Resilience is closely related to adaptive capacity (see Solutions). Essentially, it describes the ability of a system to recover from shocks. High resilience means the impacts of shocks are reduced and / or the recovery period is faster. It is associated with different phenomena for different food system activities.
- Ecological: functional diversity and self-reliance: "Self-reliance in socio-economic systems has its analogue in natural systems. As a general rule of natural process, energy (and subsequent action) are captured or expended as close to the point of origin as possible." (Meeker-Lowry, 1988:167)
- Economic: Higher economic multipliers with local distribution compared to export-focused economies (Bendavid-Val, 1991). Emphasizes import minimization, but with exports continuing, typically at reduced levels to accommodate more emphasis on import substitution
- Nutrition: less nutrient loss with short-distance distribution (Klein, 1987; Shewfelt, 1990)
- Community: greater community vitality associated with increased local exchange and economic activity, more vibrant local services (MacRae et al., 2014b)
