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Growing A FOOD City For Health, wealth & Urban resilience. Suzette Jackson, Director | Innate Ecology Future of Local Food Conference 2014.
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Growing A FOOD City For Health, wealth & Urban resilience Suzette Jackson, Director | Innate Ecology Future of Local Food Conference 2014
“Ever since we stepped into the precarious shelter of domestication, we humans have struggled to create food systems that could sustain us – all of us- without unravelling the delicate ecological fabric that ensures future harvests.” Rebuilding the Foodshed, by Philip Ackerman-Leist
A GLOBAL ISSUE Hunger, malnutrition and obesity are defining issues of the 21st century. In the face of high world population growth coupled with the urbanization of the human species, urban, peri-urban and rural areas are under pressure to generate not only food but water and energy: through an integrated approach to ecosystem services.
WORLD POPULATIONS World population increased to 7.2 billion people mid - 2013, up from 2.5 billion in 1950. Based on the ‘United Nations World Population Prospects’ global population is projected to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050, an increase of 7.1 billion people in only 100 years (based on the medium-variant). Source: Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affair of the United Nations Secretariat (2013). World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision New York: United Nations.
The global urban population has grown from 14 percent in 1900 to 80 percent in 2012 (in many developed counties) with Australia urban populations at 89 percent (DESA 2013). Image: http://africanarguments.org
Globally freshwater use for agriculture70% freshwater use for industrial activities 22% freshwater use for domesticactivities 8%
World Resources Institute 2013 Description: Baseline water stress measures total annual water withdrawals (municipal, industrial, and agricultural) expressed as a percent of the total annual available flow. Higher values indicate more competition among users. Arid areas with low water use are shown in gray, but scored as high stress when calculating aggregated scores.
Description: Inter-annual variability measures the variation in water supply between years. World Resources Institute 2013
Global Issues Food Production relative to world population growth Water quality and access, seasonally, annually and multiple years Degraded & polluted natural ecosystems Soil quality Changing climatic conditions affecting areas suitable for broadacre crops Food waste, as a wasted resource Related city scale issues: Heat Island affect Lack of access to local food, nutritious & healthy food Obesity, malnutrition and other food related health and dietary issues Decline in diversity of local food production
Food and water have predominantly been a product of regions, however with the impact of climate change, desertification, impacts of broad scale farming and population growth, cities will be required to provide food production and water sources for future needs. Image: Eagle Street Farm
Urban Ecology is a multidisciplinary field of research both theoretical and applied. It includes biologists, ecologists, climatologists, hydrologists, geographers, cartographers, architects, urban designers and planners. While the field is relatively new and knowledge of the spatial – functional process pattern and interaction incomplete, the understanding of the urban ecological system is urgent. Urban Ecology seeks to address healthy living conditions in cities, dynamic changes of use, adaptation to climate change, and preservation of biodiversity. Research both theoretical and applied is seeking to address local food systems and urban agriculture.
URBAN ECOLOGY - A Brief History Of The Field Of Study Applied Urban Ecology: A Global Framework, Richter & Weiland, 2012
Complex interconnecting ecosystems, sustainable communities, cities and the ecocity have focused on creating incremental adjustments to existing systems through local initiatives such as storm water harvesting, green infrastructure and community gardens. There is however a growing belief that urban planning and infrastructure must focus on a different approach, a system that restores and regenerates ecosystem services within the urban ecology (Kellert, Heerwagen & Mador 2008; McLennan 2011; Reed, 2007). Image: Innovative Ecosystems
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Ecosystem services to and from agriculture including linkages between human well-being and benefits obtained from ecosystem services that are provided by agriculture. Source: Thiaw et al 2011
Numerous frameworks and tools approach city adaptation from an efficiency or sustainability approach through buildings, communities and precincts. Often this process looks at a less bad scenario. Few frameworks, however look at an holistic approach to urban planning and infrastructure that changes our food and water resource consumption from a single linear ‘resource to waste’ model to an integrated circular resource to resource model. To achieve a circular resource to resource model requires outputs to be free of toxins or pollutants. Outputs can be therefore be defined as sources as opposed to waste. Approaching urban planning from an ecosystem approach utilising ecological systems as the basis enables a framework for provisioning services OR resources
Over the past 25 years, urban ecologists have produced a large body of research from cities around the world that provide important insights into how urbanization is affecting ecological and social patterns and processes. However the growing issues faced by humans and urban ecology, and the emerging trend in urban agriculture and local food access require a different approach to the study of urban ecosystems.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) 2005 released the most extensive study of the links between human health and the world’s ecosystems. The MEA, a consortium of hundreds of scientists from over 70 nations, organizes ‘ecosystem services’ into four broad categories.
In 2010, the David Suzuki Foundation and the Pacific Parklands Foundation released the report, “Natural Capital in BC’s Lower Mainland: valuing the benefits from nature” that estimated that the annual economic value of the services provided by the forests, wetlands, grasslands, and croplands in BC’s Lower Mainland is $5.4 billion.
