Looking to crunch numbers on industrial vs sustainable agriculture
February 28, 2010 6:48 PM Subscribe
What are the best resources/where might I be able to find statistics around agriculture/food supply? I'm interested specifically in being able to do comparisons between inputs and costs between industrial and local/sustainable agriculture.
i.e., I really dig say the stuff Polyface farms is doing, but I'd also like to answer the question of how many Polyface-sized farms (people, land) would be required to feed the American population and what would the costs would be.
Is there any equivalent to say Saul Griffith's "Game Plan" presentation that breaks down and synthesizes these numbers for agriculture in a way that Saul does for energy?
Anything that breaks down externalities or subsidies of the current agricultural system would also be of interest.
I'm sure there must be people actively crunching/discussing these things, so any pointers to community sites, journals, etc working on this kind of thing would also be appreciated!
i.e., I really dig say the stuff Polyface farms is doing, but I'd also like to answer the question of how many Polyface-sized farms (people, land) would be required to feed the American population and what would the costs would be.
Is there any equivalent to say Saul Griffith's "Game Plan" presentation that breaks down and synthesizes these numbers for agriculture in a way that Saul does for energy?
Anything that breaks down externalities or subsidies of the current agricultural system would also be of interest.
I'm sure there must be people actively crunching/discussing these things, so any pointers to community sites, journals, etc working on this kind of thing would also be appreciated!
Best answer: You should check out La Vida Locavore and ask its proprietress, Jill Richardson. If she doesn't have an answer, she'll likely know someone who does.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:59 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:59 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
The La Vida suggestion is a good one...if Jill can't help you , it probably doesn't exist.
Context...we have a smallish farm, inspired early on by Salatin. In the past I've looked for details on productivity and costs, and suffered through some of the same. The problem with what you're looking for is 1) the tendency of farmers to not be "joiners", so are hard to pin down for data, and 2) the widely variable land bases of "ecological farms" (however you define them) makes controlling for the variables difficult.
Good luck, though, and I'd love to know what you find. We've pulled back on the farm somewhat the last few years (it's a toddler farm, now), so I'm a little out of the loop on the newest developments.
posted by mossbackfarm at 8:14 PM on February 28, 2010
Context...we have a smallish farm, inspired early on by Salatin. In the past I've looked for details on productivity and costs, and suffered through some of the same. The problem with what you're looking for is 1) the tendency of farmers to not be "joiners", so are hard to pin down for data, and 2) the widely variable land bases of "ecological farms" (however you define them) makes controlling for the variables difficult.
Good luck, though, and I'd love to know what you find. We've pulled back on the farm somewhat the last few years (it's a toddler farm, now), so I'm a little out of the loop on the newest developments.
posted by mossbackfarm at 8:14 PM on February 28, 2010
Best answer: Personally, I'd call this guy, and ask him to suggest a source or two. I live a couple of blocks from his office, and have taken his sustainable ag. course a few years back. He's busy, but he's a prodigious reader and has an evangelist's enthusiasm and willingness to talk.
posted by jon1270 at 4:18 AM on March 1, 2010
posted by jon1270 at 4:18 AM on March 1, 2010
Best answer: Apparently USDA has just created a National Institue of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to fund research…possibly research like this. I imagine you'll find some leads if you poke around in there. I've asked a friend at USDA for any more leads.
A Grist post announcing the NIFA includes quotes from experts that Vilsack asked for input on what kinds of research NIFA should fund. Tim LaSalle of the Rodale Institute's response to Vilsack indicates that he may be asking the same question you are. So, someone at Rodale might have something for you.
Also check out research at The Leopold Center at Iowa State.
posted by jedsundwall at 12:18 PM on March 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
A Grist post announcing the NIFA includes quotes from experts that Vilsack asked for input on what kinds of research NIFA should fund. Tim LaSalle of the Rodale Institute's response to Vilsack indicates that he may be asking the same question you are. So, someone at Rodale might have something for you.
Also check out research at The Leopold Center at Iowa State.
posted by jedsundwall at 12:18 PM on March 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks guys for the pointers. As a followup, I haven't gotten a chance to follow up w/ Jill Richardson or David Orr, I've gotten quite a few references to chase down from some emails I'd sent out particularly articles/papers from Dr. David Pimentel, one on "Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems," and another lengthy publication on "Food Versus Biofuels: Environmental and Economic Costs."
Once I have a chance to dig in, I'll probably post a followup w/ an URL once I figure out the best way to publish/share what I've been working on. (I'm currently gathering stuff in a combination of Mendeley, Zotero, and Evernote, none of which are particularly good at the "sharing" thing).
posted by lhl at 4:40 PM on March 3, 2010
Once I have a chance to dig in, I'll probably post a followup w/ an URL once I figure out the best way to publish/share what I've been working on. (I'm currently gathering stuff in a combination of Mendeley, Zotero, and Evernote, none of which are particularly good at the "sharing" thing).
posted by lhl at 4:40 PM on March 3, 2010
This group might be worth looking into: http://www.glynwood.org/GlynwoodInstitute.html
posted by jedsundwall at 10:02 AM on April 15, 2010
posted by jedsundwall at 10:02 AM on April 15, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by lhl at 6:58 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]