Planning for a Resilient Urban Food System: A Case Study from Baltimore City, Maryland

Biehl, Erin; Buzogany, Sarah; Baja, Kristin; Neff, Roni A.

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2018.08b.008

Cited by 37 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Urban transportation infrastructure and public transportation systems, which are relied upon by many Canadians to access food distribution sites, such as grocery stores and markets, are also vulnerable to climate change [42]. Individuals that reside in food deserts—neighborhoods that are characterized by low income households and are underserved in terms of food distribution sites and public transportation infrastructure [43]—are particularly impacted by such disruptions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The food preparation and consumption component of the food system directly supports the utilization dimension of food security. Food utilization refers to the need for “available and accessible food to fulfill the cultural, religious, health and nutrition needs of the population” [43]. This suggests that food needs to be safe to consume, be prepared in a culturally appropriate manner, while also providing adequate nutritional value in order for food security to exist.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A food system resiliency assessment for the city of Baltimore also identified food system vulnerabilities to climate change-related hazards, and the results of the report will inform the development of a Food System Resilience Plan for the city [43]. There has yet to be a comprehensive examination of climate change impacts on Canada’s food system at the national or local levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Climate Change, Food Security and Human Health Nexus in Canada: A Framework to Protect Population Health

Schnitter

Berry

2019

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change impacts on the Canadian food system pose risks to human health. Little attention has been paid to the climate change, food security, and human health nexus, resulting in a number of knowledge gaps regarding food system components that are most vulnerable to climate change. The lack of understanding of key dynamics and possible future impacts challenges the ability of public health officials and partners in other sectors to prepare Canadians for future health risks. A series of literature reviews were conducted to establish the relationship between climate change, food security, and human health, and to identify vulnerabilities within the Canadian food system. Evidence suggests that key activities within the food system are vulnerable to climate change. The pathways in which climate change impacts travel through the food system and affect the critical dimensions of food security to influence human health outcomes are complex. Climate-related disruptions in the food system can indirectly impact human health by diminishing food security, which is a key determinant of health. Human health may also be directly affected by the physical effects of climate change on the food system, primarily related to the impacts on nutrition and foodborne illnesses. In this study, we propose a novel analytical framework to study and respond to the climate change, food security, and human health nexus. This work is intended to help public health officials, researchers, and relevant stakeholders investigate and understand current and future risks, and inform adaptation efforts to protect the health of Canadians.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Climate Change, Food Security and Human Health Nexus in Canada: A Framework to Protect Population Health

Schnitter

Berry

2019

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We began by reviewing research and planning literature on food system resilience. The fault tree was also indirectly informed by findings from 36 qualitative interviews with stakeholders throughout the Baltimore City food system, to be described separately in [ 21 ]. We used knowledge from those research efforts and team members’ expertise in food systems to build a conceptual fault tree, and to define potentially quantifiable indicators for the basic and intermediate failure events of the tree.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing food system vulnerabilities: a fault tree modeling approach

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundFood system function is vulnerable to disruption from a variety of sources. Disruption of the processes required for food provision may result in decreases in food security in affected communities. Currently, there are few tools that quantitatively predict or analyze food system vulnerabilities to contribute to food system resilience analysis. This work presents a prototype version of one such tool, a fault tree, which can be used conceptually and for future modeling work. Fault tree analysis is an engineering tool used to illustrate basic and intermediate factors that can cause overall system failures.MethodsThe fault tree defines food system functioning as food security at the community level and maps the components of the food system onto three main tenets of food security – accessibility, availability, and acceptability. Subtrees were populated using a top down approach guided by expertise, extant literature, and 36 stakeholder interviews.ResultsThe food system is complex, requiring 12 subtrees to elaborate potential failures. Subtrees comprising accessibility include physical accessibility of the vending point and economic accessibility among community members. Food availability depends on the functioning of the food supply chain, or, in the case of individuals who rely on donated food, the food donation system. The food supply chain includes processing, wholesale operations, distribution systems, and retail center subtrees. Elements of acceptability include the medical appropriateness, nutritional adequacy, and cultural acceptability of food. Case studies of the effects of Winter Storm Jonas of 2016 and the 2013–2017 California drought in Baltimore City illustrate the utility of the fault tree model.ConclusionFTA of potential routes to food system failure provides a tool that allows for consideration of the entirety of the food system; has potential to provide a quantitative assessment of food system failure and recovery; and is able to capture short-term and long-term hazards in a single framework. This systems modeling approach highlights an extensive list of vulnerability points throughout the food system, and underscores the message that reducing food system vulnerabilities requires action at all levels to protect communities from the risks of short-term and long-term threats to food security.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5563-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

“…National outbreak preparedness plans and risk reduction strategies concerning diseases that originate outside the food system typically do not include considerations for protecting food systems but should be a key factor in planning potential response efforts ( Ortu et al, 2008 ). Localities can contribute to outbreak preparedness by conducting food system vulnerability assessments using fault tree analysis across a range of emergencies ( Biehl et al, 2018 ). Even when food systems are considered in planning exercises, insufficient follow through, lack of resources, or unwillingness to allocate available resources may render such exercises meaningless.…”

Section: Integrating Health and Agri-food Policy As A Tool Against Outbmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving health to the heart of agri-food policies; mitigating risk from our food systems

Patterson

Thomas

Coyne

et al. 2020

Global Food Security

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Our food systems are progressively more industrialized and consolidated with many modern food value chains involving multiple countries and continents, and as such being associated with changes in risk profile and impacts of emerging and re-emerging diseases. Disease outbreaks that sweep through a single region can have massive impacts on food supply, while severe outbreaks of human pathogens can disrupt agricultural labor supply or demand for products perceived as ‘unsafe’. Market pressures have generally rewarded production of cash crops for fuel and energy dense, low nutrient processed foods over production of fruits and vegetables for local consumption. Climbing rates of food-related NCDs and pre-existing conditions leave the population increasingly susceptible to infectious diseases that are often driven by or arise from the food system. Therefore disease and diet from our food systems cause impacts on human health, and human health issues can impact on the functioning of the food system. The COVID-19 outbreak is the most recent example of food system driven disease emergence and of massive supply and demand shocks in the food system, experienced as a direct and indirect result of this disease. The effects of the food system on disease spread (and vice versa) must be addressed in future plans to prevent and mitigate large scale outbreaks. Health policies must acknowledge the food system as the base of our health system, as must agri-food policy recognize the pre-eminence of human health (directly and indirectly) in decision making.

show abstract

Planning for a Resilient Urban Food System: A Case Study from Baltimore City, Maryland

Cited by 37 publications

References 18 publications

The Climate Change, Food Security and Human Health Nexus in Canada: A Framework to Protect Population Health

The Climate Change, Food Security and Human Health Nexus in Canada: A Framework to Protect Population Health

Assessing food system vulnerabilities: a fault tree modeling approach

Moving health to the heart of agri-food policies; mitigating risk from our food systems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About