Let’s Localize and Decommodify Our Food Systems

Earlier this month, I used a Kleinman Center student grant to attend a conference hosted by the United States Society For Ecological Economics (USSEE). Throughout the conference, I noticed that when the topic of a just, clean energy transition made its way into discussions, so would the subject of food systems. At first, the constant link between the two appeared strange. Traditionally, when I thought of energy, fossil fuels and solar panels would come to mind rather than gardens and farms.

However, the ecological economics conference reminded me that food is a critical part of the human economy’s energy flows. Unfortunately, global food systems are inefficient, exacerbating environmental degradation while allocating the most food to those who need it the least. Globally, around 1.05 billion tons of food are wasted each year. In the United States, food travels around 1,500 miles on average from farm to table. This process is environmentally intensive. The NRDC cites food production and transportation as using 10% of the U.S. energy budget, 80% of freshwater, and 50% of its land. And yet, the U.S. mishandles around 40% of its supply of food each year. That means this food has a high chance of contributing to U.S. methane emissions if it ends up in landfills.

During the recent USSEE conference, however, leading ecological economist Josh Farley argued that current global food systems have an even deeper flaw. When food is treated as a commodity, demand for food remains high regardless of its price. And yet, the price of food itself remains highly dependent on a perverse supply system. The result, Farley explained, is that food is systematically distributed in a way that gives the most to people who need it the least.

Localizing and decommodifying food are the solutions needed to strive towards a more just, sustainable food system. First, reducing the physical distance between the production and consumption of food will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted as a result of food transportation. Further, expanding community-based, free food systems would help allocate food efficiently, giving the most to those who need it most.

This transformation looks different at the national, state, and city level. At the federal level, the U.S. government can increase funding for the USDA’s Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program, which supports food projects for low-income communities. At the state level, the Pennsylvania government can look to its Pennsylvania Farm Bill and its “PA Preferred” program to expand support of local agriculture. More locally, Philadelphia should increase funding into Philadelphia’s Parks and Recreation facilities. Then, the city could increase the number of community gardens on public park land (there are currently 19), supplying its neighborhoods with low cost, nutritious, sustainably-produced food. In fact, more funding could potentially resume Philadelphia’s currently-paused farming education program, Carousel House Farm.

This ecological economics conference has taught me that transforming the dominant U.S. food system is critical to achieving a just, clean energy transition. To help sustain the environment and the health of our communities, food must be locally produced and accessible to all.

Seema Parmar

Undergraduate Seminar Fellow

Seema Parmar is an undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences studying mathematical economics and environmental studies. Parmar is also a 2024 Undergraduate Student Fellow.