Metro Vancouver has made significant efforts to incorporate ecological health into its decision making at all levels: policy, project and operations. The Ecological Health Action Plan summarizes how ecological health is incorporated into Metro Vancouver’s management plans and proposes some pragmatic steps to advance the agenda of ecological health within the mandate and authority of Metro Vancouver.
There is a growing need to rethink the urban ecology, including city infrastructure and planning to provide food production, water harvest and recycling across scale within the built environment. At present only about 7% of Singapore's fresh food is grown locally. This is an inevitable predicament for a city-state with such a large population and limited land available. The importation of fresh food, has traditionally been the only option for Singaporeans. Source: SkyGreen
‘Focusing on sustainably grown food in urban communities will instill a greater awareness of climate, region, food production expertise and fundamentally the urban ecological system.’ Regenerating cities through food resilience: the intersection of urban ecological frameworks and urban food systems.
GLOBAL FOOD DEVELOPMENTS • FAO Food for the Cities Program • WHO Healthy Cities Program • RUAF Foundation, a leading centre of expertise in the field of (intra- and peri-) Urban Agriculture and City Region Food Strategies • Milan Protocol – an international agreement aimed at improving sustainability in the food chain • UK Sustainable Food Cities Network • UN Global Compact Cities Programme, Circles of Sustainability
Since 2010 more than $38 million has been invested in over 350 small food enterprises around the United States. Twenty local networks and 13 investment clubs have formed. Slow Money events have attracted thousands of people from 36 states and 9 countries. Over 27,000 people have signed the Slow Money Principles. The first international Slow Money investment, a $20,000 loan to a solar dairy in Switzerland has been made. Slow Money France is in the early stages of organizing withinquiries about chapter formation received from Canada, Australia and Japan.
EMERGING ROLE OF FOOD HUBS • Build strong local and regional food systems • Provide efficient local and regional value chain linkages at reduced scale & cost compared to leading state industry players • Provide opportunities for small to mid-sized producers to reach wholesale markets • Food hubs can serve as aggregator, processor, and distributor but not all food hubs perform every role • Food hubs offer products and services to customers positioned both upstream and downstream in the value chain Source: Building Successful Food Hubs. 2012, Family Farmer
VICTORIAN FOOD HUBS South East Food Hub The South East Food Hub is made up of farmers, local businesses, community groups and customers. We deliver top quality seasonal, locally-sourced produce to the hospitality sector and the community at competitive prices. All our produce comes direct from farmers located in Melbourne’s South East region, which allows us to guarantee superior quality and fair prices every time. Our work increases local access to fresh and healthy food, strengthens local food economies and improves direct market access for local farmers. Trentham Food Hub, 2013 Our vision is to create a vibrant network of informed, passionate and creative people working together within the community to expand the capacity of our local food and fibre industry.
GEELONG & REGION FOOD RELATED ACTIVITIES • Geelong Food Policy, Healthy Together Geelong CoGG • Geelong Food Hub Feasibility Study, Deakin University, CoGG, Innate Ecology • Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2013-2017, CoGG • Edible Landscapes Policy, Surf Coast Shire • Golden Plains Intensive Food Hub, Golden Plains Shire • Local Food Map Geelong Northern Suburbs, Two & Five Inc. • Bellarine Food Map, Bellarine Peninsula • Green Roofs Geelong • Extravaganza Geelong (annual festival) • Tastes of the Bellarine (annual festival) • Barwon Produce App, Committee for Geelong Leaders • Local Food Loop App, Deliberate Impact • Research into Food Systems within an Urban Ecology - Geelong
Regional Councils A range of small and larger famers Inequality in spend in regions dependant on tourism locations Inequality in food security & access to locally produced food City of Greater Geelong Most farms in the Geelong region are small Most have a turnover of less than $50,000 annually Only 8% of farms turn over more than $350,000 annually Inequality in food security & access to locally produced food Source: DAFF 2013
GEELONG FOOD HUB FEASIBILITY STUDY • Assess the local food system through an agricultural audit and local industry engagement • Identify functions of a food hub that would provide regional economic benefits • Develop a plan for the implementation of the Geelong Food Hub • The study builds on the regions growing reputation for quality, nutritious and sustainably grown food. • The study seeks to identify barriers to existing business and potential business opportunities for the region in the area of: food production; food processing; food production trials; training/skill gaps in sustainable food production; local food distribution; producer support and food waste reuse/ redistribution. • The Geelong Food Hub Feasibility Study is a Deakin University project led by the School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University with Innate Ecology and the City of Greater Geelong. • The study is funded by Regional Development Victoria, City of Greater Geelong and Deakin University.
In order to support future access to local food within urban centers, we need to treat our cities as an ecology, with provisioning and regulating services and develop a broader connection to our peri- urban and rural agroecology. Suzette Jackson, Director | Innate Ecology Future of Local Food Conference 2014
