Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Member profile
Browse all members

Keith Kline

Member since
Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Country: United States of America
Field(s) of expertise:
I am working on:

Sustainable bioenergy indicators, climate change adaptation, natural resources management as foundation for development

Distinguished Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Tennessee, USA. Keith assesses renewable energy options to identify approaches that improve land management and livelihoods. Keith worked 24 years in developing nations to support community forest management, biodiversity conservation, clean energy and other Sustainable Development Goals. Based at Oak Ridge since 2008, Keith has authored 90 publications and currently supports US DOE on the Biofuture Clean Energy Ministerial Initiative (sustainability), the Net Zero World Initiative (Just Transitions), ISO Technical Committee 323 (Circular Economy), and International Research Networks on the nexus of Food-Energy-Water.

This member contributed to:

    • Keith Kline

      Oak Ridge National Laboratory
      United States of America

      Rodrigo’s summary was excellent but omitted two key items:

      (a) consistent and clear food labeling (see my prior message on this topic)

      (b) institutional support and coping mechanisms for at-risk populations

      Example: There are 3,143 county jurisdictions in USA. And one single county, Holmes County in Mississippi, is now famous because it is both the US county with the highest obesity rate (47%), AND the US county documented as the “most food insecure” by USDA. Nearly 40 percent of children there have poor access to food. The common denominator is poverty and a lack of social services.   

      http://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/study-the-worst-us-counties-for-your-health

      Keith L. Kline 
      Senior Research Staff, Environmental Sciences
      Climate Change Science Institute http://climatechangescience.ornl.gov/
      Center for BioEnergy Sustainability http://www.ornl.gov/sci/ees/cbes/
      Oak  Ridge National Laboratory    
      1 Bethel Valley Road, Bldg 4500 N, MS 6301
      P.O. Box 2008
      Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6301
      USA

    • Keith Kline

      Oak Ridge National Laboratory
      United States of America

      Overall, agricultural production systems around the world have been improving in efficiency such that the vast majority of increased production over the past two decades is attributed to enhancing “total factor productivity” (TFP) rather than expanding the land area or increasing the inputs needed to feed the world (See for example, Fuglie and Rada 2013; http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2013-november/growth-in-global-agricultural-productivity-an-update.aspx#.VIm0GDHF-E4 ). 

      Further, as urbanization accelerates, many households bring agriculture and small animal husbandry with them into urban and periurban areas. Similarly, urban areas often expand into agricultural zones without totally displacing production. Thus, it seems clear that an important and growing share of food consumption is coming from these periurban/urban landscapes and this may be one of many reasons for observed improvements in TFP in recent years. However, more research is needed to quantify the scale and impacts. In the USA, rural producers living near urban centers are increasingly participating in urban “farmers markets.” Given that the most urgent and growing food problems in the world relate to malnutrition and health effects associated not with lack of food, but with too much of the wrong foods (WHO 2014), trends that facilitate healthy diets  should be encouraged. As the US Department of Agriculture reports, “The growing number of farmers markets could reflect increased demand for local and regional food products based on consumer perceptions of their freshness and quality, support for the local economy, environmental benefits, or other perceived attributes relative to food from traditional marketing channels. This chart updates one found in the ERS report, Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues, ERR-97, May 2010.”  Given population dynamics, periurban and urban food production and systems will need to be designed to conserve and recycle energy and nutrients to efficiently meet future food security requirements.  

      Keith L. Kline 

      Senior Research Staff, Environmental Sciences

      Climate Change Science Institute http://climatechangescience.ornl.gov/

      Center for BioEnergy Sustainability http://www.ornl.gov/sci/ees/cbes/

      Oak  Ridge National Laboratory