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Exploratory research into a fresh concept, building integrated aquaculture, has found new information on the topic. Motives indicating building integrated aquaculture is important for sustainable development were identified. A review of the literature found relatively little in the way of experiments, aquaculture operations, and case studies which documented or demonstrated a deep understanding of the interactions between building and aquaculture systems. A simple experiment was conducted observing thermal energy and moisture interactions in simulated aquaculture facilities, some with tank covers and insulation. Two different retrofit programs were developed in a case study of building integrated aquaculture for an existing structure on the campus of the University of Massachusetts.

An unprecedented situation composed by worldwide land degradation, the post pandemic era, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine is unfolding, reminding us of the impendent risks that phenomena such as these have for food security. Considering that this context presents new unforeseen challenges, and that there is a lack of knowledge production connecting food security to countries of the global north, such as is the case of Sweden, this thesis seeks to foster discussions on food security through the lens of Uppsala County, integrating notions of Local food systems. During the research process, I take on the role of practitioner of Soft Systems Methodology to address the problematic situation affecting Food Security in Uppsala County in a twofold target, which is first to understand the problem and then devise adequate steps for improving the situation, giving essential importance to stakeholders. For achieving this, I performed a quantitative review of statistical data, as well as, qualitative semi-structured interviews to consumers and producers. These were the first steps to comprehend the problem and its possible manifestations. Then for devising plausible actions, I engaged in participatory activities, which complemented the previous results. The findings reveal key vulnerabilities that are interlinked and required further scrutiny by future researchers. At the same time, local food systems, and localizing food production presents in stakeholder’s perspective and important road to explore in order to strengthen food security

The industrialization of the global food system has drastically altered agricultural practices, transitioning from small-scale, subsistence farming to large-scale, transnational supply chains dominated by agribusinesses. While this shift has increased productivity, it has led to environmental degradation, economic inequity, and loss of traditional agricultural knowledge. This study explores the potential of public procurement of local food, particularly in school meals, to drive sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and innovation in rural Swedish communities while mitigating the negative aspects of industrialized agriculture. Using case studies, study visits, and semi-structured interviews with key informants representing school meal development and procurement from Hofors, Karlstad, and Östersund, this study aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities for municipalities to increase institutional consumption of local food within each municipality's local context. Processing these interviews using a systematic qualitative coding method and constructing thematic narratives provided insights into the barriers institutions face in procuring local food and highlighted strategies for enhancing collaboration between local producers and institutional consumers. Challenges in local food procurement include climate constraints, agricultural limitations, market dynamics, and legal and organizational barriers. Practical approaches to overcome these challenges include standardizing sustainable procurement policies, effective stakeholder communication, and collaborating with local businesses and organizations. This research highlights the pivotal role of public procurement in supporting resilient local food systems, especially in school meals. By addressing challenges and leveraging opportunities, institutions can play a significant role in promoting sustainability, supporting local entrepreneurs, and ensuring the vitality of rural communities in the face of global food system challenges.

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This master's thesis explores the impact of agribusiness on food security in the Kalunga community of Engenho II, located in the Brazilian Cerrado. Agribusiness is a significant cause of water withdrawal and climate change in the region, with extensive lands converted into monocultures to export commodities. Secondary data were analyzed data to generate a picture of Brazilian industrial agriculture and establish interconnections between industrial agriculture and food security. In addition, semi-structured interviews were carried out to explore whether and how the connections between agribusiness and food security and possible threats apply to a particular community in the Cerrado. The study finds that the Kalunga community is not experiencing a threat to their food security, as they maintain agricultural production with no water-stressful situations, as well as their habit of eating local food. However, government policies and financial programs to support agricultural activities in the community come with agribusiness’ logic of farm mechanization, threatening the knowledge systems and practices of family farming. This can jeopardize food security in the future. The study suggests that continued research and action are necessary to address the challenges faced by traditional communities in Cerrado and ensure the preservation of their food security and overall well-being. The study also highlights the need for sustainable land use policies prioritizing communities' traditions. These findings have implications for policies and interventions to improve food security among Kalunga communities and other similar communities globally.

