Guest Editorial: Working with Indigenous Peoples to Foster Sustainable Food Systems

First paragraph: In order for sustainable, regional food systems to be so they must embody the vision and aspirations of all people and communities therein. In Canada, Indigenous Peoples and First Nations are an important, though often marginalized, element of our communities and society (Gray, 2011). Therefore I proffer that sustainable, regional food system planning, advocacy, and action in Canada (and elsewhere) should include the perspectives and support the predilections of Indigenous Peoples and communities. Though there are important, examples of effective efforts to do so (Food Matters Manitoba, 2015; Tu'wusht Project [Vancouver Native Health Society, 2014] in Vancouver; Food Secure Canada, 2015), in my experience working in Western Canada and elsewhere North American, sustainable food system researchers, activists, and others have been substantially remiss in this regard, with a resultant impoverishment of the movement in terms of perspective, inclusivity, and strategy. At the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems (ISFS) at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, an applied research institute that works to advance regionalized food systems by delineating their economic, food self-reliance, environmental stewardship, and community development potentials, we are trying to do otherwise...

Effect of cover crop on apple leafroller populations, leafroller parasitism and selected arthropods in an orchard managed without insecticides

In Washington State the Pandemis leafroller, Pandemis pyrusana (Kerefoll) and obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) are serious pests in orchards in which mating disruption is used to control codling moth, Cydia pomenella. Resistance to organophosphate insecticides exacerbates the problem. Additionally, many question the dependence on insecticides and call for ecologically-based pest management. Parasitoid and predator conservation and augmentation via insecticide reduction and habitat manipulation are tactics proposed to achieve biological control. The objectives of these studies were to: 1) evaluate and compare development of leafroller populations and their biological control by parasitoids in an apple orchard with either a grass or alfalfa cover and in which no insecticides were used; 2) evaluate the influence of cover crops on the general orchard arthropod population in an orchard managed without insecticides; 3) evaluate the use of alfalfa as an orchard cover crop on fruit tree growth and development; and 4) conduct initial testing of strategies for augmenting the leafroller parasitoid Colpoclypeous florus. Experiments were conducted in an East Wenatchee, Washington apple orchard, over four years. Plots were approximately 0.5 ha in size and were sown to either grass cover or alfalfa. Insecticide applications were eliminated. In the absence of broad-spectrum insecticides leafroller populations initially rose to high levels and then dramatically declined. A granulovirus may have been primarily responsible for the decline. Leafroller parasitoids also contributed to leafroller biological control though not extensively. There were no differences in leafroller populations between ground cover treatments. In some instances parasitism was slightly greater in the alfalfa cover plots but this did not seem of any practical significance. Six species were identified in the parasitoid complex. No secondary arthropod pest achieved pest status in either ground cover during the study. Codling moth however became a serious problem in year four. Attempts to augment C. floras populations by seeding parasitized Ancylis comptana fragaria failed. Attempts to establish Xenotemna pallorana on the alfalfa cover to serve as an alternate host for C. floras were likewise unsuccessful. Alfalfa as a cover crop imposed no adverse effects on tree growth and development during the duration of these studies.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofGraduat

Comparative Field Efficacy of Management Strategies Containing Brassica napus Seed Meal or Green Manure for the Control of Apple Replant Disease

Alternative management strategies to the use of preplant soil fumigation for the control of apple replant disease (ARD), including cover crops and strategies incorporating Brassica napus seed meal (rape seed meal [RSM]) amendment as the central component, were evaluated in the orchard. A 1-year wheat cover crop consisting of three short-term cropping periods with plant material removed at the end of each growth period and a 3-year B. napus green manure significantly enhanced vegetative growth and yield of Gala/M26. However, in each instance, the resulting disease control and growth response were inferior to that achieved through preplant methyl bromide soil fumigation. A 3-year bare fallow and 1- or 2-year B. napus green manure neither suppressed disease development nor enhanced tree growth. Preplant RSM amendment in conjunction with a postplant mefenoxam soil drench provided effective suppression of ARD, and the resulting tree growth and yield were comparable with that attained in response to 1,3- dichloropropene-chloropicrin fumigation in one orchard. At a second orchard, the growth response attained with the alternative treatment was inferior to preplant soil fumigation, which was associated with an apparent re-infestation of RSM-treated soils and tree roots by Pratylenchus spp. Application of RSM after wheat cropping or in conjunction with soil solarization provided an intermediate level of disease control and a corresponding reduction in growth and yield of apple relative to preplant fumigation at both sites

Municipal Policy Enabling Regional Food Systems in British Columbia, Canada

Local-regional food systems are increasingly the focus of community activism and local government planning in British Columbia (BC), Canada. At present, there is no provincial or federal govern­ment food system strategy to inform or guide local government policy efforts. To ascertain focal points of local government food system planning, we assessed current municipal Official Community Plans (OCPs) in BC and suggest areas for future policy development to enable regional food sys­tems in the province. In BC, an OCP is the most comprehensive, high-level municipal planning document used to guide future management and land use decisions. We reviewed OCPs from 61 municipalities (37% of BC’s municipalities) and categorized the food systems policy within accord­ing to a set of 13 topics and 53 subtopics. We report policy topic or subtopic frequency, ex­pressed as a percentage of municipalities (n=49). We also developed and applied a framework to identify policy gaps for enabling regional food systems. Policy addressing food access for resi­dents as well as policy supporting urban agriculture were identi­fied as the most prevalent food system policy foci in BC. Recognition of and support for Indigenous foodways, however, were scarcely addressed by existing food access policies. We identified gaps in regional food system policy regarding postproduc­tion capacity for regional markets, waste manage­ment, and environmental stewardship. We offer that fostering regional sys­tems requires coordinated policy efforts between jurisdictions and suggest that such coordination is particularly important and needed between urban and rural municipalities, which represent primary food-consuming and food-producing areas, respectively. This coordina­tion will require municipalities to expand food system policy efforts beyond their current urban agriculture focus, which has been criticized as having a limited capacity to address a number of pressing food system con­cerns. The framework we developed and applied can serve as a tool in other jurisdictions to assess current local government regional food system policy foci and identify areas for future policy development to enable regional food systems

