VISUALIZING FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1013331
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2022
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824

Performing Department
Community Sustainability

Non Technical Summary
Food and agricultural systems, including farming, processing, distribution and consumption, have become much more complex in recent decades. A typical meal today, for example, might include ingredients sourced from all over the globe, and involve labyrinthine networks of firms. This complexity results makes it difficult for communities to recognize the changes that are occurring, let alone respond in ways that will have positive economic, social and ecological impacts. Partially as a result of this increasing sense of disconnection, food and agricultural systems have recently come under increasing public scrutiny. Numerous bestselling books and popular documentaries have criticized potentially unsustainable aspects of conventional approaches to supplying food. To ensure that citizen efforts to positively reform the food system are successful, these must be based on accurate information.Obtaining accurate information poses a significant challenge, not only due to the rapid, and often hidden, nature of food system changes, but the increasing amounts of data available to characterize these changes. The extent of this data imposes significant burdens on our cognitive capacities. Advances in visualization, however, help us to better utilize large datasets, analyze recent trends, and communicate these trends with much wider audiences. When applied to food and agricultural systems, data visualization has the potential to help citizens better recognize accelerating changes, and to provide more input into these systems. I employ data visualization with a focus on two specific aspects of food and agricultural systems, 1) consolidation and 2) ecolabels, as described below.Consolidation is one change that has overwhelmed the public's capacity to comprehend and analyze with traditional tools. Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances have occurred at a pace that make it difficult even for many industry insiders to comprehend the current scope of consolidation, and these are even more opaque for the consumers and producers who interact with these industries. There is a need for valid, yet easily understood characterizations of these structural changes to food and agricultural systems, so that affected communities can democratically determine the most appropriate responses.Ecolabels are one response to recent changes in food and agricultural systems, with a goal of achieving sustainability-they are indicators that visually communicate the embodiment of specific practices (such as avoidance of certain inputs, or efforts to improve the health of agroecosystems). Such labels may assist consumers who wish to support these values, since they are rarely apparent on the product itself, and may assist producers to establish a niche in a competitive market and/or elicit price premiums. There has been insufficient systematic research on consumer and producer interests, however, to inform the development of new labels, or the improvement of existing labels. Assisting producers to understand consumer interests may identify additional market opportunities, and lead to greater economic success. Conversely, assisting consumers to understand producer interests may encourage food production that more effectively addresses their sustainability goals, or enable ecolabeled products to become more accessible at the retail level.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

0%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
604	6050	3080	30%
803	6050	3080	50%
803	6230	3080	20%

Knowledge Area
803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities; 604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices;

Subject Of Investigation
6230 - Marketing systems and sectors thereof; 6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

food and agricultural systems

consolidation

ecolabels

visualization

sustainability

Goals / Objectives
ConsolidationOne long-term objective of this research is to visually characterize changes in food and agricultural systems, with a focus on consolidation. The specific sub-objectives to be accomplished within the time frame of this project are:1) Visualize patterns of consolidation in industries with targeted sustainability efforts, including the fair trade and organic ecolabels.2) Visualize patterns of consolidation in industries that have important impacts on social, economic and ecological sustainability criteria, such as: seeds; fertilizers; animal genetics; grain collection and processing; and meat production and processing.EcolabelsA second long-term objective of this research is to assist communities to respond positively to food and agricultural system changes, with a focus on ecolabels. The specific sub-objectives to be accomplished within the time frame of this project are:3) Investigate consumer preferences, and motivations underlying these preferences, as they relate to food sustainability issues, with an emphasis on informing efforts to create or expand food ecolabels, such as domestic fair trade and wildlife friendly labels.4) Quantify producer interests and willingness to adopt sustainability criteria (existing labels, and criteria desired by consumers but not found in current labels), as applied to specific food products.

