System shifts towards food resilience
Just imagine that rather than standing in line at the supermarket we can gather our food in our own building or in te forest. That instead of avoiding disease we would be empowered to create health. That local resilient food production would make it infinitely easier to contain future outbreaks…if at all they would occur.
If Covid-19 has shown us anything this years is that now is the time for food resilience. The good news is that it’s completely possible. Providing we design our food system according to regenerative principles, rather than on extraction. This not only creates a better balance with our natural world, it creates resilience.
In order to envision such a system, let s take a look at how nature creates resilience. A resilient ecosystem has many relations and interdependencies rather than a few. So that if one element in the system fails, the others are more than able to compensate. Take a forest. Every plant needs water, light and nutrients, but each require a different type or choose a different moment to thrive. Flower bulbs bloom in early spring before the canopy blocks the light and provide an early treat to insects waking up from their hibernation. They disappear as soon as the bushes starts to flower and the last to get their green cover are the big trees which provide shade by the time the sun gets hot so that the vegetation below and the soil does not dry out.
The starting point of my perspective is therefore that, like in nature, increasing the number of relations between elements in our food system enhances its resilience and creates a regenerative system.
This vision is inspired by permaculture:
In a sustainable design, important functions are supported by more than one element. The more elements there are to support an individual function, the more stable and safe the overall system will be in the event of any one element failing.’ — Bill Mollison
As a permaculture designer I practice this principle in any design I make, whether it is a 300m2 garden, a technical innovation or a food system. As a gardener I have seen first-hand that a resilient food system creates value beyond food. It creates wellbeing, health and connection.
A holistic approach to food production creates a complex web of food relations, not unlike we find in nature. However the nature of the relations below do require human intervention. At a societal level a number of shifts will need to take place simultaneously to work in a mutually reinforcing way, resulting in a resilient food system and better, healthier living for all. Although it may seem we are a long way from home many of the answers to our current crisis are already here or at least under development. So my premise is that by 2030 this system will be a reality.
Shift I: The integration of human waste and food production
Imagine… a city, your city and look around. What do you see? Buildings or building blocks are no longer grey dead spaces are thriving of life inside and outside. And every building is largely self-supporting. The integration of human waste and food production forms the basis of the system.
We walk into a building like that to meet its inhabitants. Meet Sam and Sally, they are growers, parents, artists and teachers. Sam has studied music and Sally offers creative therapy to children with learning disabilities. They both work an average of 16 hours a week in their profession, leaving the rest of the time to care for their kids, help with school work and working together with their neighbours in the farm. They don’t have to do any of this alone. Other people in the building, including older inhabitants regularly mind the kids when the parents work, making professional childcare obsolete.
Sam and Sally live in the same building as Sallies mum who lives at the ground floor in a specialised apartment because she is in a wheelchair. She is a great story teller and her grandkids come by at least once a day for tea, sometimes with some additional friends. However a large part of the day kids keep each other busy roaming around the communal spaces of the building living an imaginary world. Imagination is considered the highest aim of education as it best prepares kids for the work they will be expected to do, like this type of future casting.
The building they live in not only provides for shared and individual living space, by modular design, but also for 2/3rd of the food of its inhabitants. And food production is in fact a cornerstone of the community.
This is how it works…
When Sally flushes the toilet, re-using water from showers and laundry, the water is collected in the buildings grey water system. Solid sewage waste is separated and dried with residue heat, after drying it is stored in bins for composting (humanure).
Grey water goes into the buildings bio-filter, which is connected with the farm. It’s a step by step process and a number of people from the building are responsible for monitoring it, as it forms the beating heart of the food system.
The future is here
Local nutrient recovery means a much shorter route from pod to plate and minimal external inputs. In addition integrating regional waste streams, like surplus urban green waste and extensive rural farming, or waste from seaweed processing and hydroponic systems create additional value and resilience of the overall system.
