Food security creates a complex issue for American interests. Within a constantly expanding operational environment, food security remains a vital lifeline both domestically and abroad.  Current methods of mapping an area’s food system rely on ad-hoc assessments that produce skewed results and minimal metric analysis. Previous assessments methodologies failed to incorporate components of a food system that influences the overall stability of an area. The research conducted utilized the Systems Decision Process (SDP) to create a value hierarchy and model that provide an assessment for an areas food system. The findings from the research showcase that a food system relies on several variables such as infrastructure, dietary needs, and the national stability of a region. A more enhanced assessment model was developed that placed an overarching value to a food network that allows ground commanders to gain a holistic overview of the condition of an areas food system.

The former Tekchem Industrial Unit located in the city of Salamanca, Mexico, constitutes an environmental liability in which the presence of high levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) has been reported. In the present study, levels of OCPs were quantified using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry in 52 soil samples and in 88 blood samples from school-age children in the city of Salamanca. A median concentration of 70.6 ng/g (6.93 - 3276) was obtained for total OCPs in soil, while for the total sum of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) the value was 49.6 ng/g (6.93 - 3276). In children, the median level of the total sum of OCPs was 390 ng/g lipid (7.34 - 14895), and for the total sum of DDT was 175 ng/g lipid (<LOD - 14802). The OCPs that resulted in highest concentrations in soil were DDT and its metabolites, as well as aldrin and heptachlor epoxide; while in blood the highest levels corresponded to 4,4’-DDT and its metabolites, followed by heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide. The spatial distribution of the concentrations of OCPs in soil shows that the facilities of Teckchem may be a significant potential source for the dispersion of these compounds towards the metropolitan area of Salamanca. The results obtained in the present study demonstrate the presence of OCPs in soil and in child population, providing important bases to study the problem from a broader perspective, while reiterating the importance of continuing efforts to generate resolute and precautionary measures with respect to the environmental liability of Tekchem.