This short article discusses the results of the By Land and By Sea project, in which Maine fishermen and farmers came together to discuss common concerns and to forge new solutions aimed at re-envisioning a unified food system

Beal, Amanda

English

University of Maine

Maine Policy ReviewVolume 20Issue 1 Maine's Food System2011By Land and By SeaAmanda BealTufts University, amanda.beal@tufts.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mprPart of the Agriculture Commons, Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Civic andCommunity Engagement CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine.Recommended CitationBeal, Amanda. "By Land and By Sea." Maine Policy Review 20.1 (2011) : 105 -105, https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol20/iss1/18.View current & previous issues of MPR at: mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu/?q=MPR Volume 20, Number 1  ·  MAINE POLICY REVIEW  ·  105FISHING: Adrift in a Sea of Information about Sustainable Seafoodmost benefit from shared solutions. Two key “results” documents, available at www.eatmainefoods.org, are guiding ELFC and coalition members in efforts to amplify the voices and needs of our farmers and fish-ermen and to implement ideas gathered at these forums and from the numerous farming, fishing, and food-related organizations participating in the BLBS project. The By Land and By Sea: Post Regional Forums Data Summary is a complete report of the compiled data gathered at each forum and key themes that arose from discussions that were focused around infrastructure, markets/market access, policy, and consumer education. A policy brief for policymakers, Food Security, Jobs and the Environment, was compiled and distrib-uted to the governor and members of several legislative committees, asking that policymakers make food and related jobs and environmental impact a priority invest-ment in 2011 and beyond. In this document, numerous short- and long-term policy strategies are recommended that would benefit Maine’s food producers and consumers, such as:  •	 Institute	preferential	buying	measures	to	favor	Maine-caught and -grown products for all food purchases with state funds.•	 Facilitate	opportunities	for	in-state	processing	and cooperative marketing, especially to include lobster, shellfish, and other seafood products and work within existing structures to establish a broad-based, affordable pool of money to jump-start value-added and innovative food businesses.•	 Commit	the	state	to	buying	25	percent	of	avail-able federal fishing permits yearly for the next  10 years  to re-establish fishing opportunities for new entrants.•	 Provide	access	to	a	medical	insurance	pool	to all Maine fishermen and farmers through the adoption of a program modeled after the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership Health Care Plan to begin in 2014.•	 Research	the	capacity	of	our	environment	and	our	food infrastructure to produce and deliver a nutri-tionally balanced diet to all Maine citizens.  -By Land and By Sea By Amanda BealMaine’s primary food producers, fishermen and farmers, face many economic, environmental, political, and market-access challenges. Although often thought of as separate sectors, farmers and fishermen are connected through the mechanisms of our general food system and through the natural resources required to produce food. Could collaboration between Maine’s farming and fishing communities:•	 Strengthen	our	local	food	system?•	 Increase	market	shares	and	margins	for	local	producers?•	 Break	down	common	barriers	and	challenges?•	 Better	direct	and	leverage	limited	existing	resources?Nearly two years ago, the Eat Local Foods Coalition (ELFC) of Maine, a statewide nonprofit dedi-cated to helping to put more Maine food on more Maine tables more often, began organizing a project to investigate opportunities that could mutually benefit and strengthen all producer groups. This internationally recognized project, By Land and By Sea (BLBS), has engaged representatives of more than two dozen farming and fishing organizations in Maine, representing thou-sands of stakeholders, to discuss how best to collabora-tively support local food producers, meet infrastructure needs, build consumer support, address policy changes, and determine where it is most beneficial to focus energy and resources to create a food system that is more sustainable, economically viable, and locally based. Representatives of the BLBS project conducted regional forums across the state where hundreds of farmers and fishermen discussed where they see the 

By Land and By Sea

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By Land and By Sea

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