[MCN] Can urban farming provide unpolluted food?

Lance Olsen lance at wildrockies.org
Mon Mar 21 18:25:09 EDT 2016


Nature 531, S60 (17 March 2016) doi:10.1038/531S60a
Published online 16 March 2016

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7594_supp/full/531S60a.html

Perspective: City farming needs monitoring
Andrew A. Meharg

1st 3 paragraphs

People are moving from the countryside to cities 
in ever increasing numbers. As towns and cities 
grow, farmland is being concreted over. Urban 
agriculture is often considered to be the future, 
at least for some components of a city dweller's 
diet. But cities are far from prime agricultural 
land, and it cannot be assumed that food produced 
in urban areas is safe to eat.

Growing food in urban environments seems like an 
attractive proposition, partly because of the 
inherent sustainability: waste heat that all 
cities generate can be harnessed, and grey water 
(waste water from baths, showers and kitchen 
appliances) or surface runoff and nutrient-rich 
sewage effluent can be recycled. As well as a 
sustainable use of brownfield sites, it can 
reduce the carbon footprint of food transport and 
can make cities greener. For poorer families, 
urban farming produces an income and can 
diversify diet. Community-based projects can 
promote social interaction and outdoor activity 
for a double dose of health benefits. Areas 
designed with urban farming in mind - such as 
vertical farms (growing plants up the sides of 
buildings, for example) and patchworks of fields 
between, on top of or within blocks of buildings 
- could shape our future cities. Rooftop and 
indoor farming would further increase the land 
area available for agriculture.

But before urban farming can be expanded on a 
large scale, a key issue that differentiates 
cities from the countryside must be considered: 
pollution.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7594_supp/full/531S60a.html
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