New England Self Sufficiency

With all the climate chaos now an imminent threat to our life, health, and property, it’s time to focus more on New England self-sufficiency. Just look at our food supply as an example. Global warming is bringing drought and food insecurity to our crops nation-wide, with industrialized farming itself now under climate threat. It’s time to start making New England’s food supply more self-sufficient and less reliant on non-local, industrialized sources.

Historically, New England has been substantially self-sufficient in basic foods and our region grew or caught most of what we needed to eat. Our diets consisted of a wide variety of seasonal foods which supplied our bodily needs. We had regional dairy sources until the Reagan era “buyout” of 1986. That year big agricultural interests lobbied to raise prices by shrinking competition. The US government paid dairy farms to shrink the size of their herds. While that action had a long trail of effects, it dramatically reduced the size and output of New England’s dairy production. Now we import more of our dairy products at higher prices and at higher environmental costs.

We also had other protein sources from fishing and our small farms, including beans for our iconic ‘Boston Baked Beans’. We had backyard chickens and free-range eggs. We had starches from locally grown root crops like potatoes. And we had many of the orchard crops we needed from regional orchards. Although we imported tea, coffee, and spices, we had our own sweeteners such as maple and honey. With today’s technology–solar lighting and hydroponics–we could now grow more of our own vegetables year-round. But that takes electrical energy and clean water sources.

We certainly have the possibility of becoming much more energy independent in New England with additional solar, wind, and possibly small-scale nuclear technology. But we also need to insulate our homes better, transition to an all-electric future that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels from out of our region, and greatly improve our electric grid infrastructure. Fortunately, our local NE communities have begun to respond with the implementation of solar power, EV chargers, and promotion of home insulation and heat pumps. There’s much more that we can still do.

With the largest population the world has ever known, growing from 6.1B in 2000 to over 8.2B today, climate driven global food insecurity and migration from the ‘global south’ into all parts of the more-northern world has already begun. We need to find appropriate responses to this challenge. Every geographic region is obligated to implement strategies to make their own regions self-sufficient while at the same time addressing global climate change drivers locally. 

It’s going to be a complicated and winding road to self-sufficiency, but we need to begin to see it as necessary and shift our food consumption patterns as well as our support for more local agriculture. More locally produced everything. So, as we approach spring, ACES challenges you to think about a little veggie garden in your yard or a community garden space. Maybe join a CSA. Follow to our Instagram  and Facebook pages to stay informed.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on June 6, 2025.