Location: Food Systems Research Unit
2023 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1. Develop the intellectual framework for an integrated program that addresses how animal food systems can provide nutritious and culturally appropriate foods that may be used to create healthy diets and reduce the risk of chronic disease while maximizing economic return to producers. The program will emphasize human nutrition/health, animal agricultural production, and value-added processing within the context of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. [NP 107: C1 PS1a, C2 PS2b, C3 PS3b]
Objective 2. Ensure integration of research with project “Increasing Small-Farm Viability, Sustainable Production and Human Nutrition in Plant-Based Food Systems of the New England States” in a manner that allows connectivity between all components as well as overall analysis, assessment, integration and modelling of all data. [NP 107: C1 PS1a, C2 PS2b, C3 PS3b]
Objective 3. Develop appropriate linkages and cooperation within and between the USDA-ARS and the University of Vermont, for the purpose of forming an integrated Food Systems program. These include integrated data systems, analytical capabilities, and the capacity to conduct human clinical trials. [NP 107: C1 PS1a, C2 PS2b, C3 PS3b]
Approach
Food systems are interconnected sets of elements that work together to produce, process, distribute, store, sell, and prepare food. They include the upstream activities that support production, such as the creation of farm inputs. They also include downstream activities, such as human nutrition, consumer choice and the disposal or recycling of food waste. This project addresses the ecological sustainability and economic vitality of animal systems in the New England region with the goal of enhancing both public health and sustainable farming practices. To this end, this project will determine how the environmental and economic outcomes of animal systems can be improved while simultaneously enhancing the quality of human diets and improving health outcomes. Research activities will focus on a range of scales, from individuals, such as farmers and consumers, to geographic regions, such as watersheds and foodsheds. In addition, the project will explore how systems change over time. Three overarching questions will guide the Unit’s research on animal systems. First, how can animal systems leverage opportunities for ecological synergies, such as relying on perennial forages or food byproducts, while maintaining or improving economic viability? Second, how can inclusion of animal products in diets encourage consumption of foods lacking in the U.S. diet, such as whole grains, complete protein sources, fruits, and vegetables? And third, how can plant based farming systems interact with animal-production based systems, to improve sustainability and reduce environmental impacts? Research scientists on this project will utilize systems thinking and participatory approaches, like group model building. In addition, the Unit will develop a state-of-the-art facility for computational modeling and data visualization with the ability to link to other data sources and computing resources.
To create effective collaborations with the University of Vermont and stakeholder partners, the Research Unit will identify on-going efforts to understand and improve the ecological, economic, and social sustainability of New England food systems. This process will help ARS staff to design strategic research that answers key questions or integrates data in new ways that lead to transformative improvements in U.S. Food Systems.
Progress Report
3a. Personnel. The Food Systems Research Unit (FSRU) hired a Program Support Assistant, a Financial and Budget Technician, and a Research Agronomist during the reporting period. Tentative offers were accepted by selectees for a Research Animal Scientist position and a Social Science Technician position. At time of writing, final offers are still pending.
3b. Facilities. At the end of FY 2021, the FSRU has established a lease agreement to pay for renovation of an existing space in Hills Hall on the University of Vermont campus. A portion of Hills Hall will eventually serve as the unit’s primary office and lab space. The university developed plans for renovation of the building in consultation with the Research Leader and other ARS staff. The university solicited bids and hired a contractor to perform the work. The project is underway. A certificate of occupancy is expected in late August 2023 and the unit plans to move into the new space in September 2023.
In the interim, the FSRU, the Northeast Area (NEA) Office, and University of Vermont (UVM) are working together to identify temporary facilities around campus to support scientists, technicians, and administrative staff hired before the permanent location is ready. All permanent and temporary staff currently have office spaces on campus.
3c. Research. In pursuit of Objective 1, the following research progress has been made: ARS scientists drafted the first 5-year project plan for this project. The unit’s scientists met with the NPLs of this project and the related NP216 project to ensure complementarity and integration of the research conducted across the two food systems projects. The project plan is currently being reviewed by the Area Office.
The ARS PI has collaborated with Cornell University scientists to study the economic viability and greenhouse gas emissions of grass-finished beef supply chains in the Northeast through a Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement. Through this collaboration, one paper was published documenting a novel supply chain model of the beef sector in New York and New England which considers the costs of cattle assembly, slaughter, processing, and distribution to consuming markets. In addition, a manuscript characterizing supply chain barriers to expanding regional beef production was submitted for peer-review. The model is being expanded to include the costs of rearing calves and feeding cattle and to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with each stage of the supply chain. A preliminary model was developed and parameterized using available secondary data. The team of ARS and Cornell scientists met in July 2023 to evaluate research progress, identify data gaps, and determine priorities for additional data collection.