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Climate change poses significant risks to the food system, directly impacting food security and disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. This study examines the critical role of local municipalities in planning for the effects of climate change on food systems through the case of the New River Valley, located in Southwestern Virginia. This study utilizes a qualitative participatory research design, including semi-structured interviews and focus groups with both food system and municipality stakeholders in the New River Valley region. Guided by Stroh's Systemic Change Process, the study seeks to advance climate adaptation planning in the region through the implementation of the first stage of the process, called "building a foundation for change." This stage involves identifying key stakeholders, getting them involved in the process, and establishing common ground. Through facilitation, stakeholders build capacity for systems thinking with a focus on collaboration. The findings of this study will inform the ongoing efforts of the Blacksburg Sustainability Department in planning for climate change transformation at a local level. This research is significant in that it addresses the gap in the literature around how municipalities are planning for climate resiliency in the food system, provides insight into the use of interviews and focus groups to bridge the creative tension gap in collaborative problem-solving through a systems thinking approach, and informs policy decisions made by local government. This study's findings have the potential to inform community-engaged efforts to plan for climate change while envisioning a more resilient and fair food system. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / In this study, researchers explore how climate change affects our food system and the steps local communities can take to address these challenges, with a focus on the New River Valley in Southwestern Virginia. By using interviews and group discussions with various stakeholders, including those involved in the food system and local government, we aim to enhance climate adaptation planning in the region. To achieve this, we focus on "building a foundation for change," which involves identifying key stakeholders, getting them involved, and finding common ground for collaboration. Through this approach, we promote systems thinking and cooperation among stakeholders. The insights from this research will be valuable for the Blacksburg Sustainability Department as they work towards climate change resiliency at the local level. This study addresses a gap in the existing literature by examining how municipalities plan for climate resilience in the food system. It also sheds light on the benefits of using interviews and group discussions to foster creative problem-solving through a systems thinking perspective. The findings of this study can contribute to community efforts in planning for climate change, with a vision for a more vibrant and equitable food system. Climate change impacts us all and understanding how local communities can respond and adapt is essential for a sustainable future.

