Which US states could survive on local food alone?
The short answer
California and Florida would eat well. The Midwest would have plenty of calories but almost no variety, and crowded or dry states like Massachusetts, Arizona and Alaska would struggle.Imagine every state had to live on what its own land produces. No trucks crossing state lines, no imported bananas, no shipping containers. The map of who eats well and who goes hungry would look very different from the map of who is rich.
The calorie kings
The Midwest wins on sheer volume. Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska grow enormous amounts of corn and soybeans, and Iowa raises more hogs than any other state. Kansas and North Dakota are the country's biggest wheat producers, so they'd never run out of bread. Montana and South Dakota have more cattle than people.
The catch is variety. A diet of corn, soy, pork, wheat and beef has plenty of energy but very little fruit or vitamin C. For these states, the risk isn't starvation. It's scurvy.
The survival zones
Alaska already imports an estimated 95% of its food. On its own, it would fall back on salmon, wild game and hardy root vegetables. Massachusetts and Rhode Island pack millions of people onto very little farmland. They'd lean on dairy, Atlantic seafood and cranberries; Massachusetts is the country's second-biggest cranberry grower.
Arizona and Nevada have endless sunshine but not much water. They could grow citrus and nuts, but feeding millions of people from the desert depends on rivers that start in other states.
Wait, what?
In winter, about 90% of the leafy greens Americans eat come from around Yuma, Arizona. It's farming in the desert, using water from the Colorado River.
The luxury states
Only two states would barely notice. California grows more than 400 different crops, including over a third of the country's vegetables and around three quarters of its fruits and nuts. From almonds to avocados, Californians could eat a varied diet all year.
Florida comes close behind, with oranges, sugarcane, winter tomatoes and some of the country's richest fishing grounds. Everyone else would be eating whatever their local soil allows.
Did your state make the list? Tell us in the comments on the Short.
Watch the ShortSources: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service state rankings; California Department of Food and Agriculture; University of Arizona Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture.