ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some closing thoughts on key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book proposes a systems approach whose objective is to integrate sustainable agriculture and local food security. It recognizes the inherent complexity of wicked problems in suggesting that Food System Assessments are useful because they allow one to view the food environment as a piece of larger whole and can lay the groundwork for future collaborations and policy recommendations. The book discusses differing cultures that exist between first generation farmers and multi-generational farmers and the need for community policies that both protect the land and support the creation of new food sources. It characterizes the city as constituting an extreme environment, one that has become the poster child for urban decay. The book addresses a range of sustainability themes, including economic, capacity, and ecology.
