Beal co-authors report "50 x 60: A New England Food Vision"

If you didn’t know it was happening, it would have been easy to miss the public launch (appropriately made at the festival supporting local foods) of 50 x 60: A New England Food Vision—a report issued by Food Solutions New England, a regional collaborative network coordinated by the University of New Hampshire and organized around the effort to “transform the New England food system into a resilient driver of healthy food, sustainable farming and fishing, and thriving communities.”

The Vision’s central idea is that by 2060, New England could produce 50% of its own food—if the right series of choices were made to enable that shift in both production and consumption.

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Fisheries pose a slightly more complicated picture than farming. It’s hard to count fish accurately, and even harder to project what the ocean may yield 45 years from now. Researcher and 50 x 60 co-author Amanda Beal worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to come up with a current average rate of production and consumption of local wild-caught seafood. “Currently, New England waters produce approximately 2.5 ounces per week of seafood for each person in the region,” Beal writes in the report.

The report’s projected seafood consumption in 2060 suggests four ounces of locally caught seafood per person per week. Integrating locally caught seafood into the 50 x 60 vision focuses on enhancing sustainability efforts on land and at sea, like prioritizing healthy watersheds. “We need to think about how we’re expanding agriculture without having a negative impact on water quality,” says Beal. Protecting spawning grounds and nursery areas for fish is also a priority.

Also critical, says Beal, is consumer education. Encouraging people to try a broader range of seafood species and teaching them cleaning and cooking techniques will help to expand the market for a more diverse range of sustainable seafood.

http://edibleboston.com/50-x-60-a-new-england-food-vision/