Food for thought

In this blog, I will explain the impacts of our current practices, and the challenges and benefits of creating a sustainable food system. I'll also highlight some of the local efforts to make Liverpool’s food systems more sustainable.

A problematic supply chain

Our food systems are very complex and encompass everything from how our food is produced, grown and harvested, to how it is transported, sold, consumed and ultimately how it ends up on our plate. One example is meat production, which requires a huge amount of land to not only rear animals, but also to grow animal feed. Destroying natural habitats in the process, it’s staggering to see the disparity in the amount of food we yield compared to the vast amount of land used during this process.

Food miles associated with imported foods as well as the amount of single-use plastic that is used to ‘protect’ and package it, also present key issues. I think people are becoming more aware of the damaging impacts our food system has on the planet, but it’s not always easy to consume the foods which are deemed more sustainable.

Access to sustainable food systems

I think it's quite difficult to definitively say that one food is good for the environment and another isn't because inevitably one food might be better in one metric and worse in another. The challenge is taking this complex information and translating it into something that consumers from across different demographic groups can understand.

There are lots of small actions we can do to create a more sustainable food system. It can be as simple as shopping locally more often and buying seasonal ingredients to reduce the number of steps in the supply chain, as well as the more obvious action of eating less meat, which significantly reduces your carbon footprint.

Similarly, things like composting to reduce food waste and reducing the number of products you buy packaged in single-use plastic can all help to create a more sustainable system.  However, many people may not have the means to take these sustainable steps and in order for us to see improvements on a large scale, more widespread changes need to happen.

If we can make foods which are good for the environment easier to access, more affordable and educate people on how to use these ingredients, we are more likely to start to see a change in our system. It’s about removing these key barriers in order to create a fairer and more sustainable landscape

Researching benefits of home food growing

As part of the research project Rurban Revolution, which looked to identify the benefits of urban greening and food growing to our health, sustainability and resilience, we found that there is a much wider pool of benefits to growing our own food. Following the completion of Rurban Revolution in September 2021, my colleagues and I published a paper on the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown. We found that those who grew their own food during the early stages of the pandemic had better levels of well-being and felt less concerned about food supply issues compared to people who didn't grow their own food.

Having identified the wealth of benefits growing our own food can bring, we set up the Liverpool Food Growers Network, which aims to improve connections between local food growing organisations, whilst also providing the opportunity to work with academic researchers from the University to help them evidence their environmental impact.

Community garden outside the Central Teaching Hub

Local action and opportunity

Key local Food Network organisations are promoting sustainable food in Liverpool. From organisations like Farm Urban, who are building hydroponic systems and developing educational outreach programmes in local schools, to the various community gardens who are growing fresh fruit and veg, there’s plenty going on in the city.

Having seen the positive impact the Liverpool Food Network was having, I wanted to apply this to the University. I looked around campus and saw so much space that could be better put to use. This is where the idea for ‘Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability’ started, which has been funded by the University’s Sustainability Fund.

Initially, we made use of the pre-existing garden outside the Central Teaching Hub and we have now begun growing fruit and vegetables at a new site on campus close to Oliver Lodge. The fresh produce we have grown is harvested by staff and students who volunteer with us. The pipe dream is that we can raise the profile of food growing to staff and students at the University, and ultimately develop many different gardens on campus, growing healthy food with no packaging, creating new green spaces and contributing to positive wellbeing.

It would be amazing if we could then use the food we grow in University catering, to really shorten those supply chains and contribute our own sustainable food system.

The Guild run volunteer sessions for students every Wednesday from 14:00 – 15:00 at the Oliver Lodge garden. They are a great way to learn new skills, meet new people, reduce stress levels and lower your carbon footprint.

Through a small step in a much larger issue, the food growing activities is an example of how we can begin to improve and create more sustainable food systems at a local level. If all large organisations began to work on initiatives such as this, it would start to change our perception of how we consume food.

Find out more

For more information about how to get involved with the Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability gardening volunteering, visit the Guild website. To find out more about my research, visit my staff webpage.

Follow our instagram account at @sowingtheseedslivuni.