. The case study included 21 interviews with OSU Extension professionals and Farm to School program partners. Regression models were developed to explore which behavioral intentions are statistically significant in explaining Extension participation in the Farm to School movement. Results show that past participation in a Farm to School training program, knowledge about Farm to School, attitude towards Farm to School, perceived social norms towards Farm to School, and perceived behavioral control towards Farm to School are positively associated with participation in the Farm to School movement. Drawing on Stevenson, Ruhf, Lezberg, and Clancy (2007), qualitative analysis found that OSU Extension professional\'s goals for the Farm to School movement were primarily related to food system transformation and inclusion, and their strategies were primarily related to connection. Drawing on Eyerman and Jamison (1991), qualitative analysis also found that OSU Extension professionals were producing primarily organizational knowledge through participation in the Farm to School movement. Additionally, qualitative analysis found that Cooperative Extension Systems are home to several Farm to School movement intellectuals. This study concludes with a discussion of recommendations for Cooperative Extension participation in the Farm to School movement, recommendations for Farm to School program partners, and recommendations for future research in Farm to School. / Ph. D.

In response to trends that challenge food access, farmer livelihoods and public health, several market and social institutions have pursued the development of alternative food systems (AFS). These attempt to support the production and distribution of foods with important qualities, such as attention to specific growing practices, higher worker standards, superior product quality and taste, support for environmental health and farmer well-being (Valchuis et al. 2015). While there has been some success in these efforts, as evidenced by the growth of farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture programs, and farm-to-institution relationships, growth in direct to consumer markets has flattened in recent years (USDA 2012) and there are still many barriers that limit the efficacy and reach of AFS. Farmers and distributors are constantly innovating, trialing new ideas and re-thinking old ones in hopes of overcoming or circumventing these challenges. The Farm Fresh Food Box (F3B) project is one such market innovation that hybridizes direct to consumer (DTC) and value chain models with the goal of expanding producer sales and improving rural food access. Researchers and extension professionals from University of Vermont, University of Washington, Evergreen State College, and University of California studied the efficacy of F3B as a potential food system innovation through an applied project in partnership with small farmers and retailers. Research efforts focused on understanding challenges and opportunities for success within the model, as well as gleaning fundamental take-aways to better inform the broader knowledge of the continuum between DTC and value chain distribution systems. This thesis considers findings from the first half of this research project. The first article Farm Fresh Food Boxes: Pilot Study Findings of Farmer-Rural Retailer Partners assesses the pilot season of the project and identifies major challenges and associated learning opportunities, with a focus on implications for Extension personnel.The second article, Farm Fresh Food Boxes: Relationships in Value-Chain Partnerships, merges existing knowledge of strategies and barriers that characterize DTC with current understanding of value-chains to better understand the process of expanding into new consumer populations. This analysis focuses on how the quality of the relationship between producers and retailers impacts overall success when expanding into new or unusual venues. Unlike much of the previous value-chain research, this paper places unique emphasis on the importance of the farmer-retailer relationship.