Circular food systems can stand up to crises
The pandemic has amplified the abysmal inefficiencies and injustices within the system of food. We are seeing huge food waste and, on the other hand, a growing food insecurity.
One estimate suggests that 40 percent of food waste in the current system. Additionally, one in eight Canadians is worried about their next meal, and one out of six children suffers from hunger every day. In Toronto, the largest city in Canada, the situation is more dire wit, with one in five residents suffering from food insecurity..
Our food systems have developed into a linear system of taking-make-waste. We harvest from the earth the essential nutrients that are needed for food production, transform the food into various products that fill the shelves of supermarkets, and then consume it without thinking about the waste created. This linear approach is not in sync with the cycles observed in the natural world that were part of the production of food for hundreds of years.
Systems, design, and food thinking
The complexities of the food system could seem overwhelming. However, there are numerous ways to improve the model. The first step is to recognize the connections between design and food.
In reality, the eating system is designed. Everything that goes into how food is produced, distributed, and sold is a design. Why is this important? Because foods and all the equipment around it is a concept which could be improved — and this gives hope of creating an improved system.
As a designer for social innovation, My research, teaching, and practices are focused on system thinking and creating socially innovative solutions that don’t just solve the symptoms but also address the root of the problem. The way we think about food is among the most important issues to be addressed.
Food values should be refocused.
Barbara Swartzentruber, executive director of Guelph’s Smart Cities Office that includes the Our Food Future initiative, states:
“Not only do we not properly value food, we don’t value the people who are integral to getting the food to us — from the farmers who produce the food, to the truck drivers who deliver it, to the cashiers at the supermarkets.”
Our Food Future is modeling an economic model for a circular regional food system that addresses the issue of food security. It also generates economic and business development opportunities and utilizes waste as a source of energy. It’s helping to reestablish the importance and connection of food throughout the food supply chain. Our Food Future is a partnership of a wide range of actors ranging from business, agriculture, Food sciences, the government, and academia.
Our Food Future is also helping to support projects that aim to end hunger by connecting communities to local, healthy food. Through research and funding collaborations, it’s also supporting farmers who are working to regenerate the soil and food producers who use technology and data to improve efficiency and reduce waste.
The circularity of the plates
It is important to note that the Our Food Future initiative is also a model for circularity and systems design. Collaborations, mentorship, and funding can encourage creativity and develop businesses that can be regenerative, which means that reducing or reusing waste is an integral aspect of an organization’s mission and activities. An excellent example of this is a project that was developed in conjunction with the Provision Coalition, known as Re(PURPOSE), The circular experience in food.
