Abstract
Our project is centered around the desire to use UVA’s resources to their full potential and reduce the University’s environmental impact. UVA owns Morven Farms, a 2,913 acre property located 5 miles away from Grounds. One acre of this land, Morven Kitchen Garden, is used for student-run agriculture. However, hundreds of acres of land are being leased to a commercial grower, Kevin Engels. Mr. Engels grows soybeans that he sells to Perdue Farms, a company responsible for 31 million pounds of pollution, much of which ends up in the Chesapeake Bay. This commercial farming also produces unnecessary food miles and has negative effects on the land and surrounding ecosystem. Our initial solution to this problem is the stop leasing land for production of soybeans and instead lease to growers who would grow mixed vegetables using more sustainable farming practices. The produce grown on the leased land could then be sold to UVA dining. A longer term solution that we explored was for UVA to stop leasing land entirely, and to instead hire students and staff to grow food specifically for UVA dining.
Empathize
background
Morven is a 2,913 acre property owned by UVA located 5 miles away from Grounds. It contains a one-acre student garden, several buildings, and over 300 acres of commercially farmed land. All four of our group members have been involved with Morven during our time at UVA, including two who have worked as interns. Given the immense size and vast potential of this incredible property, we were interested in how it could be used more effectively and sustainably.
EMPATHIZing
While attending a Farm to Table Tour and Dinner at Morven this fall, Kaitlyn heard a presentation from a commercial grower, Kevin Engel, who is currently leasing several plots of Morven’s land. This land is being used to produce soybeans, which are sold to Perdue Farms, a major meat processing company. After conducting research into Perdue, we discovered that it is a major polluter of Virginia waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay. Furthermore, because the commercial farmer is growing exclusively soybeans, these plots are essentially monocultures. Monocultures contribute to soil degradation, often require more water, and usually use large quantities of pesticide and fertilizer; overall, they are significantly less sustainable than permacultures.
At the same time, we were also interested in how UVA dining could expand the amount of local food that it offers and continue to improve its sustainability initiatives. We met with Brooke Kinsey, UVA Dining's sustainability director, to discuss food sourcing. Although UVA dining has worked hard to become more sustainable, only a small fraction of the food purchased is locally produced. All of us know how delicious Morven’s produce is and appreciate the nutritional and environmental superiority of local food. Many other UVA students agree; 2018 report conducted by UVA Professor Paul Freedman indicated that 73% of UVA students wish that the dining hall provided more locally sourced food, while 72% of UVA students wish that the dining halls provided more sustainably-sourced food. Morven’s kitchen garden currently sells some of the produce that it grows to UVA dining, but there is potential for this partnership to expand immensely.
Define
problem statement: part 1
Our problem consists of two related problems, which we believe could be solved simultaneously. The primary problem that we hope to address is that UVA currently leases land at Morven to a commercial grower who produces soybeans and sells them to Perdue Farms. Between 2010 and 2014, Perdue Farms emitted 31 million pounds of pollution into Virginia waterways. Water pollution has pervasive detrimental effects on the entire ecosystem of the bay, as well as on the seafood industry. By commercially leasing this land, UVA is indirectly supporting the degradation of this essential waterway. Furthermore, as monocultures, the commercial plots are contributing to soil deterioration and other environmental issues. It is morally unacceptable that UVA's investments are contributing to climate change and environmental degradation, and this must change.
problem statement: part 2
The second part of our problem is that UVA dining sources food with unnecessary food miles. Despite UVA Dining’s sustainability initiatives, less than 5% of the food purchased by UVA dining is locally produced. Although transportation costs contribute only a small fraction of the total environmental impact of food production, they are completely unnecessary, especially given Morven's proximity and vast productive potential.
Ideate
possible solutions and action steps
After researching these problems, we explored several possible solutions. Our ultimate goal is to convert the commercially leased fields at Morven to a university owned and operated farm that supplies the vast majority of UVA dining’s produce. Given the large, fairly radical structural and cultural change necessary to achieve this goal, we have broken it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
The first step would be to require that the commercially landed be farmed organically. This would be a fairly easy change to make, as a stipulation could easily be added to the leasing agreement, and the commercial farmer would be responsible for its implementation. Given that the lease is renegotiated yearly, this is an initial step that can be taken in the short term, while more comprehensive change is still in the works. Furthermore, we have reason to believe that Kevin Engel, the commercial farmer currently leasing land at Morven, would be able and willing to comply with such an agreement. Mr. Engel leases land in several other areas of Virginia. On one of the plots that he leases, he raises organic vegetables because a requirement from the landowner. Below is a quotation from Mr. Engels, excerpted from his comments to the United States Department of Agriculture, explaining this arrangement.
"I AM AN ORGANIC PRODUCER AS WELL. I HAVE A LANDOWNER WHO HAS CHOSEN TO RAISE ORGANIC VEGETABLES ON 40 ACRES OF 270-ACRE TRACT. SHE CONTINUES TO LEASE ME THE BALANCE OF THE TRACT FOR MAINTENANCE PURPOSES BUT REQUIRES THAT I RAISE MY GRAIN ON THE TRACT ORGANICALLY AS WELL." - kevin engel
As such, we believe that this is an achievable, short-term step that would help to lessen UVA's environmental impact.
