Environment Trends
Hyper-Local Food Crops Could End Food Waste
COVID-19 displayed the vulnerability of global food supply chains. Food crops grown in cities could be the answer and solve problems with food waste too.
The disruption to supply chains seen in 2020 has simply highlighted vulnerabilities that were always there. Empty supermarket shelves at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic had people wondering where their food comes from. In response to this, a circular economy for food will begin to take root in 2021. More cities will seek supplies from local producers in order to reduce vulnerability of food supplies.
CAPTION: Urban food producers provided stable food supplies when some cities’ supply chains were disrupted. (Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash)
Over the past 12 months, consumers have responded to unstable food supplies by turning to smaller, local and regional producers who could assure access to food through lockdowns. In the UK, the digital platform Farmers Feed Us enables small-scale producers to link directly with consumers to deliver fresh produce. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) food sales increased by 111% from February to April in 2020. The rise in the subscription service for receiving in-season yields was mirrored in America and China. California’s 105 acre Eatwell Farm saw such a massive increase in demand that they had to close subscriptions – people are still signing up to the waiting list. These examples demonstrate how consumers can participate in food security and directly support producers.
Not everyone has had such straightforward access to fresh produce. Many around the world have been forced to turn to foodbanks. Similarly, some food producers saw a dramatic decline in demand from their core customer base – restaurants, schools and workplaces stopped placing orders and tonnes of food has gone to waste. Direct consumer demand supported some smaller farmers but a decline in commercial demand from food and beverage businesses has made other producer’s futures uncertain.
The vulnerabilities of our food system have caused many communities to ask ‘how can we better connect with food producers and become more resilient to future crises?’. The answer will begin to unfold in 2021 as we reimagine the relationship between food producers and highly urbanised areas.
Already half of the world live in cities. This figure is set to grow to 80% of the world’s population by 2050, all of whom will be consuming food in densely populated areas. As cities aim to become more resilient, they will need to become more than centres for consumption, fed by the wider landscape. Cities and the areas immediately around them will need to make use of the valuable nutrients and create local, regional and international food networks that they actively contribute to in order to become durable in the face of disruption. This is a key step toward changing our food systems to create a circular food economy that lets nothing go to waste, recognises and invests in the value of producing food in ways that regenerate natural ecosystems.
Increasing the amount of food grown in and close by to cities is one part of securing food supplies for residents who don’t have access to nearby CSA schemes. Singapore relies on imports for a large portion of their food supply – just 1% of its land is set aside for agriculture. Singapore’s consumers turned to urban farms for answers to their needs when the country’s food supply chains were disrupted. Similar local food production developments are sure to appear elsewhere in 2021. France’s Nature Urbaine vegetable plots planned for Paris and Nates, and Detroit’s plans for a CSA programme are just two examples of this in other parts of the world.
Regenerative practices that focus on healthy soils, carbon capture and tackling climate change build resilience into food producers’ operations. Cities have a key role to play with this too.
Our current food system allows food to flow into cities without the organic waste created from its consumption being captured and put to use. This waste is full of nutrients that can be used to create biomaterials and grow more food, yet it is left unused. Rather than sending it to landfill, it can be made into paper, fabrics or simply used to improve soil - all far more viable and greener alternatives. In the UK, London has committed to ensuring no biodegradable or recyclable waste will reach landfills by 2026. Other cities are sure to follow suit.
This change is not only driven by environmental factors, as our economies recover from the shock of coronavirus lockdowns, analysis shows there is an economic opportunity waiting to be grasped that’s worth as much as $700 billion for cities who reduce edible food waste and use its by-products. Less than 2% of organic waste in cities is currently returned to soil, yet the more organic matter that’s incorporated into earth, the more able it is to hold water, grow crops and have resilience to environmental disturbances such as droughts or floods. This is as true of urban farming as it is for food production on the fringe of cities or in rural areas. These types of solutions that answer multiple issues facing cities are at the heart of resilient city frameworks and fundamentally change traditional human systems to serve both populations and their environments better.
The EU’s Farm to Fork strategy, part of the European Green Deal, aims to reduce synthetic fertilisers by 20% and increase the amount of organically farmed land threefold by 2030 while also committing legally binding targets for the reduction of food waste. In order to meet these goals, cities will need to expand organic waste collection schemes to incorporate the effective processing of this resource to nourish land in replacement of synthetic fertilizers, creating compost to build soil’s organic matter and to feed livestock.
Initiative such as these will strengthen our food supply chains, give cities a firmer basis for the future and provide firm foundations for building a resilient and circular food ecosystem that works for all.