Edible Austin Wellness 2017 by Edible Austin

PUBLISHER’S NOTE FOOD AND CLIMATE CHANGE

s summer temperatures sizzle and the fast-moving storms— both weather- and politically generated—are blowing

through, I am wondering just how climate change is going to affect our local food systems in Central Texas and what we are planning to do about it. As I write this, it is a week away from the international C40 Food Systems Network Workshop in Stockholm to address this very topic, and one thing is clear: Cities and local governments, including our own, are serious about it. The City of Austin is one of 25 municipalities participating in this global summit. Austin joined the C40 Local Food Systems Network in 2016, supporting efforts to reduce carbon

PUBLISHERS Marla Camp Jenna Northcutt

EDITOR Kim Lane

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dawn Weston

COPY EDITOR Anne Marie Hampshire

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Claire Cella, Dena Garcia, Cari Marshall, Michelle Moore

emissions and increase resilience throughout our food systems. Austin is also one of eight cities in North America to sign onto the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. According to a Rockefeller Center report, the Milan Urban Food

MARKETING SPECIALISTS Christine Andrews Amy Young

Policy Pact “is the most prominent global initiative that encourages city leaders to consider food systems in resilience planning.” It was established in 2015 to promote

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the development of sustainable food systems that are “inclusive, resilient, safe and

Craig Fisher, Flying Fish

diverse, and able to adapt to and mitigate impacts of climate change.” You can read Mayor Adler’s commitment letter on page 13.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Darby Kendall

Kudos to us for sure, but what does this really mean? Edwin Marty, food policy manager at Austin’s Office of Sustainability, says that one of the goals of Austin’s own resiliency plan that is currently in the works is to ensure that our community is food secure—which includes guaranteeing that there is access to enough food in the case of natural or man-made disasters. As with anything that is a worthwhile endeavor that ultimately succeeds, this takes long-term planning, commitment and investment of resources on the part of our local government as well as a well-researched understanding of potential hazards in the making—such as the effects of climate change. While local food systems are quite vulnerable to localized natural disasters

ADVISORY GROUP Terry Thompson-Anderson, Paula Angerstein, Dorsey Barger, Jim Hightower, Toni Tipton-Martin, Mary Sanger, Carol Ann Sayle

such as hurricanes, fires and those fast-moving storms, they can be saviors with longer-term threats that could take down interstate distribution and communication systems and the more predictable effects of global warming. Either way, strengthening our local food supply is a form of homeland security. And investing in local, sustainable agriculture and distribution systems and protecting our water resources are all critical to this end. How can you join the effort? Keep electing smart, forward-thinking local government representatives. Shop at your friendly farmers markets and support locally produced food products and the people devoted to growing and making healthy food. Grow your own food! Host some chickens in your habitat. Share the bounty and make eating well a social benefit for all. And accept the scientifically proven reality of climate change so that we can deal with it.

Edible Austin is published bimonthly by Edible Austin L.L.C. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher. ©2017. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our sincere apologies and notify us.