The next step would be to work with the Engels family to transition the land from its current use into sustainable, mixed vegetable permacultures. The Engels family used to occupy the land that is now Bellair Farms, a sustainable farm in Charlottesville. When the landowners wanted to transition the land into sustainable farming practice, Kevin Engels agreed to change his techniques for a few years to help transition the land. Then, the landowners hired a new grower to grow organic vegetables. We believe that the land at Morven could follow the same path. One of our primary goals is to stop selling to Perdue Farms, given the negative effects that their processes have on the environment. Since Mr. Engels' business is focused on growing feed crops for sale to Perdue, eventually he will need to be replaced. However, we believe that Morven can work with him to smoothly transition to a more sustainable grower. A new grower producing vegetables - and not selling to Perdue - would represent an enormous reduction in Morven's environmental impact.
Once the land is being used to produce vegetables, we believe that many of the vegetables could be sold to UVA dining. As previously mentioned, UVA dining currently buys some produce from Morven's kitchen garden, but this represents only a tiny fraction of all the produce purchased by dining. By expanding this partnership, UVA dining could drastically reduce its food miles while providing delicious, nutritious locally grown food.
The final, most radical step of our proposal is for UVA to stop leasing the land commercially, take over farming operations, and supply the vast majority of dining's produce. UVA could employ students, faculty, and community members to farm the land, creating local jobs and strengthening the Charlottesville economy. The land could be used for teaching purposes as well, especially in the environmental sciences and biology departments, further aligning the use of this land with UVA's mission.
proof of concept
As we explored possible solutions, we researched similar initiatives at other colleges and universities. We discovered several schools that have large farms that supply food for dining services. For example, University of Minnesota Duluth has a 12 acre organic vegetable garden that sends 90% of its produce to campus dining halls in order to mitigate the University’s environmental footprint. Similarly, Dickinson College in Pennsylvania has an 80-acre farm that sells produce to two large on-campus dining halls. Given the success that other universities have had, we believe that this solution could be viable at UVA as well.
potential barriers
There are several potential barriers to our project, although we believe that they can be surmounted. One potential barrier is that the dining halls need a stable supply of produce throughout the year, while it can be difficult to grow food outdoors during the Virginia winter. However, greenhouses such as the hoop house currently in Morven’s kitchen garden effectively extend the growing season by providing areas with higher temperatures, where vegetables can grow year-round. A large greenhouse could provide a stable supply of vegetables during the winter. Furthermore, by planning the menu based on in-season produce, UVA dining could help to further ensure that its produce needs are met.
Another obstacle is that UVA dining purchases much of its produce pre-processed (washed, peeled, and chopped), and is not always able to accommodate large quantities of whole produce. The problem could largely be avoided by primarily growing vegetables that require minimal processing and chopping, such as lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and potatoes. More labor-intensive vegetables, such as squash and garlic, could be grown in smaller quantities and planned into the menu on days when UVA dining had the capacity to do the necessary prep work. Another potential solution would be to partner with a local processing facility - or to establish one at Morven - so that the produce grown at Morven could be processed before being sold to UVA dining.
One final logistical barrier is the politics surrounding Morven. There are a number of stakeholders who will be affected by this project, and they will all need to play a role in its implementation. For this project to succeed, it will be important to meet with members of the UVA Foundation, Morven Programs and Engel’s Family Farms to discuss changing the terms of the lease. To implement the subsequent steps of our proposal, we would need to talk to new growers to find one that fits our needs and goals. We would also need to coordinate with UVA dining to discuss and arrange a large-scale partnership. Finally, it would also be helpful to communicate with the UVA Office of Sustainability to explain how our project fits into UVA’s climate goals, so that they could help to support and promote our project.
potential for change
Despite the barriers outlined above, the are also reasons to believe that this proposal is feasible and timely. UVA has made ambitious and progressive climate goals for the upcoming years, including a recent pledge to be carbon-neutral by 2030. In order to achieve this, many drastic changes will have to be made. This time of change is ideal for proposing new ideas. The university is signaling that it is committed to radical institutional change and will be more receptive to ideas that challenge “business as usual.” In addition, President Ryan has commissioned a study on the future of Morven and how this land can be used more effectively. Between the carbon-neutrality goals and the Morven study, the time is right for making changes to Morven.
Prototype
Testing
In order to gauge student interest for this project, we created a survey and sent it out to UVA students. Based on the 55 responses that we received, 96.4% of students indicated that they wished the UVA dining halls provided more local food, while 67.3% of students said that they would be more likely to eat in the dining halls if more of the food was locally sourced. Furthermore, 96.4% of respondents said that it is important to them that UVA's investments are made with the environment in mind. Although this was a very small sample, it is clear that the majority of UVA students support our proposal.
In addition to the short survey we conducted, Professor Paul Freedman conducted a representative survey in 2018 on the attitudes and behaviors regarding food at UVA. His comprehensive research indicated that the majority of UVA students do care about sustainably sourced food. 73% of UVA students indicated that they believe that UVA Dining should increase the availability of locally produced food. Below is one of the graphs included in his report.
