The Next Job Generator
With the pressure on to create employment in a faltering economy, local food systems are drawing interest as a possible source of green jobs. But just how many is still a guess. A recent study for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture by a University of Iowa economist takes a stab at estimating the economic value and employment impact of increasing fruit and vegetable production to satisfy local demand in the six Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.