I'm not going to focus on food-centred economies today, as was promised at the end of my last entry (sorry!). But, if you are interested in this, check out these great LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems) links!

I'm currently finishing up two of my Human Environment 400-levels, Environmental Management and Urban Ecology, and I'm finding some really interesting links between them. So instead I'm going to address these links through a discussion about urban agriculture's potential in contributing to sustainable urban communities.  It seems a critical way for urban planners and environmental managers to cooperate.

There are a few things that need to be made clear before I get to the crux:

Since the industrial revolution, the global human population has been growing exponentially - from about one billion people to over six billion people today. Think about that! It took thousands and thousands of years for the human population to reach just one billion people, and only the last two hundred for the population to increase by five billion people!

All these people (along with our cars, homes, and insatiable consumption habits) put A LOT of pressure on the planet's natural resources, and release TONS of waste for the planet to absorb. And think about what this means for the food system!

Over half of the world's population is concentrated in urban centres, and are indirectly interacting with the environment. Because urban dwellers are living in a human-made world, and not directly experiencing the effect of their activities on the environment, a city-nature divide has formed in many people's minds. This mental divide causes people to see these two as separate - the city as an insular environment, not affecting the "pristine" nature so many admire, and nature as external to the city, capable of being overcome by technological advancements.

An interesting concept in urban ecology is that of the city as an organism, relying on inputs from nature and releasing outputs into nature. This cycle of consumption and waste production is called the urban metabolism. With today's global economy, enabling us to consume natural resources from all over the planet, we are experiencing global problems - the most dire of which is global climate change.

There are ways for us to lower cities' contribution to global climate change, and civic ecology is one of them. My simple definition of civic ecology is, "the combining environmental management with community building." Basically, it's about groups of urban citizens getting together to improve the ecology of urban spaces, whether it be through watershed restoration, community forestry, or community gardening.

Community forestry and gardening increase the amount of green space in cities, which lowers the urban heat island effect.

Increasing green space has so many natural advantages: increases evaporation (has a natural cooling effect), absorbs carbon dioxide (lowers greenhouse gas emissions), purifies air, provides storm water control, and the list goes on. Not only that - green spaces, especially in the form of community gardens, increases all forms of community capital. Check out this great elaboration of community capital while thinking about the context of community gardening:

It's so simple that I don't think any further explanation is required!

If you live in Montreal and want to get involved in some community greening (and become environmental stewards!), check out the Urban Ecology Centre. And, of course, if you're a Concordia University student, get involved with the Concordia Food Systems Project!

See you there! :)


(Click on the pictures to see where they're from.)

So many of us opt for the cheapest food possible. When it comes to buying produce, many people will choose the cheaper, industrial farmed veggie over its organic counterpart. We all have budgets to abide by, right? Of course. But how come the food that requires the most amount of energy to grow, that travels the farthest, and that is the most processed and packaged is the cheapest? There's a bunch of reasons: subsidies, cheap labour, and mass production.

Industrialized food is cheaper, but the cost is being diverted. We are paying the price, in other ways:

(3) The (one and only) Environment
The larger the farm the larger the subsidy. Does that make any sense? Not to me, it doesn't. The largest farms these days usually have the greatest net worth to begin with, since they've been cutting all kinds of costs in disregard for the environment (See my previous blog, "Sustaining Food: An environmental perspective," for more on this). So while the smaller farms that are more likely to be nurturing the ecosystem services, essential to life, are being starved out of business, these big multinationals are being spoon fed.

Right, so when we buy cheap food, we are costing the environment dirty, pesticide-laden water, an atmosphere full of greenhouse gases, and a life-cycle gone haywire. But guess what - this all comes back to us. We have to pay more in the long-run to clean this mess up. Meanwhile, we are suffering the consequences of a degraded environment.

Next time, I will talk about sustainable food economies and communities. Until then, try thinking about what you're really paying for when you buy organic - nutrition, farmer's rights, and ecosystem services.