In addition to these student surveys, we also discussed our project with several faulty and staff members involved with Morven, including Morven events manager Rebecca Deeds and farm manager Steph Meyers. Both women voiced their support for the proposal, and enumerated the many benefits that they believe such a change would have. Among them were the creation and fostering of a more sustainable culture at UVA, the ability to teach and promote the values and business of the local food movement, and the opportunity for teaching and real world experience. Below is a quote from Rebecca about how this proposal could help UVA to meet its sustainability goals.
"THIS WOULD BE A GATEWAY FOR MORVEN – UVA’S FARM – TO BE INTEGRATED INTO UVA’S OVERALL GOALS RELATED TO SUSTAINABILITY BY IMPLEMENTING A LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM. UVA CAN’T APPROACH SUSTAINABILITY IN A GENUINE WAY WITHOUT IMPLEMENTING A LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM." - REBECCA DEEDS, MORVEN EVENT MANAGER
areas for improvement
The main area for improvement in our proposal is related to one of the barriers addressed previously, the fact that UVA dining purchases many of its vegetables pre-processed. This is not something that we were aware of until we met with Brooke to discuss our project. Above, we proposed several potential ways to mitigate this problem, including avoiding vegetables that require a lot of prep work, establishing a processing facility at Morven, and/or partnering with a processing facility in Charlottesville. However, more research needs to be done into these possibilities, their respective costs and benefits, and how they could be implemented.
Lessons Learned
Kaitlyn
My big takeaway from this project is that even when there is opposition to a plan or idea that does not mean you should abandon it. Culture and understanding of situations shift, which can open up the opportunity for change. Another thing I learned during this project is that even small changes require input and cooperation from a large amount of people. For a project to succeed willingness from both sides to listen to ideas and accept change is crucial. The last thing I took away from this project is that change and project implementation is not immediate. Most times it takes several small steps to reach the final goal.
Elizabeth
As we conducted research, met with advisors, and contacted key figures in our problem of choice, I learned a lot about the environmental issues associated with both UVA Dining and the Morven Foundation. Previously, I did not know much about what was done with the Morven Estate besides the 1-acre Kitchen Garden. Nor did I know of the connections between UVA, contracted farmers, Perdue, and the pollution of the Chesapeake Bay. This project gave me a much better understanding of the barriers present and the effort needed in gaining information on large and interconnected issues such as this one. I learned a lot about who is involved in the decisions for both UVA Dining and Morven Farms and what potential and reasonable solutions could make dining at UVA more local and sustainable while also minimizing the negative environmental impacts from land usage at Morven.
Madeleine
Through our research on this project, I have gained a greater appreciation for how UVA’s investments impact the environment. Before, I was not aware of how UVA's landholdings at Morven were being used. This realization caused us to research the effects of monoculture farming on the land, and the pollution that results from commercial farming. I also have a better understanding of the stakeholders and various factors involved in changing a large institution, such as UVA dining. Something I didn’t consider before starting this project is that the time and labor involved in processing food can be a barrier to using local, organic produce in the dining halls. Our group has to think of creative solutions to make local produce usable in for UVA dining.
Louisa
This project has made me more aware of the challenges associated with implementing large, structural change. Despite the widespread support that our proposal had from Morven staff members and UVA students, we discovered several significant factors that will pose a challenge to its implementation. There are a lot of politics surrounding this issue, which are hard for us, as students, to navigate. Furthermore, opposition to changing institutionalized structures and the tendency to continue "business as usual" are real threats to this project. Learning about these challenges, which are likely present in many large institutions, was an eye-opening experience. Despite these challenges, I believe that our project has great potential.
References
Non-web based sources
Mattingly, Justin. “UVA, William & Mary Pledge to Be Carbon-Neutral by 2030.” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2 Dec. 2019, www.richmond.com/news/virginia/uva-william-mary-pledge-to-be-carbon-neutral-by/article_cb6a0fd2-1cde-5070-b2e3-f7474cb74f50.html.
Rumpler, John. Corporate Agribusiness and The Fouling of America's Waterways. Environment Virginia Research and Policy Center, 2016, pp. 21–22.
Lappé, Anna. “The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork,” sustainabletable.org, 2008.
Freedman, Paul. Report to the Teaching and Research Subcommittee of the Committee on Sustainability. 18 Feb 2018.
other sources
“Food.” UMD, University of Minnesota Duluth, 24 Aug. 2016, www.d.umn.edu/sustainability/campus-initiatives/food.
“Pollution.” Chesapeake Bay Program, 2019, www.chesapeakebay.net/state/pollution.
“6 Problems with Monoculture Farming.” Regenerative, 29 Aug. 2014, regenerative.com/six-problems-monoculture-farming/.
United States Department of Agriculture, Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture. Comments of Kevin W. Engel, 9 December 2011. Text transcript of comments.
Collins, Adam. Morven. Central Virginia Drone, LLC, 29 September 2017.
Deeds, Rebecca. "Re: Morven Global Sustainability Project." Received by Kaitlyn Elliot, 28 November 2019.