Patrick Baur, faculty member in the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Fisheries, Animals and Veterinary Sciences, is proposing a new model for sustainable food systems. He employs the mangrove plant as a beautiful and powerful metaphor to convey his vision. Baur emphasizes that the complex root system of mangroves can represent interconnected food systems that nourish both human livelihoods and ecosystems. This conceptual model is intended to further advance food system innovations that improve the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed in a rapidly changing and challenging global environment.
Baur’s research, released in the journal Nature Food, underscores the importance of reimagining traditional narratives around food systems. Traditionally viewed as linear chains connecting production, distribution, and consumption, Baur argues that food systems should be seen as dynamic networks. His vision truly comes through when discussing the importance of sustainability. These discussions usually focus on the “triple-bottom line,” or environmental, economic and social considerations.
The mangrove acts as a keystone species creating whole ecosystems around itself. Though there’s no perfect counterpart to the function of mangroves in New England, native marine eelgrasses or terrestrial oaks are close in range. Baur’s claim is that these plants’ stories of making it in tough environments can help all of us learn to be more sustainable.
The Need for Change
This latest research by Baur adds to the urgent evidence that we need to change our global food systems. He explains that many existing systems fail to deliver what communities need: nutritious food that supports healthy bodies and ecosystems while offering economic opportunities.
“What all these movements have in common is that they emerge from the ground up as people try to work together to make sure their food systems actually deliver what people need them to,” – Patrick Baur.
Baur’s model seeks to achieve equitable outcomes, both in the short- and long-term. It doesn’t do that by putting economic value above equity or health. He emphasizes that “a sustainable food system is one that can keep providing a balance of those outcomes over time, all at once.”
That mangrove metaphor reflects adaptability, strength, variety – all necessary attributes to thrive in an ever-changing ecosystem. Baur points out that “it’s the diversity and tenacity of the mangrove plant and its ecosystem in the face of a dynamic, often harsh tidal environment that we seek to capture with this metaphor.” This kind of resilience can lead to systems more resilient to disruptive shocks and able to shift in response to new realities.
Rethinking Food Systems
Whether for public art, architecture or landscape design, Baur’s practice inspires a broader dialogue about sustainability. He pushes back on this idea of food systems as a mechanistic chain and calls for a more integrated and holistic view. By understanding food systems as multi-scalar, dynamic networks, stakeholders can have a richer understanding of their complexity and malleability.
“Resilience means that a system can bounce back from disturbance,” – Patrick Baur.
This knowledge is important to developing policies, practices, and accountability measures that truly enable food producers to help realize sustainable, healthy, and thriving food systems. Baur stresses the need to diversify subsystems to improve overall resilience and adaptive capacity. This way of thinking prioritizes what humans need and want while allowing our planet to thrive.
Baur and his colleagues were able to use this research to inform a new, theoretical conceptual model aimed at tackling these complexities. Their results highlight the need for food systems to center economic sustainability. They should ensure social equity and ecological integrity.
Implications for the Future
Baur’s research is hugely important, not just for the ivory tower. It inspires communities to implement concrete steps to advance equitable, sustainable food systems. For this reason, Baur has chosen the mangrove as a metaphor. It shows us that this sense of interconnectedness is what will ultimately allow us to build strong, adaptable and resilient food systems.
Baur explains that today’s food systems tend to neglect the key aspects needed for solutions that truly last. He eloquently advocates for multifaceted approaches that consider a range of factors affecting how food is grown, delivered, and eaten.
“Instead of focusing on just one, like economic value, at the expense of others, like equity or health,” – Patrick Baur.
Baur is constantly improving his model with lessons learned from nature. He’s encouraged that this will ultimately help bring about systemic change in how the nation thinks about and pursues sustainable food production. This work looks beyond today’s urgent challenges. It cements a path for future generations to thrive with equitable and resilient food systems.