The Growing Importance of Investing in Food Resilience
Advertisement
Introduction
Food Resilience is a community or system’s way to ensure a stable and sufficient food supply in the face of potential environmental, economic, and social disruptions. Climate change, urbanization, supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical instability are increasing threats to food resiliency worldwide. When extreme weather conditions become more common and resources for food production decrease, adapting measures that result in more resilient food systems becomes vital to ensure that we have reliable access to nutritious food.
What is Food Resilience?
Food Resilience has several key aspects. It involves sustainable food production, efficient food distribution, strengthening local food systems and improving adaptability to external shocks. Food resilience requires diverse cultural practices that include strong food networks and policies that support lasting food security. Food resiliency also includes the ability to recover from crises without significant supply disruptions, unlike food security, which primarily centers around short term access to food at any given time. To create a resilient food system will “[require] meaningful collaboration with community partners and community members,” states John Hopkins’ Center for a Livable Future in their 2022 planning guide for local governments to support food security.
Challenges in Maintaining and Strengthening Food Resilience
How climate change impacts our food systems, each section impacts the next. Photo: Climate Council.org
Climate Change
Climate Change stands as one of the largest threats to global food systems. Extreme weather conditions such as rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and the increasing frequency of droughts, floods, and hurricanes all negatively impact crop yields and livestock production. Similarly, regions that are more dependent on traditional farming practices encounter soil degradation, desertification, and water scarcity that make food production progressively volatile. The Government of Canada reports that climbing temperatures will result in stress for several popular crops, such as canola and wheat. The nature of the impacts of climate change are complex, and very region specific. The diagram below illustrates many of the relationships between the climate crisis and our food system.
Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
Modern food supply chains are very complex. They often rely on just in time delivery systems and require far flung, global trade networks. Communities do not stockpile large quantities of food, relying instead on a constant supply. Pandemics, conflicts, trade restrictions, and transportation issues can result in food shortages and price instability. A prime example of this was the COVID-19 pandemic which exemplified these vulnerabilities when supermarket shelves stayed empty due to transportation disruptions, and agricultural labour shortages disrupted harvests and food processing.
Urbanization and Land Use Pressures
The growth of urban populations typically results in farmland being gradually converted to residential and industrial uses. Furthermore, most cities now depend on imported food to satisfy demand, which increases vulnerability to food supply disruptions. The lack of urban agriculture initiatives and other local and regional food production capacity keeps food resilience fragile in densely populated areas. While there are some initiatives underway, such as vertical farming, there needs to be more public policy and financial investments in this sector to improve our food resiliency.
Advertisement
Biodiveristy is a key component of
Loss of Biodiversity
Monoculture farming and excessive pesticide use have led to declining soil fertility and loss of essential biodiversity. This article published by the European Commission in 2021 highlights the drawbacks of monoculture farming in Europe. It states that “raising a single crop has drawbacks as it increases the risk of disease and pest outbreaks because monocultures lack other plant and animal species that limit the spread of disease and control pests through predation.” With the reduced genetic diversity of crops and livestock, food production becomes more vulnerable to diseases and pests.
Solutions: Building a Resilient Food System
Diversifying Agricultural Practices
In order to create a more resilient food system, diverse food sources and farming techniques need to be put in place. One way this is done is through agroecology, permaculture, and regenerative agriculture which improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and reduce the dependence on chemical inputs. An additional way this can be done is through the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and traditional farming strategies. This can enhance food resilience by creating sustainable practices that are adjusted accordingly to specific environments. The 2018 Ten Years for Agroecology in Europe report envisions a future in which European agriculture adapts to climate change, eliminates pesticides, preserves essential biodiversity, and ensures a nutritious and adequate food supply for a growing population.
Strengthening Local and Urban Food Systems
By investing in urban agriculture such as community gardens, and decentralized food production, the reliance on long-distance food supply chains is reduced. Similarly, green roof initiatives, rooftop gardens, and vertical farms offer creative and unique solutions for producing food in urban settings while simultaneously reducing transportation emissions and food waste. The expansion of green infrastructure investment can result in more urban food production and better climate adaptation. It also has the ability to help us adapt to extreme weather events, reduce the urban heat island, and support employment, better human health and social cohesion.
Reducing Food Waste and Enhancing Storage
According to Second Harvest, in Canada, over 46% of all food is wasted every year - that’s $58 billion dollars a year. However, there are several ways to reduce food waste and enhance storage. These include cold storage technologies, better supply chain management, and consumer education all of which can contribute to reducing food loss. Improving waste storage, transportation, and distribution systems can also significantly reduce waste and ensure more efficient use of available resources.
Policy and Governance Support
Strengthening food resilience requires that governments and non-governmental organizations work together to develop and implement policy interventions. These policies should be designed to offer support for small regional farmers, provide subsidies for sustainable agriculture practices, investment in scaling up urban agriculture projects, and developing more climate-resilient crops. furthermore, international cooperation, ensuring food trade remains stable during regional hardships like droughts, can help strengthen national and global food resilience. This 2020 report on food policies in six countries provides useful highlights of innovative food policies. Some of these policies include food education in schools - with an emphasis on “tasting” to build an appreciation of food and better life long eating habits. .
Advertisement
Case Studies in Food Resilience
Canada: Regenerative Farming in the Prairies
In the Canadian Prairies, one of the ways that declining soil health is being addressed is through regenerative farming techniques. These techniques include the use of cover crops to reduce erosion, rotational grazing, and no-till farming. By using these techniques, farmers can improve soil fertility while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These practices help to ensure long-term agricultural productivity.
Netherlands: High-Tech Greenhouse Farming
By producing high yields with minimal land use, the Netherlands has become a global leader in controlled-environment agriculture. Through unique farming techniques such as advanced greenhouse technology, precision irrigation, and data-driven farming, the Netherlands produces food efficiently while reducing its environmental impact. The use of this high-tech model is a prime example of the impact of technology on the subject of food resilience.
Africa: Agroforestry in the Sahel
Agroforestry is a solution for desertification, helping communities build food resilience through the integration of trees with crops and livestock. The Great Green Wall Initiative is improving soil fertility, increasing crop yields and providing economic opportunities for local farmers. Their goal is “to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land; sequester 250 million tons of carbon and create 10 million green jobs by 2030.” This initiative aims to restore degraded land across Africa’s Sahel region.
The Future of Food Resilience
The future health of our food resilience will depend largely on government investment in sustainable agriculture and other climate adaptation strategies including equitable food distribution. Similarly, technological advancements such as precision farming, lab-grown food, and AI-driven supply chain management can play a vital role in the way resilient food systems are shaped. A social and political commitment to food resilience is essential for success, and also becomes equally important in ensuring that food remains accessible and affordable for all.
Conclusion
Food resilience is vital in a time where there is a rise in environmental and economic uncertainty and threats. Through embracing sustainable agricultural practices, strengthening local food networks, and investing in adaptive strategies like urban agriculture, societies can help ensure a stable and reliable food supply. As climate change impacts on agriculture worsen, maintaining food resilience has to be treated as more of a priority for governments, businesses, and communities.
Advertisement
Lamita Hermez is a student at the University of Toronto.
References
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. "Building Resilient Communities Through Green Infrastructure." www.greenroofs.org
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022." www.fao.org
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "Preventing Food Waste and Loss for Sustainable Development." www.unep.org
World Resources Institute. "Strategies for Sustainable Food Systems." www.wri.o