Peter Ladner sees a huge problem in how we feed our cities today. He experienced it first hand in Canada being a former Vancouver city councilor, Metro Vancouver vice-chair and business owner. He compares a lot of our stats and problems with former problems in Canada. Looking at North America as a whole he finds a simple solution to improve our cities: Eating Locally.
He disects the concerns of producers, distributors, consumers, the economy, as well as our natural systems. Above is a brief summary of topics Ladner focuses on, below are a few notes I took that go into a little more detail.
- What's the matter with food?
- Fewer Suppliers, Greater Risks
- Suppliers focus on their own prosperity, not our dietary well being, or farmers incomes, or environmental pollution.
- Less soil, more meat, more competition for water.
- The way our food is grown also undermines the likelihood that it will remain healthy, cheap and plentiful. Soil is eroding off North American farmland at an alarming rate. The vast prairies- the farmed North American breadbasket- have lost half their original topsoil and erosion from agriculture continues to sweep away soils thirty times faster than new soil is being produced.
- Growing water shortages hit agriculture hard.
- 70% all fresh water is used for growing rice in China.
- In 2012 it was predicted that Saudi Arabia would have to import all of its wheat.
- The Ogallala Aquifer source of irrigation for 20% of American farmland is being over drawn by 3.1 trillion gallons per year.
- Available water shrinks, foods that require large amounts of water will go up significantly in cost, food will become less available: FOOD SHORTAGES
- No Oil, No Food
- The food industry is dependent on oil for all of its materials and at every stage of production: fertilizers, farm equipment, distribution to markets, refrigeration, getting home from the store ect..
- Our dependence on oil leads to Global Warming.
- One way to reduce oil dependency:EAT LOCALLY
- Canadian study looks at "food miles" also finding green house emissions could lower by 50,000 tons annually by eating locally. That is equal to removing 17,000 vehicles from the road.
- No Farmers, No Food
- The financial squeeze on farmers is driving the next generation farmers off the land, leaving aging farmers to provide us with food.
- US average farmers age 60 years.
- Canada average farmers age 52 years.
- US farmers doubled productivity over the past 40 years. They now earn $40 billion less from farming then they did in 1969.
- People growing our food will soon be too old to grow anymore... Then what?
- The financial squeeze on farmers is driving the next generation farmers off the land, leaving aging farmers to provide us with food.
- Our Choice of food is killing us
- We need to change what we eat. Diet related obesity and diabetes are epidemics. 1/3 of American children born after 2000 will get diabetes.
- America spent almost $300 billion at supermarkets. The number 1 item being carbonated beverages clocking in at $12 billion.
- Fewer Suppliers, Greater Risks
- Overall problems in
- Soil erosion, biological and corporate mono-culture vulnerabilities, water shortages, pollution pressures, peak oil, carbon pricing, wild fish population collapse, farmer shortages, bio fuel competition, sickening diets, and antibiotic contamination.
- How many of us want to restrict what we eat to what is grown around us?
- Comparing to Canada, Ladner finds:
- Reducing food miles is not everything.
- Local is not always environmentally friendlier.
- Energy reduction: putting local food in context only reduces energy use by 10% (not enough to obsess over).
- Local food is not always cheap or easy.
- Consumers want safety and reliability.
- Eating locally helps local economies and local farmers putting fresher, tastier food on the table. It satisfies the wide spread urge to make our lives more resilient and self sufficient. It educates the children, restaurant patrons, farmers market customers and community gardeners about food they are eating, where it comes from and how it effects health.
- Preserving rural agriculture land for food production.
- We cannot have local food if we do not have local farms.
- Between 2002-07 we lost 3.2 million acres of farmland each year- monthly to development.
- Stopping conversion of agriculture lands is not easy.
- Limiting sales of farmland.
- Paying farmers to stay put.
- Converting urban and suburban lands for growing food.
- Bring food back into our cities in a much more visible and tangible way.
- Farmers left cities for comforts of the country.