Assessing the circularity of nutrient flows related to the food system in the Okanagan bioregion, BC Canada

The "circular bioeconomy" is extensively discussed in science and policy, and its implementation in practice is considered to be a panacea for fixing many current sustainability problems. The circular bioeconomy crucially depends on biological and technical processes capable of recycling nutrients in the right mix, at the right pace, and using only renewable energy. The current lack of circularity of nutrient flows is a critical factor that hampers sustainable food and bioeconomy systems. If we are serious about the sustainability of food and bioeconomy systems, we have to develop more robust tools to study (diagnose) and explore (simulate) the factors determining the circularity of nutrient flows. This paper applies a novel analytical framework to assess the circularity of nutrient flows in modern food systems. This framework can help understand the potentialities of proposed changes in relation to reducing nutrient losses and the dependence on nutrients mined from finite deposits. More specifically, in this paper, we illustrate a quantitative assessment of the flows of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium in a case study - the food system of the Okanagan bioregion in BC Canada. Our study suggests that the proposed approach is effective to inform nutrient management policies in bioregional food systems. In particular, an assessment of the openness of nutrient flows flags the importance of managing organic residuals for comprehensive nutrient recovery and reuse - an activity that is still often systematically neglected due to large feed and food imports and the availability of cheap synthetic fertilizers. This type of analysis is essential if we want to develop effective policies for more sustainable management of nutrients in food and bioeconomy systems

Mulching Systems for Weed Control, Water Conservation, and Nitrogen Management in Organic Apple Orchards

Initial trials on in-row mulching and cover crops in organic apple orchards, Wenatchee, WA

Mitigating Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Review of Scientific Information for Food System Planning

Agriculture contributes significantly to anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs), with estimates of agriculture's contribution ranging from 10% to 25% of total global GHG emissions per year. The science regarding mitigating (reducing and removing) GHGs through agriculture is conflicting and inconclusive. However, the severity and urgency of climate change and its potential effects on food security demonstrate that we must include mitigation within food system planning frameworks. In British Columbia, Canada, the provincial government has established significant GHG reduction targets for its agencies, and has called on local governments to reduce their carbon footprints through a charter and incentive, as well as through growth management legislation. At the same time, local governments, are giving increased attention to development of local/regional agri-food systems. However, GHG mitigation efforts do not yet seem to factor into local agri-food system discussions. Although frameworks for reporting agriculture GHGs exist, local government measurement of agriculture mitigation is hampered by a lack of agriculture GHG inventories, limited data availability, and the inherent variability in agriculture emissions and removals due to the dynamic nature of farm ecosystems. With the goal of informing local governments and food system planners on the importance of agriculture GHG mitigation, this paper (1) reviews the science of GHGs, (2) describes sources of agriculture GHG emissions and illustrates potential mitigation practices, (3) discusses the variability of agriculture mitigation science, (4) highlights the importance of agriculture GHG inventories, and (5) emphasizes the necessity for local agriculture mitigation strategies

Planning for Climate Action in British Columbia, Canada: Putting Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigation on Local Government Agendas

Significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions from all sectors of human enterprise are necessary to avoid further effects and reduce the current effects of climate change. Agriculture and the global food system are estimated to contribute to one-third of all anthropogenic GHGs. In British Columbia, Canada, mandated GHG reduction targets and voluntary climate action programs are challenging local governments to include emission reduction targets, policies, and actions within official planning documents. At this early stage of GHG reductions, local government attention does not yet include agriculture but is directed toward the transportation, buildings, and waste management sectors. Given agriculture's contribution to GHG emissions and local government's engagement with GHG mitigation and food system planning, it seems reasonable to anticipate that over time, local governments should and will engage increasingly in reducing GHGs from agriculture. With the goal of advancing agriculture GHG mitigation by local governments, this paper reviews the jurisdictional powers governing agriculture and climate change within British Columbia. It examines how local governments can support mitigation within the sector through their roles in planning, policy, programming, and public engagement, and identifies potential research agenda items

Delineating the Southwest British Columbia Bioregion for Food System Design and Planning: A Practical Approach

In light of climate change, resource depletion and environmental degradation, food system vulnera­bility, and food insecurity, the potential to address issues of food system sustainability on local and regional scales is being increasingly recognized and pursued. Bioregions, generally defined as areas that share similar topography, plant and animal life, and human culture, represent an appropriate and consistently applicable scale and framework for sustainable food system analysis, design, and planning. As such, for a southwest British Columbia (SWBC) bioregion food system design and planning project, our first task was to delineate our bioregion. We report on the process, deliberations, and practical considerations that contributed to the determination of the SWBC bioregion for subsequent study. In addition to a complex biogeographic landscape that includes mountains, a major river system and delta, and a marine ecosystem, SWBC’s multicultural and urban/suburban/rural character is further compounded by its proximity to Vancouver Island, as well as by an international border with the Pacific Northwest United States; all represented important considerations in determining the dimensions of the bioregion. Bioregional-scale food system design and planning brings to the forefront the interdependency between human economy and community and the biophysical landscape with which they interact. In this reflective essay, we share our experience in the hope that it will inform the work of other communities in effectively delineating bioregions for food system design and planning that better align human communities and their economy with their environment. We believe the methodology presented has potential for widespread adaptation