FOODSHED CALCULATIONS The foodshed analysis employed by this report—the New England Food Vision— determines the acreage of New England farmland required to meet most of the nutritional needs of New England’s population. Acreage amounts are calculated based upon three main assumptions: a diet based upon USDA dietary recommendations, the practice of sustainable agriculture, and a New England population of 17,000,000 people by the year 2060. The table on page 62 shows the acreage of farmland needed to meet the nutritional needs of New England. The total acreage is broken down into the amounts needed for each food type and grouped into three main categories: cropland, pasture, and orchard. Column One shows baseline acreage amounts for how much farmland is required to meet all of New England’s nutritional needs—this includes acreage amounts for food types that would be imported into New England (i.e. rice, tropical fruits, sugar). These amounts were calculated by the New England Good Food Vision and, when possible, were based upon the approximate caloric yields of New England farmland (how much of each type of food can be produced by an average acre of regional farmland, converted from pounds to calories). Column Two shows the acreage amounts that New England would need to achieve complete self-sufficiency—if no food were imported into New England. These amounts have been extrapolated from the calculations of the New England Food Vision. To do this extrapolation, the calories provided by imported foods are instead provided by foods that would be grown within New England. Because the approximate caloric yields for foods grown within New England are based upon New England growing conditions, this does not always imply a direct transfer of acreage. The calories previously provided by rice are here provided by oats (this is not a 1:1 ratio of oat acres to rice acres). The calories previously provided by tropical fruits are provided by temperate fruits. The calories
previously provided by imported sugars could be provided by maple syrup or honey; however, the acreage needed to produce maple syrup and honey are not included in the calculations of farmland acreage. Column Three is the “Vision” proposed by the New England Food Vision. This vision proposes that New England supplies most of its nutritional needs, but not all. Rice, tropical fruits, and sugar would still be imported. In addition, 60 percent of wheat, 60 percent of grains for oils and beer, and 60 percent of supplemental feed grains for livestock would be imported. The proposed vision does not advocate for even greater agricultural production because it recognizes the “parallel social and environmental benefits of maintaining a mostly forested landscape” (Donahue 2012a). The New England Good Food Vision uses the framework of the Harvard Forest Wildlands and Woodlands (2010) proposal, which calls for at least 70 percent of New England to be conserved in permanent forest (75-80 percent of Northern New England and 50 percent of Southern New England). The proposed vision is also informed by New England’s agricultural history—New England began importing grains from the Midwest in the late 1800s. During the same time period, New England reached the height of its agricultural production. The vision recognizes that grains are relatively easy to store and transport and proposes that New England soils would be put to best use by growing only a limited amount of them. In addition, the vision accounts for people’s possible reluctance to completely switch to an all-local diet by proposing that New England continue to import rice, tropical fruits, and sugar. In the table on page 63, these New Englandbased calculations are adapted to the population of Franklin County. ACRES OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
FARMLAND & FOODSHED STUDY
61