Food security is a primary global concern, as many people go hungry daily. Climate change, rising temperatures, and increasing water scarcity are all significant contributors to food insecurity. Food systems are increasingly vulnerable to short-term shocks and long-term stressors, increasing their susceptibility to future disturbances. In response to these stressors, the food system must become more resilient. Food system resilience can help reduce the health, social, and economic costs of natural disasters and other crises. The food system as it exists today is unsustainable due to the numerous negative externalities it generates. While internal and external stressors push the food system to its limits, now is the time to mobilize change and make it more sustainable and resilient to future shocks rather than focusing solely on food preparedness that can restore the system to its original state following crises. As a result, this study aims to examine Swedish national and local policies on food preparedness and local food production to investigate the relationships between food preparedness and sustainable food system transformations. The study uses two methodologies: 1) a narrative literature review of the current national planning documents for food preparedness in Sweden and 2) a systematic literature review of the municipal planning documents relating to food preparedness, crisis, and local food production. The study found that Sweden's current food preparedness goal is to be able to provide food to Sweden’s citizens for at least three months in the event of a crisis. Individuals must also be self-sufficient for at least seven days, so home preparedness is strongly emphasized. The need for stable access to (e.g., domestically produced) inputs such as fuel, energy, and fertilizer is highlighted as a significant challenge for food preparedness, as numerous substitutes for foods will meet the same caloric requirements without affecting nutritional needs during a three-month period. Most national reports address the restructuring of the food preparedness organization, including recommendations for new government agencies or advisory boards. The study also discovered a lack of clarity and consistency in the expectations placed on municipalities for food preparedness. It also revealed that many municipalities are still in the process of developing comprehensive food preparedness plans. Furthermore, although food preparedness plans may stimulate complementary efforts such as sustainable farming practices and farm-to-table supply chains, they do not immediately impact the transition to a sustainable, resilient food system. There is much more potential for combining these parallel efforts to achieve common goals. / En tryggad livsmedelsförsörjning är ett allvarligt globalt problem, eftersom många människor svälter varje dag. Klimatförändringar, stigande temperaturer och ökad vattenbrist är alla betydande bidragadande faktorer som påverkar livsmedelsförsörjningen. Livsmedelssystemet är alltmer sårbart för både kortsiktiga chocker och långsiktiga stressorer, vilket ökar deras mottaglighet för framtida störningar. Som svar på dessa stressorer måste livsmedelssystemet bli mer resilient. Livsmedelssystemets resiliens kan bidra till att minska de hälso-, sociala och ekonomiska kostnaderna för naturkatastrofer och andra kriser. Livsmedelssystemet som det existerar i dag är ohållbart på grund av de många negativa påverkningar som det genererar. Medan interna och externa stressorer driver livsmedelssystemet till dess gränser, är det nu dags att mobilisera förändring och göra livsmedelssystemet mer hållbart och resilient mot framtida störningar, snarare än att enbart fokusera på livsmedelsberedskap som kan återställa systemet till sitt ursprungliga tillstånd efter kriser. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka Sveriges nationella och lokala planer för livsmedelsberedskap och lokal livsmedelsproduktion för att utforska sambanden mellan livsmedelsberedskap och hållbara omvandlingar i livsmedelssystemet. Studien bygger på två metoder: 1) en litteraturöversikt av de aktuella nationella planeringsdokumenten för livsmedelsberedskap i Sverige; och 2) en systematisk litteraturöversikt av kommunala planeringshandlingar om livsmedelberedskap, kris och lokal livsmedelsproduktion. Studien visade att Sveriges nuvarande mål för livsmedelsberedskap är att kunna försörja mat till Sveriges medborgare i minst tre månader i händelse av en kris. Individer är också skyldiga att vara självförsörjande i minst 7 dagar, så det finns en stark tonvikt på hemberedskap. Behovet av stabil tillgång till (t.ex. inhemskt producerade) insatser såsom bränsle, energi och gödsel framhävs som den största utmaningen för livsmedelsberedskapen, eftersom det finns många ersättare till livsmedel som kommer att uppfylla samma kaloribehov utan att påverka näringsbehovet under en tremånadersperiod. De flesta rapporterna behandlar omstruktureringen av organisationen för livsmedelsberedskap, inklusive rekommendationer för nya myndigheter eller rådgivande styrelser. Studien fann också en brist på klarhet och konsekvens i de förväntningar som ställs på kommunerna när det gäller livsmedelsberedskap. Det visade också att många kommuner fortfarande är i färd med att utveckla omfattande planer för livsmedelsberedskap. Dessutom, även om livsmedelsberedskapsplaner kan stimulera kompletterande insatser såsom hållbara jordbruksmetoder och försörjningskedjor från jord till bord, har de ingen omedelbar inverkan på övergången till ett hållbart, motståndskraftigt livsmedelssystem. Det finns mycket större potential att kombinera dessa parallella ansträngningar för att uppnå gemensamma mål.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Local food systems are growing in scope and impact in communities around the world in an attempt to solve many of the environmental, social, and economic costs of global food production and conventional food chains. Communities may attain greater sustainability by reconfiguring their relationship to agriculture and food but critics of local food systems doubt its ability to fundamentally change the predominant global agricultural system due in part to the limited transformative range. Furthermore, local food systems are often viewed in reference to “food miles”, a concept that is oversimplified and ignores the complexity of food supply chains. This paper is motivated by these larger debates about local food systems and addresses a local food system in Portland, Oregon. The research for this paper is based on interviews conducted in the restaurant and farming sectors in the Portland area in an effort to learn what motivates restaurants and farms to engage in local partnerships, the challenges and opportunities they face selling and buying local food, and the practices along their food supply chains. The objective of this study is to understand the degree to which restaurant farm partnerships in Portland are supporting a sustainable local food system and to help identify strategies and opportunities for more restaurants and farms to engage in local partnerships. Furthermore, this research provides pragmatic examples for other communities interested in stimulating a local food system based on direct marketing. The findings of this study suggest Portland’s restaurant farm partnerships are making a small, yet significant effort to encourage innovative environmental and social practices, address the sustainability of urban and rural Portland, and deepen the food miles debate. Further efforts need to be made by the restaurant farm partnerships in Portland to expand on restaurant’s sustainable practices, find more innovative transportation means, and improve consumer education.