BELFAST, Maine — June 26, 2014 — Could Maine produce a sixth of the region's food by 2060?
Right now, 90 percent of the food consumed by New England's 14.5 million residents comes from somewhere else, according to a recent report published by Food Solutions New England that also found that the region's population consumes 16 million acres of food products, of which less than 2 million acres is actually in New England.
Factoring in population trends, land availability, water resources and dietary habits, New England could be producing 50 percent of all of the food it consumes by 2060, according to the 44-page report authored by agriculture, fisheries and nutrition experts.
They contend that New England could once again become a food basket – by developing policies that spur local agricultural production, environmental sustainability, a more diverse diet and a more equal income distribution.
"I want to emphasize that this is not a prediction of what will happen," said Brian Donahue, an environmental studies professor at Brandeis University and co-author of the report, "A New England Food Vision," at MaineFare in Belfast last weekend. "It'll take an awful lot of work for it to happen. It's just a vision of what could be achieved. It's a set of ambitious, but plausible aspirations, based on a set of core values."
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