Soil-less systems vs. soil-based systems for cultivating edible plants on buildings in relation to the contribution towards sustainable cities

Food production and consumption for cities has become a global concern due to increasing numbers of people living in urban areas, threatening food security. There is the contention that people living in cities have become disconnected with food production, leading to reduced nutrition in diets and increased food waste. Integrating food production into cities (urban agriculture) can help alleviate some of these issues. Lack of space at ground level in high-density urban areas has accelerated the idea of using spare building surfaces for food production. There are various growing methods being used for food production on buildings, which can be split into two main types, soil-less systems and soil-based systems. This paper is a holistic assessment (underpinned by the triple bottom line of sustainable development) of these two types of systems for food production on buildings, looking at the benefits and limitation of each type in this context. The results illustrate that soil-less systems are more productive per square metre, which increases the amount of locally grown, fresh produce available in urban areas. The results also show that soil-based systems for cultivation on buildings are more environmentally and socially beneficial overall for urban areas than soil-less systems.

The European organic food market - how to increase its transparency?

Der Europäische Markt für ökologische Lebensmittel ist seit den 1990er Jahren stark gewachsen. Begünstigt wurde dies durch die Einführung der EU-Richtlinie 2092/91 zur Zertifizierung ökologischer Produkte und durch die Zahlung von Subventionen an umstellungswillige Landwirte. Diese Maßnahmen führten am Ende der 1990er Jahre für einige ökologische Produkte zu einem Überangebot auf europäischer Ebene. Die Verbrauchernachfrage stieg nicht in gleichem Maße wie das Angebot, und die Notwendigkeit für eine Verbesserung des Marktgleichgewichts wurde offensichtlich. Dieser Bedarf wurde im Jahr 2004 von der Europäischen Kommission im ersten „Europäischen Aktionsplan für ökologisch erzeugte Lebensmittel und den ökologischen Landbau“ formuliert. Als Voraussetzung für ein gleichmäßigeres Marktwachstum wird in diesem Aktionsplan die Schaffung eines transparenteren Marktes durch die Erhebung statistischer Daten über Produktion und Verbrauch ökologischer Produkte gefordert. Die Umsetzung dieses Aktionsplans ist jedoch bislang nicht befriedigend, da es auf EU-Ebene noch immer keine einheitliche Datenerfassung für den Öko-Sektor gibt. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, angemessene Methoden für die Erhebung, Verarbeitung und Analyse von Öko-Marktdaten zu finden. Geeignete Datenquellen werden identifiziert und es wird untersucht, wie die erhobenen Daten auf Plausibilität untersucht werden können. Hierzu wird ein umfangreicher Datensatz zum Öko-Markt analysiert, der im Rahmen des EU-Forschungsprojektes „Organic Marketing Initiatives and Rural Development” (OMIaRD) erhoben wurde und alle EU-15-Länder sowie Tschechien, Slowenien, Norwegen und die Schweiz abdeckt. Daten für folgende Öko-Produktgruppen werden untersucht: Getreide, Kartoffeln, Gemüse, Obst, Milch, Rindfleisch, Schaf- und Ziegenfleisch, Schweinefleisch, Geflügelfleisch und Eier. Ein zentraler Ansatz dieser Studie ist das Aufstellen von Öko-Versorgungsbilanzen, die einen zusammenfassenden Überblick von Angebot und Nachfrage der jeweiligen Produktgruppen liefern. Folgende Schlüsselvariablen werden untersucht: Öko-Produktion, Öko-Verkäufe, Öko-Verbrauch, Öko-Außenhandel, Öko-Erzeugerpreise und Öko-Verbraucherpreise. Zudem werden die Öko-Marktdaten in Relation zu den entsprechenden Zahlen für den Gesamtmarkt (öko plus konventionell) gesetzt, um die Bedeutung des Öko-Sektors auf Produkt- und Länderebene beurteilen zu können. Für die Datenerhebung werden Primär- und Sekundärforschung eingesetzt. Als Sekundärquellen werden Publikationen von Marktforschungsinstituten, Öko-Erzeugerverbänden und wissenschaftlichen Instituten ausgewertet. Empirische Daten zum Öko-Markt werden im Rahmen von umfangreichen Interviews mit Marktexperten in allen beteiligten Ländern erhoben. Die Daten werden mit Korrelations- und Regressionsanalysen untersucht, und es werden Hypothesen über vermutete Zusammenhänge zwischen Schlüsselvariablen des Öko-Marktes getestet. Die Datenbasis dieser Studie bezieht sich auf ein einzelnes Jahr und stellt damit einen Schnappschuss der Öko-Marktsituation der EU dar. Um die Marktakteure in die Lage zu versetzen, zukünftige Markttrends voraussagen zu können, wird der Aufbau eines EU-weiten Öko-Marktdaten-Erfassungssystems gefordert. Hierzu wird eine harmonisierte Datenerfassung in allen EU-Ländern gemäß einheitlicher Standards benötigt. Die Zusammenstellung der Marktdaten für den Öko-Sektor sollte kompatibel sein mit den Methoden und Variablen der bereits existierenden Eurostat-Datenbank für den gesamten Agrarmarkt (öko plus konventionell). Eine jährlich aktualisierte Öko-Markt-Datenbank würde die Transparenz des Öko-Marktes erhöhen und die zukünftige Entwicklung des Öko-Sektors erleichtern. ---------------------------