Project Methods
ConsolidationTo meet sub-objectives 1 and 2, consolidation of ownership in key food and agricultural industries, will be investigated through:1-2a) Recoding existing large datasets, as well as the collection of new data. In most cases this will involve detailed retailer surveys of specific products, followed by extensive analysis of industry trade journals and company websites to uncover ownership relations not apparent on product labels.1-2b) Visualization and analysis of data using tools including OmniGraffle, Gephi, GIS, R, D3 and other programs. Data will be encoded with cues such as size, color, shape and spatial position to reduce cognitive burdens on the viewer. In some cases the resulting visualizations will be interactive, rather than simply static, in order to encourage viewers to query the underlying data, and explore patterns.1-2c) Testing visualizations with interviews and focus groups to determine the most effective means of communicating key ideas uncovered in the research with broad audiences.EcolabelsTo meet sub-objectives 3 and 4, interests in ecolabel criteria will be investigated through:3) interviews, focus groups and surveys to better understand consumer interests in emerging ecolabel criteria. Fuzzy-logic cognitive mapping using MentalModeler will explore their importance relative to other factors involved in purchasing decisions. Regression models using SPSS will test individual-level variables associated with these interests when applied to specific products.4a) Conducting interviews with 30 Michigan cherry and blueberry growers and analyzing the resulting fuzzy-logic cognitive maps with MentalModeler. This method will be used to explore grower interest in practices that might be incorporated in to a wildlife friendly ecolabel, with questions and analysis focusing more specifically on pest management decision-making. Although this is a visual method, more images will be integrated with words to reduce cognitive burdens on research and outreach audiences.4b) Implementing a national survey of cherry and blueberry growers to quantify interest in adopting kestrel nest boxes relative to other pest management strategies. Analysis with SPSS will test grower and orchard variables associated with high levels of interest.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included attendees at a presentation to the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference. They also included students, faculty and community members attending guest lectures or colloquiums at Michigan State University, Lansing Community College and North Carolina State University. Additional audiences included readers of media that quoted investigator Philip H. Howard or featured this project's research, such as The Wall Street Journal, Farm Journal, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Radio4 and Seed World. Finally, audiences included thousands of visitors to philhoward.net, which featured this research. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided opportunities for training and professional development for PhD student Christopher Bardenhagen, who was lead author of two peer-reviewed journal articles. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been communicated in numerous formats, including peer-reviewed publications, public presentations, blog posts on investigator Philip H. Howard's website, and media interviews. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?A four state survey with apple growers was conducted to learn more about opportunities and challenges related to cider specific varieties. In addition, a focus group with hard cider makers was held in each state. Results are being analyzed for publication in scholarly journals. A national survey of hard cider consumers is in development.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project characterized consolidation in a number of food and agricultural industries, including the state of concentration globally, particularly for agricultural inputs, as well as seed industry impacts in the United States. Other scholarly publications focused on farmer mental models of pest management decisions and their implications for adoption of kestrel nest boxes. Outreach publications included an update on consolidation in the US beer industry. Additional visualization and analysis of consolidation in food and agricultural industries was conducted for a second edition of Concentration and Power in the Food System (under contract with Bloomsbury Academic) and a report to Family Farm Action Alliance.

Publications

• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Howard, Philip H. and Mary K. Hendrickson. 2020. The State of Concentration in Global Food and Agriculture Industries. Pp. 89-91 in Transformation of Our Food Systems: The Making of a Paradigm Shift (Hans Herren, Benedikt Haerlin & IAASTD +10 Advisory Group, eds.). ISBN 978-3-00-066209-6.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bardenhagen, Christopher James, Philip H. Howard & Steven A. Gray. 2020.�A Birds Eye View: Fruit Grower Interest in Adoption of Nest Boxes.�Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2020.1776434
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bardenhagen, Christopher James, Philip H. Howard & Steven A. Gray.�2020. Farmer Mental Models of Biological Pest Control: Associations with Adoption of Conservation Practices in Blueberry and Cherry Orchards.�Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems�(Agroecology and Ecosystem Services section)�4, 54.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Howard, Philip H. 2020. How Corporations Control our Seeds. Pp. 15-29 in�Bite Back: People Taking on Corporate Food and Winning�(Saru Jarayaman & Kathryn De Master, eds.). Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Howard, Philip H. 2019. Recent Changes in the U.S. Beer Industry. https://philhoward.net/2019/12/30/recent-changes-in-the-u-s-beer-industry/

Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included attendees at keynote speeches at the Diversifood Final Congress in Rennes, France and the European Conference on Crop Diversification. Additional audiences included students, faculty and community members attending guest lectures at Kyoto University (Japan), Iowa State University, Wilson College (PA), Indiana University, Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. They also included readers of media that quoted investigator Philip H. Howard or featured this project's research, such as The New York Times, Successful Farming, HortiDaily, The American Conservative, Star Tribune and Civil Eats. Finally, audiences included thousands of visitors to philhoward.net, which featured this research. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?PhD student Chris Bardenhagen improved his skills in survey design, implementation and analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Interviews were broadcast in Eat This Podcast, Marketing Munchies Podcast and KCBS (San Francisco), and results disseminated in MSU Today and Grow: Wisconsin's Magazine for the Life Sciences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Further analysis of consolidation in the meat, seafood, dairy and alternative protein industries is underway with colleagues from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. Outreach will be conducted with presentations at numerous colleges and universities, as well as at scholarly meetings in the U.S. and in the E.U.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Visualization and analysis of global protein industries was conducted. The economic impact of the craft beer value chain in Michigan was analyzed and results were published in the journal Beverages. A survey of Michigan cider apple growers was conducted and analysis is in progress.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Gliessman, Steve, Harriet Friedmann & Philip H. Howard. 2019. Agroecology and Food Sovereignty. IDS Bulletin 50(2), 91-110.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Howard, Philip H. 2019. Corporate Concentration in Global Meat Processing: The Role of Feed and Finance Subsidies. Pp. 31-53 in Global Meat: Social and Environmental Consequences of the Expanding Meat Industry (Bill Winders and Elizabeth Ransom, eds.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Hendrickson, Mary K., Philip H. Howard & Douglas H. Constance. 2019. Power, Food and Agriculture: Implications for Farmers, Consumers and Communities. Pp. 13-61 in In Defense of Farmers: The Future of Agriculture in the Shadow of Corporate Power (Jane W. Gibson and Sara E. Alexander, eds.). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Miller, Steven R., J. Robert Sirrine, Ashley McFarland, Philip H. Howard & Trey Malone. 2019. Craft Beer as a Means of Economic Development: An Economic Impact Analysis of the Michigan Value Chain. Beverages 5(2), 35.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Howard, Philip H. 2018. Increasing Corporate Control: From Supermarkets to Seeds. Pp. 116-131 in Twenty Lessons in the Sociology of Food and Agriculture (Jason Konefal & Maki Hatanaka, eds.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included colleagues at the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society, and the Agriculture Food and Human Values Society. They also included farmers at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO in Grand Rapids, and students, faculty and community members attending guest lectures at Loyola University, Kent State University, West Shore Community College, Lansing Community College, and Michigan State University. Additional audiences included readers of media that quoted investigator Philip H. Howard or featured this project's research, such as CNN, BBC News, Viewpoint Magazine, and Good Fruit Grower. Finally, audiences included thousands of visitors to philhoward.net, which featured this research. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?PhD student Chris Bardenhagen improved his skilly in survey design, implementation and analysis, and is co-authoring a manuscript in preparation based on these results. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Interviews were published in Good Fruit Grower magazine and Eat This Podcast (podcast), and results disseminated in The Engaged Scholar E-Newsletter, National Science Foundation News, and MSU Today. In addition several presentations targeted to specific communities of interest are listed below: Lindell, Catherine & Philip H. Howard. 2018. "American Kestrels Saving Michigan Berries from Predation." Dessert with Discussion, Kellogg Biological Station, Hickory Corners, MI. March. Howard, Phil. 2017. "Analyzing Farmers' Pest Management Decision-Making." Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO. Grand Rapids, MI. November. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Further analysis of consolidation in the meat industry, along with other protein industries (e.g. seafood, pulses) will be conducted with colleagues on the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. Previous analyses of the global seed industry and North American organic food processing industries will be updated. Outreach will be conducted with presentations at numerous colleges and universities, as well as at scholarly meetings in the U.S. and in the E.U.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Visualization and analysis of consolidation in the global meat processing industry was conducted, and a book chapter for an edited book was revised and resubmitted (under contract with MIT Press). Visualization and analysis of consolidation in the US beer industry were conducted and published in the journal Beverages. A national online survey of blueberry and cherry farmer pest management decision-making and preferences for kestrel nest boxes was conducted and analyzed. Further analysis of Michigan farmer interview data was conducted and a manuscript is near completion.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Lindell, Catherine, Rachael A. Eaton, Philip H. Howard, Steven M. Roels & Megan Shave. 2018. Enhancing Agricultural Landscapes to Increase Crop Pest Reduction by Vertebrates. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 257, 1-11.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Howard, Philip H. 2018. Craftwashing in the U.S. Beer Industry. Beverages, 4(1).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Howard, Phil, Marcy Ostrom, Michelle Miller & David. Conner. 2018. Apple to Glass: Improving Orchard Profitability through Developing Regional Craft Ciders. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Portland, OR. July.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Howard, Philip H. & Chris Bardenhagen. 2018. Mapping Farmer Expectations for Changes in Human and Natural Systems: Implications for Attracting Falcons to Fruit Orchards. (Poster) Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Portland, OR. July.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Bardenhagen, Chris, Philip H. Howard & Steven Gray. 2018. Industry-Wide Interest in Increasing Conservation Practices as a Marketing Tool: Falcons and Fruit in the United States. (Poster) Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society, Madison, WI. June.

Progress 09/01/17 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?PhD student Chris Bardenhagen received opportunities to improve his data analysis skills, and is co-authoring a manuscript in preparation that analyzes pest management decision making by fruit growers in Michigan. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Interviews were published in BBC News and Michigan Organic Connections newsletter. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Results will be disseminated to fruit growers at meetings in Grand Rapids and other locations throughout the state. A national survey of cherry and blueberry growers to better understand pest management decisionswill be designed and implemented. An analysis of changes in the U.S. beer industry will be conducted. Additional outreach to state, national and international audiences will be conducted.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Analysis of data from interviews with fruit growers. Four chapters on food system consolidationfor different edited books were revised and submitted.

Publications