SAFRoN

Goals

Our goals for the network are threefold: 

1. Provide networking opportunities for those at Boise State working on the shared goal of improving sustainability in agrifood systems.
2. Facilitate collaboration and increase interdisciplinary scholarship on this important topic.
3. Increase visibility at Boise State, in our local community and across the state of interdisciplinary research focused on agrifood system sustainability.

Motivation

Idaho is experiencing a range of environmental and related social challenges, which can challenge agrifood system sustainability. 

When we think about the term sustainability, we are confronted with a multi-dimensional concept, and while definitions vary, they often include ecological, social and economic considerations.

The agrifood system is an important place to locate research on sustainability, where challenges to sustainability in all dimensions exist. The agrifood system, which encompasses production, processing, distribution, marketing, consumption, waste and more of both food and non-food agricultural products, faces a range of sustainability challenges. Examples include substantial contributions to climate change; erosion of soils; and challenges related to exploitation of land, water, and people.  At the same time, the agrifood system holds great potential for redressing many challenges to sustainability. For instance, while not without shortcomings, agrifood system innovations at local levels, such as food hubs, have been found to improve ecological and social conditions.

This Network shares a common emphasis on achieving sustainability by considering ecological changes and how they intersect with political, economic, social and cultural factors in food and fiber systems. In doing so we can better understand some of the challenges to sustainability in these systems, and work towards addressing these challenges through a variety of mechanisms, including via policy change.