This reality is not as far as it seems. At present recovering phosphates from black water and kitchen waste could already replace a quarter of the present worldwide artificial phosphorus fertiliser use (G. Zeeman, 2020). Companies like BioVolt or Aquacyl are already generating energy from bacterial waste processing. Promising research is being done that points to micro-algae for removing a broad spectre of toxins, including anti-biotics and hormones (Leng et all 2020) and hormones (Wang et al 2019). And Ikea recently came out with its first DIY hydroponic kit.
Back to Sally and Sam. It’s dinner time. Today they are having gumbo. Sam made it from vegetables harvested today; red peppers, tomato and carrots and turnips from the garden with the addition of some home grown sweet water shrimps. For desert they are having fresh strawberries. At the local farmers market Sally bought some organic yoghurt as a special treat. At dinner they are discussing the trip they are taking to the country side tomorrow.
Shift 2: Regenerative food landscapes
Increasing self-sufficiency of cities is an important enabler for the second shift; towards extensive agriculture with integrated ecosystem services. From quantity to quality. And from farming to landscape design.
Increasing self-sufficiency of cities is an important enabler for the second shift; towards extensive agriculture with integrated ecosystem services. From quantity to quality. And from farming to landscape design.
“Regenerative agriculture” consists of a set of farming principles and practices that are aimed at soil restoration increases biodiversity, improves water management, and enhances ecosystem services. It also comes under names as ‘food forests’ ‘permaculture’ or ‘nature inclusive agriculture.’ All of these are distinct types of regenerative agriculture but all share a common departure point that food production does not have to go at the cost of nature but rather can be based on the abundance nature provides. Contrary to mainstream agriculture they do not separate food production from other ecosystem services.
Resilient = Regenerative
What makes regenerative agriculture ‘resilient agriculture’ is that it is robust against market failure and climate change. Let me explain using my own country as an example.
The Netherlands is the top food exporting country in Europe. In 2019, the export value of agricultural products reached a new record, €94.5 bn (CBS 2020). In 2016, the import of agricultural products rose by 1.6% to €57.1bn (Ministry of Economic Affairs). This trend is expected to continue into 2020. Basically this means our food system is built on an illusion. An illusion that we can keep relying on raw materials that are produced elsewhere at disproportionate costs for the environment and people.
The vulnerability of this system has become painfully clear. The past three years have seen a steady increase in hunger globally, returning to levels of a decade ago. Climate variability and extremes are among the three main causes of this disturbing trend (FAO, 2018). Drought is a major culprit and is among the most costly natural disasters, estimated by the WEF (2014) at 6–8 bn USD a year from losses in agriculture and related businesses. Even in the Netherlands, drought related crop failure has become a reality. Meanwhile there is increasing pressure on productive land not only to feed a growing number of people but also to produce for cattle and biofuel.
So how is regenerative agriculture different? This type of agriculture requires minimal inputs while generating maximum value for people and planet in a local context. It is also an important enabler for reversing climate change. Based on an analysis of Project Drawdown’s data, projected to 2050, implementing climate-friendly agricultural practices could mitigate nearly 170 GtCO2e, while generating a nearly $10 trillion net financial return.
From agriculture to food landscapes
What I’ve heard often is that we do not have enough space for regenerative agriculture. But such limitations are only based on artificial separation of functions, which goes against the idea of resilience being based on interrelatedness. As part of the shift towards food landscapes we will fully integrate natural resource management, recreation and food production.
Holistic landscape design and management will take into account both natures’ and peoples’ needs. Rather than imposing human centred design on nature, it will integrate nature in human design in a mutually beneficial way. So that the nature of our relationship with the land will evolve from parasitical to symbiotic.
There is a beautiful short film by George Monbidot ‘How wolves change rivers.’ In my vision people will behave more like the wolves in this film and shape the land with our presence rather than reaping havoc on it like a locust plague.
A food landscape is a constant artwork in progress as it is allowed to evolve. Some of it will be under our control while other parts are left to be wild. This is again in line with permaculture which in any design reserves a zone five; the wild zone. Zone five is not only important for the overall resilience of the system but I personally believe it is also acts as a reminder that we are servants and not masters of nature.
