Mailbag: An Opportunity to Shape Policy
JULY 21, 2007 - Here’s an invitation to readers of this blog to share their knowledge of any local foods research or initiatives…and help build a better Texas! From Gretchen Stoeltje, a researcher with the Texas Department of Transportation:
Daily, we face the reality that we are running out of road at the same time that our population is increasing. The idea that changing our food consumption habits might offer some relief is intriguing, so I have been looking into the question of whether measuring and reducing “food miles” would yield meaningful results to the transportation sector. By reducing our food miles, how much congestion could we reduce? How many miles of road could we preserve? How much economic opportunity could we create? How much could we improve transportation safety? How much could we reduce polluting emissions? What I produce will be a policy recommendation and not a scientific report. I have been working with North American findings from Iowa (the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture) and Ontario (the Region of Waterloo Department of Public Health), as well as British studies from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. I would appreciate hearing about any other similar state or federal efforts here in the U.S. that may not be as widely known or available as the ones I’ve found thus far. Thanks to you and your readers for any suggestions.
Gretchen has asked that readers send news of any initiatives to us here at jamesandalisa@100milediet.org. That way, we can all be informed. Spread the word! -JBM
