How does food relate to environmental change, and what factors influence food production in an altered climate?

Posted: September 15th, 2023

Global Environment Change and Human Response
The Climate Change Cookbook. “Future food” recipe, discussion of components and context in terms of ecological footprint concepts
Background:
Food is a key in environmental change, because it is so heavily influenced by climate conditions — and also its production affects ecosystems through land modification, harvesting pressure, and pollution emissions. A lot of research and media attention are focused now on the kinds of foods that may be difficult to produce (or conversely, could be grown for the first time) in an altered climate. Some wild foods, such as vulnerable fish species, could be placed off-limits. One of the reasons why there is so much controversy over hydro projects in northern BC is that the area may have higher agricultural potential in coming centuries, which could be jeopardized by dam construction
Our attempts to avoid a crisis could also affect food security. Hypothetically, some types of luxury goods with large footprints could be taxed heavily. People may have to make do with what they can grow in their gardens, and preserve through canning/drying/freezing if the fresh seasonal produce we are presently importing from overseas becomes too expensive. We probably won’t halt deliveries from other countries, but there may be more public pressure to decrease our footprints (“almond-shaming” being a recent example). Food miles, embedded energy estimation, and virtual water export analysis may be used to decide which types of imports are more desirable – legumes, nuts, and oils for example, rather than fresh produce which can deteriorate rapidly and end up becoming waste.
The “Flooded” art project* asks us to imagine that “you’ve been invited to a dinner party”. In our case it will be a hypothetical potluck, sometime in the last half of the 21st century. Most people in the class will be middle-aged by then, perhaps with families, with decades of experience when it comes to choosing what you want to eat (and perhaps growing and foraging) on your own. So this assignment involves developing a recipe that you can imagine making for yourself and others. (If you dislike kale, for example – either substitute something else, or figure out how to cook it so you can stand to eat it.) The “Flooded” team chose New England as a site – we will be considering coastal BC.
* http://www.upworthy.com/these-beautiful-haunting-p…
What to include:
The assignment is in two sections. The first is the recipe itself – you may need to do some tight edits. We are aiming for ONE side of a standard 8.5×11” sheet. There may be situations where it’s simply unavoidable and you will have to go longer, but try to keep the space restrictions in mind. Please keep in mind that you’re supposed to be choosing a recipe that you would actually use yourself.
You may need to adjust font size and margins – but try to keep the font as large as possible, given the page size constraint, since we need it to be legible when it’s scanned. Artwork is welcome, though check that it isn’t obscuring the text.
If you got the original recipe from a friend or family member, or from a book or online, remember to include the source on the recipe page. In the past, people have cut-and-pasted entire chunks of text into the assignment. Not only is this a problem under academic integrity rules (especially if not identified as an exact quote), but it also could make the recipe too long. It’s also a giveaway that you probably haven’t tried making the recipe yourself, or you’d have found some shortcuts or modifications to suit your taste.
The second section will be the discussion of the recipe components. Food is an especially important aspect of climate change, since it is not only affected by environmental disruptions, but its production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions — and land use change. Consider what goes into the preparation, and think about the requirements in terms of resources such as land, water, and energy, and potential social issues arising from growing/harvesting/transporting the ingredients. So for example, if you’re using avocados, look online and see if there are any ecosystem or community disruptions from producing them. (Hint: there are.) Discuss whether it may be possible to decrease your recipe’s footprint/impact with substitutions (aquafaba for eggs, for example). Aim for a maximum of 3 double-spaced pages of text (approximately 900 words), aside from any supporting figures or references. Technical marks will focus on the in-text citations, spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.
Sources and Citations:
This assignment isn’t as technical as other ones you’ll be doing, for this and other courses. It’s on the humanistic side of the social and natural sciences, so it’s a bit simpler than other topics – but one thing to practice is including in-text citations in the discussion component of your assignment. Even online sources like Wikipedia have started requiring them.
You have a couple of different options: either author-date (parenthetical), of the type used in the journal The Canadian Geographer; or numbered endnotes as in journals like Science or Nature. Author-date (APA style) is generally used in geography.
You will probably be using online sources, since much of the most recent information on this topic (as it relates to BC and Canada) will be in news coverage. Consider the reliability of the information, when deciding whether or not to include it. Look at established media organizations, government reports (by and for departments and agencies concerned with agriculture, fisheries, food, and indigenous culture), and websites maintained by specialized groups focused on gardening, farming, and cooking.
I also attached ‘climate change food supplement links’ file. This might help you find the site.
Thanks for your helping:)