Food connects us with our environment - it represents our direct physical dependence on nature. When we eat, we are actually ingesting the environment!

Without a healthy environment we cannot have healthy food, and without using ecological practices to grow our food, we cannot have a healthy environment. It is an endless, and beautiful cycle.

Industrial agriculture ignores this cycle. It's all about getting the most out of the environment, without any regard for what the environment actually needs to be the most productive. This is, obviously, completely counterproductive. Industrial agriculture is characterized by monoculture, pesticide-use, and GMOs.

Monoculture, the mass production of one plant species, both depletes biodiversity and encourages the invasion of pests. Certain pests are attracted to certain types of plants, and once they start feeding, they reproduce and spread like wild fire. In a whole field of one type of plant, pests have a field day, literally. And so, what is a quick fix for pests? Pesticides, of course. Supposed long term fix? GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms. Geneticists thought they were being smart by creating seeds that deter pests, but they've really messed things up. Watch this cheesy, but really comprehensive video called "The Story of Food" to understand (don't get turned off by the crazy beginning, it gets better):

What else can we do?

Well, permaculture is a way to grow food that helps the environment thrive. It's about observing the environment and using its natural variation and tendencies to our advantage, by actually improving the environment. Through agriculture, we can truly be stewards of the environment.

An interesting practice used in permaculture design is companion planting. Different plants absorb and release different nutrients from and into the soil, affecting its composition. So, companion planting is all about growing the plantsthat "fix" the soil for each other close together, so they can encourage each other's growth. This method also deters pests, by making it harder for them to find the plant they're looking for. Plus, the other plants nearby may be poisonous to it. Want to try it? Here is a list of companion plants.

If you're interested in learning more, or even becoming certified in permaculture design, check out my amazing permaculturalist friend Graham's website, P3 Permaculture Design, for information on workshops and courses.

Perhaps I just wasn't paying enough attention before, but it seems that the food movement has officially exploded. Everywhere I turn, people are talking about organic food, local food, farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture (CSAs), community gardens, rooftop gardens, home gardens, "WWOOFing" (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), and collective kitchens.

Perhaps the Concordia Food Systems Project internship that I worked on this summer transported me into a world where food is again central, as it was, and as it should be. But no, the food movement is thriving - I'm sure of it.

Food brings people together, whether it's through growing food or eating food - communities are built around food and food builds communities. Food is the basis of our social, economic, and political systems. And most important, food unites us as a species: every human, regardless of age, sex, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, needs food every single day. 

What's pushing people to think more about their food? Where it comes from? What's in it? The food system is in serious danger, that's what.

Food has been industrialized to the point where its production is environmentally destructive, and its consumption is biologically dangerous. Pesticides are getting into our waterways, and into our bodies. Genetically modified organism (GMOs) are all over the place, the effects of which are not completely certain, but it's not looking good. Also, the way foods are being transformed, being pumped with a quadrillion additives is out of control - these chemical compounds (like carageenan, aspartame, soya lecithin, maltodextrin, and even "natural flavour") are in so many of the foods most of us eat everyday - it's hard to avoid them.

The problem is that food production is being controlled by huge multinational corporations, more concerned with making profits than taking care of people and their environments. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please watch Food, Inc.. As the website claims: "You'll never look at dinner the same way."

But that's depressing. Let's get back to hope, back to action for change, back to the food movement.

Food sovereignty is what's important: people being able to choose how their food is produced and what's in it. To achieve this, many people, sick of waiting for industry or legislation, have turned to growing their own food. What makes it more exciting is that there's an urban movement - the urban agricultural movement, and this movement is alive online. To share this movement with people, I included a bunch of food movement videos on the Concordia Food Systems Project's YouTube page I put together this past summer.

But my ultimate favourite, and something I'm really excited about, is the trailer for Edible City. This film is revolutionary, and extremely inspirational. See for yourself:

So, what do you think?