Food for Our Own Good: how to make food cleaner
The way we produce and consume food has a significant impact on the environment.
Food systems are responsible for up to 30% of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions, with the majority originating from agricultural production. This makes them a significant driver of climate change.
At the same time, most of the world’s traditional farming still relies on rainwater, and as climate change affects weather patterns, our food supply is growing increasingly vulnerable. This is especially true for cities and countries like Leeds and the UK, which import most of their food and are susceptible to supply chain disruptions.
Therefore, we need to combine our efforts to build a food system that is sustainable, nutritious, and climate-resilient.
Luckily, one of our colleagues, Dr Paola Sakai, took up the challenge. She is leading a project called ‘Food for Our Own Good’ that explores the use of mine water geothermal energy to control the environment of vertical farms and glasshouses to produce food for schools, hospitals, care homes, and food hubs.
Sharing her insights on the project, Dr Paola Sakai said:
We aim to explore innovative technologies and business models to produce food that is nutritious, climate-resilient, clean and just.
Decarbonising the food production
‘Food for Our Own Good’ focuses on geothermal technologies, such as mine energy systems, because they have great potential to decarbonise food production in the UK and support the energy transition.
Dr Paola Sakai explains:
By harnessing the heat stored in the water of disused mines to control the environment of glasshouses and vertical farms, food can be produced with renewable energy and almost zero carbon emissions.
Vertical farms are like greenhouses stacked on top of each other, providing a controlled and safe indoor environment for growing food, regardless of the weather. However, they are energy intensive, which is why a low-carbon energy source like geothermal energy could help reduce the environmental impact of our food system.
This approach can help reduce carbon emissions by cutting food miles, as food will be produced closer to the consumer. Moreover, it can decrease energy consumption by around 30 per cent and water consumption by around 95 per cent. It can also free up land for biodiversity, increase food security and support the local economy. Dr Paola Sakai adds:
A zero-waste system with a mine energy system can support a more efficient and sustainable food system in the UK and share the example with other ex-mining urban areas around the world.
Barriers to consider
Countries such as the Netherlands and Iceland successfully use geothermal energy in food production, but this hasn’t been done in the UK. We need to overcome challenges to deploy operational geothermal technologies.
Dr Paola Sakai found that we need to focus on several areas, for instance:
- Technical: lack of geothermal energy data, uncertainty of water flow and underground occurrences, pests and diseases, and limited crop diversity.
- Economic: high start-up and operating costs, lack of incentives, lack of insurance, long return periods of investment and low food prices.
- Social: social acceptance, fear of risks, a need for skilled labour.
- Regulatory/policy: zoning and certification, lack of national policy and blurred regulation, unfavourable terms for investment, easier to stick with business as usual.
By overcoming these barriers, we will invest in a food system that can adapt to the growing uncertainties related to climate change and mitigate its environmental impact. Dr Paola Sakai adds:
Let’s be creative and invest in other clean energy sources in our much-needed food system.
Supporting the local community
Dr Paola Sakai is also examining ways in which entrepreneurs could channel the food produced to priority groups in ex-mining areas often lacking opportunities to help the just transition. This will create localised social and economic benefits along with supporting the UK Net Zero strategy. She notes:
In Leeds, a city shaped by its coal mining past with an increasing urban food production network, we have a unique opportunity to tap into a reliable, year-round, emissions-low energy source
Localising food and energy production and advancing local skills and knowledge will support the local economy and improve the health and wellbeing of the community. It also presents a key chance to grow the market for Controlled Environment Agriculture in areas like North and West Yorkshire, while helping to reduce carbon emissions across the region.
As a participant in Dr Sakai’s interviews mentioned:
Really positive thing that can come out of a kind of industrial legacy that’s happened in the UK" (Aca-4).