Foodshed
The “farm-to-table” movement is focused on producing food locally within a foodshed, and delivering it to local consumers. Direct farm-to-table in the United States tends to comprise only a very minor segment of the food distribution system in terms of size and importance, but is growing in popularity.Nearly 5 percent of all farmers engage in some form of direct food marketing. Estimates of all farm-to-table sales within a foodshed range from roughly $550 million to $2 billion. Many local farms are family-run farms that are successful and do survive through poor economic conditions. Ecologists consider to be more adaptive and more likely to “reproduce” in highly variable and uncertain environments.
Open Agriculture Initiative
The term Food Computer can apply generally to any of the Open Agriculture Initiative’s controlled-environment systems, or specifically to the smallest model, which is also called a Personal Food Computer. The tabletop-sized unit is intended for use in homes, classrooms, and small-scale experimental facilities. The mid-sized model, or Food Server, is the size of an internationally standardized shipping container, and utilizes vertical farming structures. It is intended for use in cafeterias, restaurants, local grocers, and large-scale experimental facilities. The largest version of the Food Computer will be warehouse-sized Food Data Centers that will function on the level of industrial crop production.