Austin Food EcoSystem
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  • Home
  • About
  • Framework
  • Issue Lens
  • Map
  • Peer Networks
  • Leaders
  • Initiatives
  • Calendar
  • Research
Austin Food EcoSystem

Issue Lens

While the Framework attempts to categorize types of organizations and actors in the food system, it isn't intended to capture the issues, or problems, or opportunities present.

This page is a starter draft of various "lens", or topic areas within food systems work.

Thanks and credit to the following organizations for fodder for this list:
  • Vermont Farm to Plate
  • UN Sustainable Development Goals

Access: geographical access to healthy food

Affordability: food pricing relative to income and ability to pay; poverty; low income communities

Animal Welfare: humane treatment; natural spacious environment; cruelty free slaughter

Capital: access to capital; investor-readiness; knowledge of types and requirements of different capital sources and vehicles; impact investing

Collaboration: food ecosystem building and nurturing; pathways for collaboration; initiative coordination; administrative leverage; vision creation and rallying;

Community: community building and strengthening; local institutions; food as community driver

Climate: carbon sequestration; 

Economic Development: business expansion and new business formation; smart cities; sustainable development


Education: wide range of food & ag curricula, certificate, and degree programs to build regional talent base

Energy: conservation; transition to non-fossil fuel alternatives for food system participants

Farm Growth Obstacles: what are the factors limiting small farms from becoming mid- or large-scale producers?

Farmland Preservation: conservation easements and deed restrictions; purchase & hold; zoning

Farm Profitability: drivers of, at various scales, production methods, product mix​

Food Systems: how it all works (or doesn't) together;

Gender: gender equality; opportunity; expanded vision of gender identities in food system work


Health: food-related health problems; preventative health via diet; health-care cost mitigation via food; food as medicine; healthy cooking and eating;

Hunger: food insecurity; malnutrition; healthy affordable food for all

Immigrants: treatment of, opportunity for recent immigrants

Institutional: institutional purchasing of local production.

Jobs; job & compensation quality; career ladders; workplace quality and safety

​Justice: social justice in the food system; inequality; workers rights; civil liberties

Literacy: food literacy; implications of food choices on self, family, community, humanity

Local: local consumption of local production; availability of local food across the distribution spectrum;

​Logistics: sufficient supply of affordable on-farm and commercial storage, aggregation, distribution; sharing economy solutions; 

Nutrition: nutritional density; nutritious meal planning; 

Policy: Fed, State, County, City, Agency policy drivers and impacts; balanced regulations and enforcement capacity; streamlining regulation for small producers while maintaining food safety and consumer protection; lobbying for policy initiatives outside local jurisdictions

Pollution: agricultural runoff; overspray; food company production pollution; methane; CAFO-impacts; 

Processing: processing capacity (grains, animals, dairy) relative to local production supply; cost of processing; CAFO impacts

Producers: issues surrounding farmers and ranchers, including new and beginning farmers; increasing the farm share of food dollars that goes to farmers; efficiency improvements; price 
supports; expenses (such as energy, feed, labor, repair & maintenance); farm net income; 

Research: basic and applied scientific and market research related to food, ag, food systems

Safety: safe, edible food

Soil: increase long-term yields; water retention; organic matter; no-til; 

Supply: enable more sustainable farms, farmers, production volumes, sales revenue

Tech: Ag Tech; SaaS; mobile; high speed internet access

Technical Assistance: free and paid, to participants in the food ecosystem

Waste: issues surrounding disposition, upcycling, use of food waste

Water: clean water; availability of water; conservation; sanitation; 
​

To comment on the Issue Lenses, please visit the Discussion page about them here.