Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Fall 2011
Journal or Book Title
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Volume
2
Issue
1
First Page
195
Last Page
207
DOI
10.5304/jafscd.2011.021.004
Abstract
Conventional agriculture faces significant challenges as world population grows, food demand increases, and mobility becomes increasingly constrained. Reducing the distance food needs to travel is an important goal of sustainability and resiliency, particularly in the context of a variety of transportation challenges. In this study, we developed a linear programming optimization method to assess the potential of regions to meet dietary requirements with more localized and diversified agricultural systems. Emphasis is on minimizing the distance between population centers and available cropland, accounting for variations in yield among 40 of the most marketable food crops that can be grown in the Midwestern United States. We also derived two new metrics to guide strategic planning toward more localized systems: the "per capita cropland requirement" and the "regional self-sustainability index."
Overall, we conclude that the eight-state study region would require an average of 0.49 acres (0.2 ha) per consumer with an average absolute deviation of 0.09 acres (.04 ha). The self-sustainability index is estimated at 9.3, which indicates that the region has 9.3 times the cropland needed to become self-sustaining. Targeted dietary recommendations could potentially be met within a population-weighted average distance of 13.6 miles (21.9 km).
Copyright Owner
New Leaf Associates, Inc.
Copyright Date
2011
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Hu, Guiping; Wang, Lizhi; Arendt, Susan W.; and Boeckenstedt, Randy, "An Optimization Approach To Assessing the Self-Sustainability Potential of Food Demand in the Midwestern United States" (2011). Apparel, Events and Hospitality Management Publications. 6.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/aeshm_pubs/6
Included in
Agriculture Commons, Food and Beverage Management Commons, Industrial Engineering Commons, Sustainability Commons, Transportation Commons
Comments
This article is from Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 2 (2011): 195–207, doi:10.5304/jafscd.2011.021.004.