NFC Annual Banquet Keynote Speaker: Tim Rinne
The average bite of food on our plates travels 1500 miles to get there. Your typical grocery store stocks just three days worth of inventory. Our steadily warming climate, with its extreme weather and a higher incidence of disease and pests, is making it increasingly difficult for growers to bring in a harvest. Food shortages — even here in America — are projected to be commonplace by mid-century. And with a shortage of supply, food costs will soar. Not since the Depression and Dust Bowl of the ’30s will Americans have faced such a challenge to feed themselves.
The need to create a resilient, locally based food system has never been greater. Supporting our local farmers and market gardeners is paramount. But food security doesn’t just mean joining a CSA or giving the Nebraska Food Co-op our business. To develop a secure (and sufficient) food supply, city dwellers are going to need to start bringing more than just their appetites to the table. The urban environment (where most of the demand is) is going to need to start pulling its weight in our food production system.
And the sooner we, as a community, dig in to meet this challenge, the easier it’s going to be on everybody.
To hear Tim delve into this topic and connect the dots, see him at NFC’s Annual Banquet on September 14 at Fontenelle Forest.