Transcript Sustainable Food - Footprint Futures!

Sustainable Food
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Module 5 – Food
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Organic farmers only use natural methods of fertilising their crops, like manure and
compost. This means that there are no nitrous oxide emissions from artificial
fertilisers. Manures and composts add carbon back into the soil, so they are
trapping CO2 instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.
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Organic agriculture
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Instead of planting just one crop which is vulnerable to pests, it is possible to plant
a mix of different crops close together. This means that they will attract a lot of
different wildlife, so there is a good balance of predators and pests. Ladybirds love
greenfly, so providing homes for ladybirds is an example of natural pest control!
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Pests and predators
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The most important thing to check for sustainable food is how it is grown and
processed. If it is grown sustainably and locally that is even better because it will
also reduce the amount of energy needed to transport and store the food. All of
these foods are grown in Wales.
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Local food
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When the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba lost their source of imported oil. In order
to survive, Cubans had to grow food without fossil fuel fertiliser, and without oil
powered farm machinery. They also grew it everywhere it was needed so it didn’t
need to be transported long distances. This is Havana, the capital city.
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Urban Agriculture in Cuba
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It is possible to grow fresh and local food in the places where it is needed even in
the city! People have been growing food in allotments for centuries.
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Urban agriculture in Wales
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If we want to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions we will need to eat only a small
amount of dairy and meat products. These cows and sheep are raised organically
and have good standards of living.
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Sustainable meat and dairy
We have a lot of hills and mountains in Wales which are very difficult to farm because
of bad weather and access for machines. Some of this land will probably continue to
be used to farm sheep for meat and wool to be shared by people across Britain. But it
is possible to grow vegetables at high altitudes like these ones at CAT, many metres
above sea level on the site of a derelict slate quarry!
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Hill farming in Wales
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Another way of using hilly areas is by making the most of forest crops like fruit and
nut trees. It is possible to plant other perennial plants like fruit bushes underneath
the trees, and other plants like vegetables and herbs on the ground layer. You can
also plant perennial root crops under the ground!
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Forest gardening
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Even if we eat less meat and dairy, we can still get plenty of protein from other
sources such as peas and beans!
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Peas and Beans
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Making our own food from fresh and local ingredients is a great way to reduce our
food footprint, because cooking at home uses much less energy than processed
and packaged food.
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Cooking