Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Completed Competitive Grant

The actual cost of food systems on roadway infrastructure

Project ID: M2009-15

Abstract

The variations among transportation costs for local, regional and conventional food production and distribution systems were investigated for three Iowa counties.

Key Question: What is the true cost of moving food products on the highway system, including transportation, environmental, safety, and pavement maintenance and deterioration costs?

Findings: The research used existing tools and data to answer the question. The Highway Economic Requirements System (HERS-ST) was used to calculate some of the above costs.

Lead investigator: Omar Smadi, ISU Center for Transportation Research and Education

Co-Investigator(s):

Inya Nienanya, Center for Transportation Research and Education; Marwan Ghandour and Silvina Lopez Barrera, ISU Architecture

Year of grant completion: 2011

This competitive grant project was part of the Leopold Center's Marketing Initiative.

Topics: Economic and environmental impacts, Food miles, food pathways, food system assessments, Models and assessment tools