The ARS Social Scientist has initiated a collaboration with University of Vermont and University of Maine scientists to study the variability of rural diets in the northeast, their relative adherence to the Healthy Eating Index, and areas of “positive deviance” where communities are more consistently achieving healthy food purchases. This collaboration will use USDA IRI scanner data of home purchases and analyze them geographically and nutritionally. Qualitative portions of the work will involve focus groups with nutrition stakeholders; that part of the research has already begun. The project will contribute to the NP 107 Project Plan and is expected to result in at least two presentations at scientific meetings and two peer-reviewed manuscripts. A new Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement is currently in process of approval for this project.
The ARS PI and Social Scientist have initiated a collaboration with University of Vermont faculty to investigate transitions in dairy land use and possible consequences and opportunities of land use change.
The Social Scientist has collaborated with University of Vermont and Johns Hopkins scientists to develop a “serious game” (research video game) for testing stakeholder-initiated interventions in food systems with the goal of greater local accessibility of farm products. The work has involved regular collaborative meetings throughout and so far has resulted in a full game, ready for data collection, and a draft methodological paper to be submitted before the year’s end.
The Social Scientist has collaborated with University of Vermont scientists and community stakeholder partners on a project funded by the Food Systems Research Center to develop social metrics for food systems sustainability. This year, the project was awarded first a planning grant and then a full grant, has included quarterly meetings, and is moving into the next phase of instrument testing and validation.
In pursuit of Objective 2, the following progress has been made: The ARS PI has participated in a collaborative research project on regional food systems, the New England Feeding New England (NEFNE) Project. The collaboration on this project is covered by a Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement under Project 8090-44000-001-000D. However, since the project includes foods produced through both plant-based food systems and animal-based food systems, it inherently bridges the two projects. The ARS PI led the writing of a report on the capacity of the region’s agriculture and fisheries to supply up to 30 percent of the region’s consumption from the major food groups. This report was released on June 6, 2023, as part of a four-volume NEFNE final project report, which was accompanied by an ARS news feed on the same day. Significant to this project, the study found that maintaining regional dairy production and capture fisheries would be necessary to supply 30 percent of the region’s food. Expanding production of forage-based meat could also contribute while still leaving land for production of plant-based foods.
In pursuit of Objective 3, the following progress has been made: University of Vermont faculty have served, or are serving, on the interview panels for the Research Microbiologist and Research Animal Scientist positions.
In pursuit of Objective 3, the ARS PI and the Director of the Food Systems Research Center (FSRC) at University of Vermont (UVM) collaborated to develop and expand the research plans for the first Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement connected to the Food Systems Research Unit. While the NACA is listed under Project No. 8090-44000-001-000D, the collaborative research conducted through the agreement is also relevant to this project. Significant to human nutrition, an amendment to the NACA will expand the capacity of UVM scientists to conduct analysis of nutritional composition, which will support future collaborative research on the nutritional quality of foods produced in the unique soil and climates of the Northeastern U.S. using different crop varieties and management practices.
Accomplishments
Review Publications
Ament, J., Tobin, D., Merrill, S., Morgan, C.B., Morse, C., Liu, T., Trubek, A. 2022. From Polanyi to policy: A tool for measuring embeddedness and designing sustainable agricultural policies. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.983016.
Morgan, C.B. 2023. Studying food systems as embedded, sensory phenomena. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1040965.
Peters, C.J. and Thilmany, D.D. 2022. Towards a holistic understanding of food systems. In: Peters, C.J., Thilmany, D.D., editors. Food Systems Modeling: Tools for Assessing Sustainability in Food and Agriculture. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press. p. 349-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822112-9.00016-3.
McCarthy, A., Srinivasan, S., Griffin, T., Peters, C.J. 2022. A geospatial approach to identifying biophysically suitable areas for fruit and vegetable production in the United States. Agronomy Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.21138.
McCarthy, A., Griffin, T., Srinivasan, S., Peters, C.J. 2021. Regional variability in land and water use in fruit and vegetable production in the U.S. Urban Agriculture and Regional Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.1002/uar2.20020.