Nature based landscape design provides a whole new role to farmers. Farmers are no longer ‘working’ the land, replacing an ecosystem with a monoculture. Instead they observe and interact with nature to create food for people by nudging the ecosystem in the way of human needs. Just like in our urban setting the line between producer and consumer will fade giving rise to an array of identities; designer, forest ranger, sheep herder, teacher, etc. As a natural consequence the system of ownership will evolve. Groups of people may choose to live and work together and care for the ‘commons’ as part of their livelihood.
As soon as Sam and Sally leave the city on their electrical bikes they find themselves surrounded by trees and birdsong and the buzzing of flies and bees. They pass grazing sheep on the dike on their way to the berry valley. A ten square kilometre food forest specialised in a wide array of small fruit and nuts, which you are free to pick as long as you abide by the simple rules not to pick more than what you can eat that day, to share with each other and the animals and to leave nothing but footprints. They are meeting up with a group of friends from school to have a potluck picknick. The kids are exited as they will go tracking with the forest ranger and visit their favourite tree climbing playground.
Shift 3: Regenerative aquaculture
Desertification and soil depletion are a reality. However most of us don’t realise we are creating ocean deserts too. Ocean acidification threatens the health of our oceans and those whose livelihoods depend it, with costs on the global economy expected to rise to $1 trillion by 2100 (GBO, COP 12). Because of rising water temperatures nutrients are pushed away from the warm zones towards the poles and away from the equator and ultimately temperate zones.
The good news is that by 2030 we will have solved this problem by creating blue zones along our coast lines. Zones that integrate food production with nutrient and that create biodiversity hot spots, comparable with our food landscapes on land.
Ocean farmers like Bren Smit have already set out on this course. Rather than relying on mono-aquaculture operations, these new ocean farms are pioneering muti-tropic and sea-vegetable aquaculture, whereby ocean farmers grow abundant, high-quality seafood while improving, rather than damaging, the environment. In the picture below you see how this ‘multi-tropic system’ works.
In this set-up a combination of oysters and mussels are grown for commercial purposes but also create underwater habitats for marine life. The same applies to seaweed. Seaweed farms act against ocean acidification, deoxygenation and create biodiversity hotspots as well as buffer zones to replenish fish stock.
This type of present day multi tropic aquaculture will evolve further in the next ten years along the same lines as food forests. Underwater farming will be combined with marine ecosystem restoration. Oysters and mussels will not only be farmed, but will also be used as bio-builders to create substrate for other forms of underwater life. This will create additional ecosystem services like coastal protection, ocean re-oxygenation, blue carbon capture and recreation. Let’s call it ‘regenerative aquaculture’.
Replacing our carbon rich diets with proteins and minerals from the lower end of the (sea) food chain we do not only reduce our footprint, but we enhance our diets. We also make a big contribution to climate change in the process. Seaweed, particularly kelp, is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, with some varieties capable of absorbing five times more carbon dioxide than land-based plants. Research estimate that 18.5 million square miles of the ocean are suitable for seaweed cultivation (Froehlich et al 2019).
Connecting Blue and Green
By replacing traditional land based crops ocean farming can fuel regenerative farming on land. Seaweed already has a wide range of applications, including as food, feed as agricultural inputs, biofuel and bioplastics. In addition scientists are right now working on improving application of seaweed in land based aquaculture and as feed in poultry, pig and dairy farming. And seaweed can serve as a bio-based basis for nutrient management in aquaponic systems, replacing artificial fertilizers. And I am personally working on a solution whereby we use seaweed to restore degraded soils and improve drought resilience.
So rather than seeing blue and green as separate, the interlinkage of aquaculture and agriculture creates circularity at large. Whereby our future blue zones captures any nutrients that escape from agriculture via the big rivers.
