This role would potentially be lost with the disappearance of small farmers. This dissertation adds to the available data on the benefits and strengths of allowing food systems to relocalize in certain contexts where this is desirable or under way. Some see an inherent benefit in local choice and sovereignty over resource production and consumption, whether that resource is energy , food , or forest . A bio-regionally appropriate approach to food production is analogous to bio-regionally appropriate energy generation in that both recognize the value of doing what makes sense in a particular place. Where it is warm, grow heat-loving plants: where it is windy, install wind turbines. Drawing on Amory Lovins’ “soft path” approach for the American energy sector, a soft path for food systems would entail regionally tailored production systems matched with appropriate technology for processing and distributing food products from areas where there is plenty to areas where food is scarce, starting from within the region. This bears similarities to distributed energy resource planning that incorporates batteries alongside generation technologies to store energy when it is plentiful and provide energy in times when demand is high. In arguing for relocalization of the food system and for reconnecting people to their food sources, this dissertation offers an indirect critique of the “feed the world” narrative prevalent in much food systems research. Many food related research articles, including materials promulgated by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization , begin with a statement such as, “in order to feed a population of 9 billion by 2050, the world must double its current rate of food production, even as climate change threatens our ability to produce food at current rates.” Statements such as this overtly ignore the reality that the world is currently producing more than enough calories to support the global population, yet some people have too much and others do not have enough to eat,flood table and up to 40% of food that is produced in developed countries such as the United States is ultimately wasted .

The global food system is producing a glut of grain and commodity crops often used for animal feed or for bio-fuels in some cases, focusing on profits rather than feeding the hungry. In the United States, almost 90% of total cropland acreage is planted with just three crops: corn, soybeans, and wheat , much of which is used for non-human consumption. There is a food distribution problem in the U.S. and globally, in addition to a food production problem , rooted in systems of inequality and legacies of racial and economic discrimination. However, this dissertation does not directly engage with this debate, as it does not conduct the national or global modeling of land use requirements for agroecological production systems and does not attempt to average or quantify amounts of food produced per acre from such systems. Reconnecting people to the simple yet powerful act of growing food, the production element of the food system, has the potential to unlock advocacy for change in other system elements . Those who produce food or have knowledge about farming/food production are more likely to seek out shorter food supply chains and local distribution points, as well as less likely to waste food, knowing the time and energy that went into growing it in the first place. Reconnecting people with food production and thus, the food system as a whole, is part of the essential social-ecological and educational value that small farms provide to community. Recalling the work of Ostrom and SES scholars, it is clear that the policy work required to govern a return to a food production “commons” in some local arenas will be contentious, and will need to overcome controversies and tensions among different food system stakeholders. Some changes to local food systems may create winners and losers, favoring farmers over low income consumers, or farm owners over land lessees. It is the role of food systems-informed policymakers as well as ordinary citizens to consider trade-offs and synergies, and seek to make the best possible decisions for their local, regional, or state contexts, while continuing to pay attention to and advocate for appropriate national shifts in funding, subsidies, etc. . The work will not be easy and will benefit from further research exploring effective as well as ineffective policies geared towards facilitating sustainable local food system governance. While my dissertation does not address explicit strategies for greening and improving the sustainability of the industrial food system, research in this direction is urgently needed. It is not realistic to expect the dominant food system paradigm to disappear overnight, replaced by small scale agroecological farms.

Therefore, efforts to increase water use efficiency, reduce runoff laden with nitrogen fertilizers and chemicals, reduce fertilizer, pesticide, and herbicide application rates, reduce nitrous oxide and methane emissions, and increase biodiversity on large industrial farms are important areas for research and extension. Examples abound in the work of Don Cameron at Terra Nova Ranch, pioneering the practice of on-farm water recharge by flooding his fields in winter to recharge depleted groundwater aquifers; David Doll working in the capacity of Farm Advisor in Merced County to promote practices such as Whole Orchard recycling to convert orchard biomass into a valuable soil building resource; and Gabe Brown of Brown’s Ranch in North Dakota, reducing the use of herbicides and pesticides as he converts hundreds of acres to no-till farming and allows a healthy community of diverse soil microorganisms to control weeds and pests. Key practices such as no-till farming, optimal use of biomass , groundwater recharge, and substitution of chemical inputs for natural processes require further place-based research in order to develop and disseminate “best practices” for large scale operations through farmer-to-farmer and extension networks. Future food systems research endeavors would benefit from integrating social scientists into interdisciplinary research teams and integrating research with local policymakers and policy processes as early as possible. Many expressed needs from farmers on both Lopez and in the East Bay cannot be addressed by scientific research, but call for policy change or intervention. Some policies will be harder to enact than others, for example, those calling for the restructuring of hegemonic private property systems in favor of cooperative and public ownership models. Emerging infectious diseases are on the rise in many different taxa. For example, batrachochytrids have devastated amphibian populations worldwide , the snake fungal disease is impacting snakes ,indoor plant table and the SARS-CoV- 2 virus is responsible for COVID-19 in humans and other mammals . Thus far, impacts of the 2020 pandemic resulting from COVID-19 have proven more detrimental to human health and the global economy than any other disease in contemporary history . Zoonoses are becoming increasingly common and are having progressively greater impacts on human societies . The factors responsible for the recent spread of zoonoses include the increase in human-wildlife interaction caused by both human encroachment on natural habitats and the increasing animal trade . However, in just a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed global attitudes about the wildlife trade and its impact on nature conservation . Resulting actions such as trade bans can be used as springboards by the conservation community to make inroads into wildlife conservation. Several animal taxa, including mammals and reptiles, have been implicated in the transfer of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to human populations . In response, and in an unprecedentedly rapid action of global environmental leadership, the government of the People’s Republic of China took the initiative to impose a wildlife trade ban that included the majority of wild vertebrates consumed in China.

