local foods strengthen your local economy
TRANSCRIPT
Ken Meter
Crossroads Resource Center (Minneapolis)
Local Foods Strengthen Your Local Economy
Community Food Security Coalition F2S
Portland, Oregon March 20, 2009
“Finding Food in Farm Country” Studies
plus Maui & Hawai’i
44 regions in 19 states (8 statewide)
The perspectives of the communities where commodities are produced and used...
…are often overlooked
Local Farm & Food Economies
Local foods may be our strongest path toward
economic recovery
Build: Health Wealth Connection Capacity
Vision for local food economies
Schools play a role
How can schools promote this vision?
Consumption out of balance
• 50% of U.S. public school students qualify for free / reduced lunch
• 10% of households are “food insecure”
Mural: The Food Project Source: USDA
Economic crisis brings opportunity!
• School budgets are strapped
• People realize we need to change
Sources: Flegal, Wellman. Mural: The Food Project
Metro Denver
Health & Wellness
Commission &
Civic Results
Data helps
you make your case
A primer on the economy
Economic roots of the crisis
A “stimulus” will not be enough
Economic crisis
We have to redirect the economy
Economic crisis
Fundamental rule: the economy draws wealth away
from our communities
Economic crisis
The Bubble Economy
Farms — 1973 – 1985
Global Trade — 1990 - 2001
Stocks — 1996 - 2001
Housing — 2001 - 2007
Derivatives — 2006 - 2008
-50
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450 1
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2
00
9
U.S. Farm Cash Receipts and Production Expenses 1929 – 2009 (est) in billions ($2008)
Cash Receipts
Prod Exp
Farm Production Balance
Household debt in U.S., 1974 - 2005
$(200)
$-
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
19
74
19
76
19
78
19
80
19
82
19
84
19
86
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88
19
90
19
92
19
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19
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19
98
20
00
20
02
20
04
billio
ns (
20
05
do
llars
) Home mortgage debt
Consumer debt
BEA
Net change in assets for consumers in Western states, 1984 - 2006
$(30,000)
$(20,000)
$(10,000)
$-
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
19
84
19
85
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86
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87
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20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
Change in Total Assets
Change in Total Liabilities
Change in Net Assets
BEA
Issues in housing development
30% of ALL loans made in U.S. metro areas were
subprime (2006)
Source: Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2007
Value Chain
Producer Processor
Food Service
Distributor Retailer Consumer
Farmers' share of retail prices paid by consumers, 1950-2004
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
marketing bill farm value
41% 20%
Source ERS; chart by Ken Meter, 2007
$ b
illi
ons
(2004)
Value Network
Producer
Processor
Food Service
Distributor
Retailer
Consumer:
“Coproducer”
Educator
Policy Council
Non Profits
Corn sweeteners consumed in U.S., 1966 - 2002
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
HFCSGlucoseDextrose
Source: USDA/ERS — chart by Ken Meter, 2006
Corn sweeteners consumed in U.S.,
1966-2002
U.S. Youth Who are Overweight Percent by Age
13%
10.7%
4.1%
14.0%
10.7%
4.6%
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1963-70 1971-74 1976-80 1988-94 1999
Percent
Ages 6-11 Ages 12-17>95th percentile for BMI by age and sex, based on NHANES I reference data Source: Troiano RP, Flegal KM. Pediatrics 1998;101(3):497-504. NHANES 1999, National Center for Health Statistics. Chart by Melinda Hemmelgarn
Energy is a major cost
• The average food item in the U.S. travels 1,500 miles from farmer to consumer Source: Aldo Leopold Center
Energy in the Food System
Source: BLS; Department of Energy (estimates based on 1976 studies)
The Bubble Economy
Yet local action, and public policy, can create
the change
Hood River, Oregon
Gorge Grown region
Source: GGFN growers
Orchards export to:
• Mexico
• Columbia
• India
• Russia
Source: BEA
Farm Production Balance in Gorge Grown region, 1969-2006
-0.15
-0.10
-0.05
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.301
96
9
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$ b
illi
on
s (c
urr
en
t)
Cash Receipts
Production expenses
Balance
Farm Production Balance in Gorge Grown region, 1969-2006
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.51
96
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$ b
illi
on
s (2
00
6 d
oll
ars
)
Cash receipts
Production expenses
Balance
$600 million lost over last 30 years Source: BEA
5 positive years since 1983
Gorge Grown region
Source: BEA
Gorge Grown region
56% of region’s farms reported
net losses in 2002
Source: Ag Census
Potential wealth lost each year
All told, Gorge Grown region...
• Loses $20 million raising crops
• Buys $90 million of outside inputs
• Buys $200 million of outside food
• $310 million each year!
• more than the value of all products produced in the region
• more than the value of all food consumed in the region
Total loss to Hood River region is:
What are people doing about this?
Direct Food Sales
Local Food Expenditures by the participating institutions in the
Black Hawk County Area, Iowa 1997-2007
Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership
Year1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Local Food Expenditures
$0
$500,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$2,500,000
Num
ber of Institutions
0
5
10
15
20
25
Local Food Expenditures Number of Institutions
Photo by Arion Thiboumery
Rudy’s Tacos — Waterloo, Iowa
71% local food!
Jobs, Fruit & Veggies, and Black Hawk County region
If Black Hawk region residents purchased locally grown fruits and vegetables just 3 months out of the year:
• 475 new jobs • $6.3 million in labor income added to local economy
David Swenson, ISU Economist
Organic Sales
Organic Valley
Organic Valley Sales, 1988 - 2007
-
100
200
300
400
500
6001
98
8
19
89
19
90
19
91
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$ m
illio
ns
Source: Organic Valley
$ m
illio
ns
Will Allen, Growing Power, Milwaukee
Growing Power, Milwaukee
Innovative farm operations
Winter CSA Milan, Minnesota
Fresh fresh organic greens November to April
Sells only within 30 miles
Winter CSA — Milan, Minnesota
Winter CSA — Milan, Minnesota
Local and state governments spend $50 billion each year
promoting economic development
Public sector can help
Stimulus package has money for schools, health
infrastructure, job training, and more!
Public sector can help
Source: National Association of City and County Health Officials NACCHO)
Wisconsin asks that stimulus money be used to upgrade
school kitchens
Public sector can help
Source: Michael Fields Institute
Appeal to officials on:
• reducing health care costs • increasing tax base • creating jobs
Data helps you make your case
Schools represent a large market
Schools spend $17 billion each year on food!
Source: Ag Census
Schools represent a large market
Great Lakes Schools spend:
Illinois $350 million Indiana 200 Michigan 235 Minnesota 130 Ohio 230 Wisconsin 135
each year on food alone
for Great Lakes Farm to School Network
School spending cycles through economy
Multiplier studies:
SW Wisconsin (farms) 2.2 – 2.6 NE Iowa (local food) 1.91 Oregon (schools) 1.87 Michigan (fruits & vegs) 1.34 Iowa (mainstream) 1.3
Sources: Larry Swain, UWRF, David Swenson, ISU, Kaiser Permanente/Ecotrust, Hamm et al, MSU, Swenson, ISU
Resources
www.crcworks.org/econ.html
(612) 869-8664
www.crcworks.org/crcdocs/lfcedwd.pdf
www.crcworks.org/cfscced.html http://www.crcworks.org/crcdocs/MDHWC2008.pdf
