Systems Thinking and Food Security Dr Alex Arnall Reading IFSTAL Principal Investigator and Dr Harley Pope Reading IFSTAL Educational Coordinator #IFSTAL What are the food system challenges? against a background of natural resource depletion and many stagnating rural economies and changing climate and social and socio-cultural changes To achieve food security for a growing, wealthier, urbanising population while minimising further environmental degradation Human systems are: 1.Global in scope 2.Dispersed and interlinked 3.Complex 4.Reflect patterns of socioeconomic inequality Tame problems: complicated but solvable Well-defined and stable problem statement Definite stopping point Solutions can be: Objectively evaluated Solutions can be generalised to similar problems Tried and abandoned Tame problems: complicated but solvable Well-defined and stable problem statement Definite stopping point Solutions can be: Objectively evaluated Solutions can be generalised to similar problems Tried and abandoned When n% of plants survive under a particular set of abnormally dry circumstances Wicked problems: complex and intractable Solutions are poorly-defined and contested, thus commonly defying attempts at resolution Transcend disciplinary, organisational, institutional, and geo-political boundaries Super-wicked problems..? Time is running out No central authority Those seeking to solve the problem might also be contributing to it Policies discount the future irrationally Overfishing Major food producing activity 90 million tonnes wild capture per year Integrated into global food systems Fish: livelihood, dietary and culture significance Up to 85% of worlds fisheries over-exploited / depleted or recovering Tackling overfishing Three possible strategies: 1.Authoritative: enforcement of laws 2.Competitive: consumer awareness 3.Collaborative: awareness in fishing industry 1. Unexpected / unwanted outcomes Lose sight of the bigger picture Particular solutions, when implemented, can cause problems elsewhere in the system 2. Incomplete knowledge Fishing population dynamics Fishing stock recovery Impacts on fishing communities Cultural attitudes towards seafood Adapted from:Leach, M., Scoones, I., & Stirling, A. (2010). Dynamic sustainabilities: technology, environment, social justice. Earthscan. 3. Power dimensions Tackling complex problems is essentially a political process Something often denied or downplayed Reliance on bureaucratic, rationalist decision-making frameworks Exclusion of groups from decision-making processes What is a System? System a complex whole of related parts Systems Thinking Thinking about thinking The consideration of something in its totality, its interaction with the wider environment, while also considering its constituent parts and their interactions Systems Methods Includes concepts, frameworks and methods that support our ability to think systemically in different contexts A Representation of a Food System System Properties Systems can have levels System parts can be nested in each other Individual agents or system parts can aggregate to form patterns of behaviour such as self- organisation and new functions - emergence System Dynamics System behaviours can form patterns: Fixed Periodic Complex Chaotic (random) A Representation of a Food System Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) Systems with multiple elements adapting or reacting to the patterns these elements create Interesting properties of CASs: Time / Distance separation of outcomes Path Dependence Resilience Tipping Points (self- organised criticality) Nine Meals From Anarchy New Economics Foundation (NEF) report Average person in UK has three days of food available Just in time supply chain management: Minimises waste Maximises profit BUT: Assumes tomorrow largely same as today Dependent on functional transport system, electricity & oil Source:Simms, A. (2008). Nine Meals from Anarchy: Oil Depletion, Climate Change and the Transition to Resilience. Schumacher Lecture. Analysing Systems The literature on systems thinking is well established and vast A simplified synthesis exists! DSRP Distinctions, Systems, Relationships & Perspectives (DSRP) We can consider systems through four interrelated patterns of thinking DSRP stands for: Distinctions Systems Relationships Perspectives Source: Cabrera, D. & Colosi, L. (2008). Distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspectives (DSRP): A theory of thinking and of things Evaluation and Program Planning, Volume 31, Issue 3, August 2008, Pages DSRP 4 Interrelated Patterns of Thinking... Consisting of 2 contrasting elements... Framing Questions Making Distinctions identity other What is ___ ? What is not ___? Organising Systems parts whole Does ___ have parts? Can you think of ___ as a part? Recognising Relationships cause effect Is ___ related to ___? Can you think of ___ as a relationship? Taking Perspectives point view From the perspective of __________, [insert question]? Can you think about ____________ from a different perspective? Adapted from:Cabrera, D. and Colosi, L. (2009) Thinking at Every Desk: How Four Simple Thinking Skills Will Transform Your Teaching, Classroom, School, and District. Ithaca, NY: The Research Institute for Thinking in Education. Food Waste - Distinctions Definitions What it is and what it isnt (boundaries) Food Waste - Systems Who is creating it? Where is it created? Food Waste - Relationships How, why and when is waste being generated? Who bears the cost? Can it be distributed? Food Waste - Perspectives To what extent is waste a problem? How do individuals, groups and organisations see it? Is food waste linked to other problems? Doing Systems Thinking There is no definitive vision of the food system to discover When looking at systems we have to deal with incomplete knowledge, power dynamics and different perspectives We use systems thinking to enhance our understanding through uncovering relationships and identifying opportunities to intervene and communicate Systems methodologies can help us apply our systems thinking