A thriving Seaconomy means that our coastal areas and harbours will be important hubs for processing produce and connecting sea and inland needs. But like our cities our harbours will be greener, hosting an array of bio-based activities, rather than just being a relay station.
Sam and Sally are lucky, they live close by the coast and Sam is an enthusiastic snorkeler. Whenever she goes for a dive to enjoy the reef that stretches alongside the coast like a ‘seacitadel’ thriving with life, she always brings back some fresh catch of the day from the harbour.
Shift 4: Creating Health
I once read an article by an MD who said “Sickness is not the presence of disease, it is the absence of health” this made me realize we are part of our ecosystem in a much more fundamental way than I had previously considered. He was referring to the trillions of microbes that live within us. The same microbes that inhabit our gut, live in the soil where we grow our food. Pesticides and other toxins break the important bond that exists between microbes and food, leaving our food ‘sterile’, reducing our soils to ‘dirt’ and destroying our bodies immune defence system.
It was Louis Pasteur (1885) who first predicted that an animal could not exist without microbial life. Consider for a moment that humans are practically identical in our DNA, yet there is tremendous variation in how we develop and how we ‘feel’. Consider also that the amount of total DNA of the microbes inhabiting our gut is infinitely bigger. We are only starting to understand how this variation impacts our health and even our emotions.
Our present day diets are not only decreasing the health of our ecosystem they are directly reducing our own internal biodiversity. By consuming pesticides and antibiotics we kill the life in our gut. And by eating a one sided diet rich in sugars we are creating internal monocultures, leaving only room for those dominant bacteria that feed of sugar and starch. If our current landscape is any reflection of our internal state, and I believe it is, we are in a state of emergency.
A resilient food system on the other hand, as I have described above results in a number of shifts in our food production. These shifts are reflected with the shifts in our diets and the shifts in our internal system.
The dominance of grains, potatoes, maize and other starchy foodstuffs is over. Instead we will eat more leafy greens, legumes, sweet water shrimp and fish, enriched with small amounts of dairy, eggs and meat from extensive and organic animal husbandry and fruit and nuts grown in agroforestry. We will eat more seafood, rich in omega 3 fats, particularly from the lower end of the food chain. Our future food will be higher in proteins and minerals and less abundant in sugar and fat. And our future food will be free of pesticides and other harmful toxins. We can only dream of how this will impact the occurrence of diabetes, cancer, auto-immune disorders, food allergies, Alzheimer all of which are currently considered a ‘normal’ part of life and aging.
A system that is not only resilient but regenerative builds health, healthy ecosystems, healthy people and healthy societies. Because resilience of the system contributes to the resilience of its smallest elements; including our gut.
Afterthoughts
I’ve tried to show that a resilient food system requires and-and thinking. It requires high tech and low tech, human centred and nature based design, land and sea. Resilience lies both in creating self-propelling spheres of production that require minimal inputs but also in connecting each sphere of production. Each aspect of resilience is also an enabler of the system at large. More self-reliant cities create space for regenerative agriculture, sustainable ocean farming provides essential inputs to production on land, food forests not only create biodiversity but enrich our diets, lives and health.
To create a food system that supports nature and people in a mutually reinforcing way is a deeply empowering proces for both individual and society at large. Because to be empowered over our food is to be empowered to create our own health and those of our children and future generations. It means to pass down knowledge, knowledge that many of us seem to have lost in favour of convenience.
Food resilience will in turn create a whole new set of shifts. The line between consumer and producer will fade, it will invite different organizations and experiences and it will impact how we organize work and living. Local community will become a corner stone in food production, as it always was. So that by 2030 we will have 8.5 billion mouths to feed and nearly the same amount of producers.
At the end of the day food will bring us together. We will be able to look each other in the eyes and restore the relationship between each other, while we restore our relationship with our natural environment. And we restore our individual health and balance.
I believe this is feasible by 2030 and I believe it is necessary, I believe it will take commitment from all of us and I believe we will be rewarded.
Now is the time for Food Resilience by Zairah Khan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License.
