I think it’s safe to say that most of us are on the same page when it comes to the changes occurring in our climate. The reality we are facing is no longer a question of if things are changing, but more a matter of what that will look like, how it will affect our lives and what can we do about it? In my relatively brief time here I have learned that the core of public health is preventative measures, looking upstream. While it remains true, the bigger conversation is about how to alter our habits which are causing the change, we also must deal with the real impacts already upon us. This is particularly evident when it comes to our food supply. This may feel more reactionary than preventative, but if we can get ahead by anticipating the specific negative impacts on existing systems, we can at least be more prepared to manage the impact on our lives.

In my time working in the food industry, I was fortunate to be in a place like the Berkshires which allowed me to have a direct relationship with much of my food sourcing. When I first started there was a huge push to source locally, terms like slow food and farm to table were just beginning to really hit mainstream thinking. I spent a lot of time on farms, building relationships, understanding seasonality, witnessing the amount of work required and learning just how fragile and precious a healthy local food system is. While our changing climate is having an impact across so much of our lives, I feel particularly sensitive to its impact on food systems. Not only because I genuinely love food, preparing it and sharing it with others, but because I have spent time understanding where our food comes from, and I know how many people’s lives depend on their ability and commitment to produce it for us.

At the recent MHOA conference I attended a presentation addressing some of the impacts that climate change is having on our food systems. Three primary areas were identified: food production, food access and food quality. They gave specific examples of issues currently being experienced in the industry. The Sriracha hot sauce company Huy Fung Foods had to announce a temporary halt to production because their crops simply were not ripening due to shifting weather patterns. They discussed the highly invasive green crab whose spread is increasing in our region due to warming coastal waters. These little crabs are highly destructive to the eco system, disruptive to our fisheries and compromising softshell crab production. Interestingly there is a project called Greencrab.org which is aimed at promoting them as a food source to increase harvesting and slow their negative impact. Similar to the Sriracha issue but closer to home, the cranberry industry is facing major disruptions to crop yield and quality due to extreme summer heat and shifting of seasonal patterns.

The causes of these issues are not surprising, the presenters went over the extreme weather that is now becoming the norm and showed alarming data on the increasing frequency in our area. Weather events such as hurricanes, extreme rain and flooding are on the rise, as is sea level, up eight inches in MA since 1950. Long term trends such as extreme heat, warmer winters, seasonal inconsistency, water stress and drought are having huge impacts on the ability to successfully produce our food. Unfortunately, we have the sobering proof that things like wildfires are now something we will see more frequently in our area. The data is clear that these issues are increasing and will continue to challenge our food system.

So, what can we do? I think my most valuable takeaway from the presentation was the introduction to the New England Food System Planners Partnership (NEFSPP). Since the conference I have really dug into their work and found it very inspiring. From their website:

The vision of NEFSPP is to transform our regional food system to ensure adequate, affordable, socially and culturally appropriate products under a variety of rapidly changing climate, environmental, and public health conditions.

Their goal is to reach a point where 30% of our food is locally sourced by 2030 and 50% by 2060. They intent to achieve this by:

• Expanded regional food supply chains and associated employment.
• A transition to climate-smart and -adaptive food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management.
• Local, equitable control of land and water for sustainable food production.

For anybody who feels deeply concerned about what is happening and would like to focus on what can be done to support fortifying our local food system, I highly recommend checking them out.

Their website is an inspiring wealth of information and research on how we can cultivate a reliable food supply:  New England Feeding New England | Cultivating A Reliable Food Supply (nefoodsystemplanners.org)

In particular, the report they published in May 2023 gives an optimistic data-based look at what it would take to achieve these goals. Report Components | New England Feeding New England (nefoodsystemplanners.org)