Prior to the pandemic, only 402 species were on the List of Wild Animals Under State Priority Conservation and banned from consumption, resulting in hundreds of non-listed species as potentially consumable. This number however increased following the trade ban and there are now only 18 species that can be legally traded and bred for consumption or other consumables such as skins and furs . This initial ban was quickly followed by a proposal for a similar ban from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam, under different specifications . Likewise, the Republic of Korea benefited from the shift in public opinion following the 2020 pandemic to ban the import of two invasive freshwater turtles, bringing the total of banned species to four testudinids and one anuran . Within China, both Jiangxi and Hunan provinces have recently developed special programs and incentives to stop the trade of wildlife, and the city of Wuhan has placed a total ban on the commercial wildlife trade. These trade bans are considered by many to be a critical step towards reducing the risk of zoonoses and further pandemics, and trade regulations for amphibians are equally important because of the risk of direct and indirect transmission from amphibians intended for consumption and the pet trade . Namely, several species of mycobacteria are zoonotic, and arbovirus have shown the potential for zoonoses . In addition, the bans are considered an important move forward for animal conservation because biological resource use is listed as a driver of decline for numerous species listed as threatened by The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species .

These bans, and stricter regulations, have been shown to have the potential to provide a much-needed respite that could promote the recovery of animal populations that are harvested in the wild . The decrease in harvesting pressures on species and the reduced contact between wildlife and humans could also lower the risk of zoonoses. This is especially true for amphibians, as they naturally control a wide variety of vectors of pathogens . For instance, many amphibian tadpoles compete with and/or prey on mosquito larvae , an important approach to disease control as more than a million humans die each year because of mosquito-borne diseases . In this regard, the role of amphibians should not be ignored, as a single larval mole salamander can eat up to 900 mosquito larvae a day , and there is now evidence linking the amphibian collapse to malaria outbreaks . Furthermore, amphibians prey upon flies associated with human diseases and deter fly oviposition . Amphibians also have other socioeconomic benefits, such as providing pest control in agricultural landscapes . For instance, amphibians are especially beneficial to crops such as soy and rice by consuming agricultural pests. However, the Vietnamese trade ban is likely to be only temporary and other countries in Asia, with numerous wet markets, have not yet implemented any increased regulation. Moreover, the Chinese trade ban was announced by the Chinese Department of Forestry and does not include species under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture. This distinction has resulted in the continued free trade of most fishes, amphibians and reptiles, even though fish-borne zoonoses have been increasing in number and diversity since the 1950s ; viral zoonoses have arisen in reptiles ; and amphibian-borne fungal panzootics such as those driven by batrachochytrids have contributed to the largest documented extinction of species in modern times . Consequently, despite being most welcome, the bans need to be expanded to support the conservation of some of the world’s most threatened taxa while simultaneously preventing further zoonoses. As we highlight here, the eastern Asian region, geographically defined as bordering the Pacific Ocean and associated countries, is also high in amphibian species richness but lacks comprehensive regulation or restriction of their exploitation . We acknowledge the subsistence economy that involves the trade and farming of certain species under the legislation of the Department of Agriculture and the importance of the well being of such farmers. One such species is the Critically Endangered, but commercially abundant, Chinese giant salamander, Andrias davidianus . However, we urge a shift away from farming invasive or non-native species for human consumption, such as the American bullfrog . In addition, we strongly recommend increased restrictions and regulations on the national and international amphibian pet trade, which involves millions of animals annually . The trade is the most diverse source of pathogens in terms of species richness, and results in increased physical contact between captive animals and pet owners, as well as pathogen pollution to the wider environment.