Planning for the local food system in the United States

To improve local food systems in the U.S. it is important to understand what is happening in the dominant mainstream food system, because that system poses formidable constraints to how much success local food systems can achieve. Major changes occurred in the food-system-centred part of the American landscape. The principal trends in the changes of the food system are that farmers get less of the food dollar, their numbers decrease and large farms are dominating the farming community. Accompanying changes are high pesticide use, less biodiversity in crops, more use of genetically modified organisms and booming factory farms. These trends change the rural communities and make farmland disappear from urban fringes. The consumer part is changing by the development of mega-superstores and fast-food chains. Driving forces are the increasing concentration in the mainstream food industry, horizontal and vertical integration making the concentration processes more dominant. Changes in food consumption and globalization of the market both affect the patterns in the landscape, as did the environmental movement. Local food systems are still existing, but more fragile and characterized by diversity. They cannot change the dominant food systems. A stronger planning system can help them to provide a more solid place on the market by filling in the gaps and making use of the movement towards healthy/sustainable food systems. Complementarities between the American and European experience can be noted, although differences exist as well.