Food

San Francisco: From farm to fork

Sarah Armitage — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:20:27 +0000

With 20 farmers’ markets in San Francisco and almost 200 in the greater San Francisco area, this city is the original capital of farmers’ markets in the United States and a pioneer in the worldwide movement to revitalize local produce markets. The collaborative efforts of many different stakeholders have allowed this alternative approach to wholesale food distribution to flourish.

Todmorden: Vegetables are sprouting up among the flowerbeds in Todmorden

Maria Nørlyng Leal — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:26:37 +0000

The 'Incredible Edible' project began with a few illicitly planted herbs in flower beds near the railway station. Voluntary enthusiasts have since helped the project to grow and today, most of the town's inhabitants are involved in the project's many initiatives in some way or other. At the same time, unauthorised methods have been shelved and the Incredible Edible project has led to positive dialogue with public and private institutions. The intention is to make Todmorden a garden town full of tasty, fresh produce which the townspeople can harvest or pick on their way through the town.

New York: Organic rooftop garden

Anna Esbjørn Hess — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:59:07 +0000

"There's about 1000 worms in here," Annie Novak tells a journalist from the New York Times, holding up a box full of worms she is about to distribute in the roof garden in Greenpoint. Annie is Rooftop Farms' head gardener and hopes that the worms will make the soil in the vegetable garden even more fertile. The garden, 15 m above the Greenpoint sidewalk, is like a peaceful oasis in an otherwise throbbing industrial district. Several of the neighbours potter about in the garden, fussing with their potatoes and carrots with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop.

Humlebæk: From Vegetable Patch to Down the Hatch

Maria Nørlyng Leal — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:17:25 +0000

Aarstidernes farm in Humlebæk, Krogerup Home Farm, is the setting for experiences and instruction, offering school classes the opportunity to participate in the project 'Haver til Maver' (literally, from gardens to stomachs). Pupils are invited to cultivate their own gardens and cook food in an outdoor kitchen, or to pay a one-day visit to get an insight into the countryside and cookery. The purpose of the project is for children to understand where produce comes from and to involve them in the process of making the food they eat.

Johannesburg: Organic farming for everyone

Anna Esbjørn Hess — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:00:00 +0000

In Johannesburg, South Africa, downtown Joubert Park has become an oasis for people living nearby. Today, the GreenHouse People's Environmental Centre Project (GHP) serves this local community. The GHP combines community involvement and education with urban gardening and green building principles. By using the skills of rural South African people, the project aims to integrate organic farming, green building and design, efficient and renewable energy and recycling into the city’s mindset and physical outlay.

Gothenburg - Creating scenarios for sustainable food

June-Catherina Starling — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:19:00 +0000

Small-scale and local food production is an important part of a sustainable food future. With the move towards local production, it is no longer necessary to produce as much as possible. The wellbeing of animals and nature has become more significant and consumer behavioural changes are required. These were some of the key issues addressed in the visions and scenarios of the project Food Göteborg 2050.

New York: Urban fish farms

June-Catherina Starling — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:05:43 +0000

Fish stocks are dwindling while demand is rising. One-sixth of the world's population relies on fish as primary source of protein. As a result, the fishing industry is constantly trawling deeper to replace the depleted stocks causing destruction of the ecosystem of the oceans beyond repair.

Dar Es Salaam: Feeding the sustainable city

June-Catherina Starling — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:46:11 +0000

Dar Es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, is growing fast as people move from the countryside to seek a better future. The vast majority of the city’s inhabitants – seven out of ten – live in unplanned settlements that cause major challenges to urban infrastructure. In an effort to improve their situation, urban poor use any available space to grow food. In backyards and vacant lots – anywhere you can find a patch of land – people grow crops and raise livestock to feed their families.

Bra: Slow food - slow city

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:13:36 +0000

Brá, Italy, has about 30,000 inhabitants and is located about 50 kilometres south of Turin, in a gastronomic region known for, among other things, its wines, truffles and cheese. Brá is one of the founding cities in the Cittaslow movement. The inspiration to create slow cities came from the Slow Food movement with international head office and own restaurant in Brá. Earlier the city contained major footwear industry, but today the slow movement is the highest-profile business.

Future city: Vertical farming

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:22:09 +0000

An estimate says that by the year 2050, the human population will increase by about 3 billion and nearly 80% of the Earth's population will reside in urban centres. This massive growth in population puts massive demands on future food production. Today food-bearing plants are cultivated outdoors and thus dependent on good weather during a year. Each year massive floods, severe monsoons, class 4-5 hurricanes and long-term droughts are destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.

Havana: Feeding the city on urban agriculture

June-Catherina Starling — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:58:35 +0000

When the Soviet Bloc collapsed in 1989, Cuba lost its food imports and agricultural inputs from which it depended for an adequate supply of food. The US Embargo also created a shortage of petrol necessary to transport the food from the rural agriculture sector to the city. This marked the beginning of serious food shortages that shook the entire country, but most of all Havana.