- Farms add value to residential communities around them.
- Legalizing urban farming.
- Agriculture as the New Golf: Farming as a development amenity.
- 16,000 golf course developments in the US, costing millions to build and maintain.
- How can we build open space at a lesser cost?
- Community Gardens.
- Farm views compared to fairways.
- Politics.
- In praise of technology.
- Green House.
- No soil, no sun, no problem: Hydroponics and vertical growing.
- Using 5% of water that outdoor plants would need can be recycled instead.
- A zoo claims they are saving $25,000 on lettuce per year alone using hydroponics.
- Higher productivity indoors,
- Investors are discovering hydroponics.
- Energy Costs.
- Less and more technology: more revenue:
- Fish
- Urban farming 2.0.
- Catching fishing customers online.
- Economic sustainability: Making the economics of agriculture urbanism pay.
- Cheap land in the city?
- Urban niche markets bring higher returns.
- Friendly urban growing conditions.
- Smaller is better.
- Simplify production techniques.
- Use efficient small machines and tools.
- Reduce expenses on external inputs.
- Market produce to bring the greatest return.
- Community supported agriculture (CSA)
- People buy annual shares.
- Being close to cities brings business opportunities.
- Non-Profit verses for Profit
- Non-profit because there is a very large portion of open space and public land.
- A city would not sell 200 Acres to a private buyer.
- Urban agriculture is still skewed to the rich.
- Is added nutrition worth the extra price?
- Farmers in cities have a lot of advantages that sweeten their financial bottom lines.
- Proximity to high end retail buyers.
- Low cost to no cost distribution.
- More second job opportunities.
- Piped and captured water.
- Fewer wild pests.
- Free land.
- Economic development through urban agriculture: Chasing the local job dream.
- Slow money starts with slow food.
- Rebuilding the lost food: Producing infrastructure.
- Cost can kill.
- Well established infrastructure can adapt for food.
- Home delivery services provide customized infrastructure.
- People too: knowledge has to grow.
- Share research: Cuba's experience.
- Less Waste: More Soil.
- Recovering wasted food for eating.
- Picking up fallen fruit.
- Composting.
- Food waste info.
- Bio-gas.
- Human waste to grow food.
- Healthy soil.
- Do it yourself.
- Home composting.
- Plants like urine.
- Worms work overtime to eat food waste.
- Reducing vast amounts of food we waste is the easiest way to increase local food supplies.
- Starting young: Healthier local food in schools, colleges and universities.
- Junk food marketing is aimed and children.
- More salad bars are coming to schools.
- Smarter lunch rooms.
- Design it right.
- Schools learning how to buy locally.
- School yard produce.
- Keep it simple.
- Gardening without gardens.
- Earth boxes.
- Gardening without gardens.
- Farmers markets and CSA's: Making the most of direct sales.
- Farmers Markets $$$
- Make them affordable
- Farmers markets are struggling for locations
- Direct sales are great
- Biggest pay back for farmers.
- Growing community with community gardens.
- Planting community into community gardens.
- Raises property values.
- Political power.
- Finding space is not easy.
- 2 block diet garden.
- Satisfy so many needs of the community.
- Getting food to hungry people.
- Moving beyond emergency relief.
- Eating well is the best medicine.
- Money is not everything.
- Ending food desserts.
- Ruin health.
- Cars drive food desertification.
- Crime and groceries do not mix.
- Freshening up the corner store.
- Food without mobility is not enough.
- Waiting for the market to deliver healthy foods to shrinking neighborhoods with low incomes and high crime rates is going to be a long wait.
- Is local food safe?
- Industrial safety standards hurt small producers.
- New federal food safety act won't hurt.
- Illusory safety.
- Contaminated soils can produce unhealthy foods to eat.
- Smaller local producers are just as capable of producing contaminated food as large producers.
- What can we do?
- System and changes in personal choices.
- Food links to national security.
- Tax breaks.
- Planners.
- Food policy.
- Community groups make change.