Local food - A systems perspective (Jeremy)

To understand a complex system, like the food economy, and how to influence it, it is necessary to have some basic knowledge and skills about how systems work.  Two important skills to have are systems thinking and recognition of mental models. 

• Systems Thinking.  Systems thinking requires the recognition that everything exists in a larger system and in relationship with other parts of that system.  It is based on the belief that a part of a system acts or appears differently when the relationships are removed and it is viewed in isolation.  The only way to fully understand why a problem or element occurs and persists is to understand the part in relation to the whole.  It requires a holistic rather than reductive perspective.  What are the components and relationships in our current industrial food system?  How does that compare to a local food system?  What assets and weaknesses exist in our community to build a local food economy?  What are the greatest leverage points in our community?  What are the entry points to influencing the food system?  What are the repurcussions and additional benefits?  Examples: Personal skill development workshops, Farmers market efforts.  This can be illustrated by talking through an example: how do you increase local eating - where does the food come from, is there capacity, what feedback will occur, etc. as above. http://www.thinking.net/Systems_Thinking/systems_thinking.html

• Mental Models.  Mental models are the mental images we all have of how things operate.  Mental models greatly influence how we see and function in the world.  A mental model is built from prior experience, perception, and problem-solving strategies. A mental model contains minimal information. It is unstable and subject to change and used to make decisions in novel circumstances. The problems with mental models lie not in whether they are right or wrong--by definition, all models are simplifications. The problems with mental models arise when the models are tacit--when they exist below the level of awareness.  What mental models exist about local foods?  Example: Can local foods support our community?  What mental models will we need to have a local food economy?  Cooperation and neighborliness, food is a source of health (not just pleasure), food is diverse and seasonal, self-sufficiency, productivity, thrift, etc.   http://deming.eng.clemson.edu/pub/tqmbbs/tools-techs/menmodel.txt 

Food Issue Literacy (Nick)

 As we develop a 'systems perspective' of the local food movement, at least one thing becomes clear - for the system to change, a concerted, broad-based consumer action is necessary. No one is going to give us a sustainable, nourishing, and equitable local food system. We have to demand it and create it ourselves. To do this requires that the public understand the issues that we face.

So, how do we conduct effective public education. First, we must know what the public knows.

Consider this:

The United States remains the largest producer of GM agricultural products,harvesting about two-thirds (63%) of theworld's GM crops. More than 80% of the soy,three-quarters of the cotton, and 40% of cornproduced in the United States and the majorityof canola grown in Canada consist of GM varieties. Because these crops arethe source of some of the most common ingredientsused by American food processors, and because GM varieties are often mixed withordinary varieties during shipping, processingand storage, most estimates suggest thatbetween 60% and 70% of processed foods on

American shelves contain ingredients derivedat least in part from GM crops.

Yet, In a four part study by the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers University (Consumer Perception and Understanding of Food Biotechnology in the United States) researchers found that:

About three-quarters of Americans (77%) are aware that methods of modifying genes exist, and 56% say they have heard or read “some” or “a great

deal” about GM foods (Figure 1). Yet, 63% of Americans report that they have never had a conversation about GM food, and 42% of those who did discuss it only did so once or twice (Figure 2). Moreover, the public remains unaware of the prevalence of GM ingredients in everyday food products.

For instance, less than half of the respondents(48%), realized that GM foods are currently available in supermarkets in 2004, while less than a third (31%) believed they had personally consumed GM food.

And even more intriguing:

Most Americans say they have heard or read little about GM food and admit that they do not know much about it.Yet, this lack of familiarity with the technologyand the issues surrounding it has not discouraged most respondents from expressing their views when prompted to do so in our earlier studies. However, because most Americans have given little thought to the issue, their opinions about GM foods are often equivocal and highly malleable. Individualsmay take strikingly different positions from question to question in reaction to such things as the type of organisms used, the product's intended purpose, and information about potential benefits or risks. Within a short time frame a respondent may

go from asserting strong opposition against GM food to saying she would buy them if they were cheaper than non-GM products.

And better yet:

Respondents who are unsure if GM food products are available or if they have eaten them have a stronger tendency to believe that such products do not exist and have not been a part of their diets.

Group brainstorm - What do these findings tell us about public understanding?

Discussion should include: low public awareness, opinion despite lack of knowledge, noone is talking about it, opinion is maleable based on the way the information is presented, and people generally want to believe that things are just fine - ignorance is bliss.

So faced with complex and ever-complicating issues, well-funded marketing campaigns designed to maintain status quo, how then can we increase the level of public understanding? We need to start by building a learning environment into our own organization.

Building a Learning organization (Jeremy)

In addition to the systems thinking and mental models discussed previously,  there are a few other qualities of a learning organization: shared vision, personal mastery, and team learning. 

• Shared Vision.  It is essential that everyone is working towards teh same ultimate goal/vision.  A shared vision requires discussion, knowledge building, and more discussion.  Farmshed examples include: Local Food Forum, Farmshed website, Farmshed strategic planning and initiatives.
• Personal Mastery.  Personal mastery is the aspiration of an ideal state coupled with the understanding of current reality.  This creates a dynamic tension which motivates personal learning and achievement.  Related to foods, we can ask ourselves: What type of food would you like to be eating?  How would your community celebrate food?  What kind of relationships would exist in your community?  What skills, knowledge, and networks do you need to bring this to reality?  Farmshed examples include: Initiative events, Growing Power tour.
• Team Learning.  Through dialogue and skillful discussion, teams transform their collective thinking, learning to act and think collectively with results greater than the sum of individual members’ talents and knowledge.  What skills and knowledge do we pocess as a group?  How do we collectively utilize and share those skills and knowledge? Farmshed examples include: Friday morning breakfast, planning meetings, email discussion group (but we're not there yet).

Society for Organizational Learning www.solonline.org/organizational_overview/

Priorities in Central Wisconsin (Nick)