Right to Food, Food Security and Food Aid Under International Law, or the Limits of a right-based approach

The right to food has become a pillar of international humanitarian and human rights law. The increasing number of food-related emergencies and the evolution of the international order brought the more precise notion of food security and made a potential right to receive food aid emerge. Despite this apparent centrality, recent statistics show that a life free from hunger is for many people all over the world still a utopian idea. The paper will explore nature and content of the right to food, food security and food aid under international law in order to understand the reasons behind the substantial failure of this right-centred approach, emphasising the lack of legal effects of many food-related provisions because of excessive moral connotations of the right to be free from hunger. Bearing in mind the three-dimensional nature of food security, the paper will also suggest that all attention has been focused on the availability of food, while real difficulties arise in terms of accessibility and adequacy. Emergency situations provide an excellent example of this unbalance, as the emerging right to receive food aid focus itself on the availability of food, without improving local production and adequacy. Looking at other evolving sectors of international law, such as the protection of the environment, and particularly the safeguard of biological diversity, alternative solutions will be envisaged in order to “feed” the right to food.

Contradictions within the Modern Food System: Nutritional Disbalance across the Globe, Its Main Drivers and Possible Ways Out

Contemporary food production, given the degree of technology being applied in it and the present state of scientific knowledge, should be able to feed the world. Corresponding statistics show that in fact the volumes of modern food production confirm this statement. Yet, the present nutritional situation across the globe leaves much to be desired: on the one hand the numbers of undernourished and malnourished people are still high and even growing in some regions, and on the other hand there is an increasing number of overweight and obese people who are experiencing (or are at risk of) adverse health impacts as consequences. The question arises how this situation is possible given the present state of food production and knowledge, and also in terms of nutrition basics when talking about the latter. When arguing about the main causes of the present situation with nutrition across the globe, it is the modern food system with its distortions that is often criticised with emphasis placed on inappropriate food distribution as one of the key problems. However it is not only food distribution that shapes inequalities in terms of food availability and accessibility – there is a number of other factors contributing to this situation including political influences. Each of the drivers of the present situation might affect more than one part and have outcomes in different dimensions. Therefore it makes sense to apply a holistic approach when viewing the modern food system, embracing all the elements and existing relationships between them for this will facilitate taking appropriate actions in order to target the desired outcome in the best possible way. Applying a systematic approach and linking various elements with corresponding interactions among them allows for picturing all the possible outcomes and hence finding the way for a better solution on global level – a solution to the present problem with nutritional disbalance across the globe.

Connecting the Water and Carbon Cycles for the Generation of Food Security and Ecosystem Services

Water scarcity and food insecurity are pervasive issues in the developing world and are also intrinsically linked to one another. Through the connection of the water cycle and the carbon cycle this study illustrates that synergistic benefits can be realized by small scale farmers through the implementation of waste water irrigated agroforestry. The WaNuLCAS model is employed using La Huerta agroforestry site in Texcoco, South Central Mexico, as the basis for parameterization. The results of model simulations depicting scenarios of water scarcity and waste water irrigation clearly show that the addition of waste water greatly increases the agroforestry system’s generation of crop yields, above- and below-ground biomass, soil organic matter and carbon storage potential. This increase in carbon sequestration by the system translates into better local food security, diversified household income through payments for ecosystem services and contributes to the mitigation of global climate change.

Recycling urban waste as possible use for rooftop vegetable garden

Urban authorities in Europe are confronted with increasing demands by urban dwellers for allotment gardens, but vacant urban soil tends to be scarce and/or polluted by past industrial activities. A possible solution for local authorities could therefore be to promote rooftop gardening. However little technical information exists on certain forms of rooftop urban agriculture, called Z-Farming. In 2012, a pilot experiment was run in Paris (France). Simple and cheap systems of rooftop gardening were tested on a rooftop using as crop substrates only local urban organic waste so as to contribute to the urban metabolism. Production levels and heavy metal contents in cropping substrates and edible vegetables were measured. Available results show (i) high levels of crop production with limited inputs compared to land professional gardening, (ii) low levels of heavy metal pollutants in the edible parts of the crops, especially for Cd and Pb with respect to EU norms for vegetables and (iii) positive influence on yields on organizing the substrate in layers and enhancing the biological activity through earthworm inoculation. These encouraging results allow us to consider that rooftop gardening is feasible and seem to have a great potential to improve urban resiliency. It will nevertheless be necessary to identify more precisely the types of roof that can be used and to assess more fully the generic result of the low level of pollution, as well as the global sustainability of these cropping systems.

The circular economy and the water-food nexus

The global economy is based on a take-make-consume and dispose model where natural resources are turned into products and the waste disposed of instead of being reused as a resource. In the Asia-Pacific region climate change along with rapid population and economic growth is resulting in increased demand for water and food, potentially leading to economic and political instability. Europe has developed policy and technological innovations that can facilitate the transition towards a circular economy where waste becomes a resource. By using existing instruments Europe can transfer its circular economy knowledge and technology to the Asia-Pacific region to increase security of supply of scarce resources. This can help ensure global security, influence climate change negotiations and create jobs in Europe.