SIMS(DAIRY): a modelling framework to identify sustainable dairy farms in the UK. Framework description and test for organic systems and N fertiliser optimisation

Multiple demands are placed on farming systems today. Society, national legislation and market forces seek what could be seen as conflicting outcomes from our agricultural systems, e.g. food quality, affordable prices, a healthy environmental, consideration of animal welfare, biodiversity etc., Many of these demands, or desirable outcomes, are interrelated, so reaching one goal may often compromise another and, importantly, pose a risk to the economic viability of the farm.SIMS_DAIRY, a farm-scale model, was used to explore this complexity for dairy farm systems. SIMS_DAIRY integrates existing approaches to simulate the effect of interactions between farm management, climate and soil characteristics on losses of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon. The effects on farm profitability and attributes of biodiversity, milk quality, soil quality and animal welfare are also included. SIMS_DAIRY can also be used to optimise fertiliser N.In this paper we discuss some limitations and strengths of using SIMS_DAIRY compared to other modelling approaches and propose some potential improvements. Using the model we evaluated the sustainability of organic dairy systems compared with conventional dairy farms under non-optimised and optimised fertiliser N use. Model outputs showed for example, that organic dairy systems based on grass-clover swards and maize silage resulted in much smaller total GHG emissions per l of milk and slightly smaller losses of NO₃ leaching and NO_x emissions per l of milk compared with the grassland/maize-based conventional systems. These differences were essentially because the conventional systems rely on indirect energy use for ‘fixing’ N compared with biological N fixation for the organic systems. SIMS_DAIRY runs also showed some other potential benefits from the organic systems compared with conventional systems in terms of financial performance and soil quality and biodiversity scores. Optimisation of fertiliser N timings and rates showed a considerable scope to reduce the (GHG emissions per l milk too).     

美国养耕共生系统技术简析与展望

养耕共生系统是一种自我物质平衡的新型农业养殖栽培系统,具有永续有机的特点,在欧美、日本、中国台湾等地区正逐渐获得社会关注并应用于家庭农场、立体农业等。本文通过文献研究、案例研究、归纳分析等方法,主要介绍美国养耕共生系统以物质循环利用为核心的工作原理,从萌芽、发展、成熟、至应用推广的简要发展史,以UVI系统和NCSU系统为原型的两个主要分支的发展情况,并简要介绍了应用案例,最后初步探讨这种新型都市农业模式的优势、不足、与应用前景,指出充分挖掘资源循环利用、高度重视产品设计细节、量化分析生态效益、深入研究地域差别是未来养耕共生系统设计研究的方向。     

Local food production: some implications for planning

Following a catalogue of problems in British farming, attempts are being made to re-localize agriculture for reasons of rural regeneration and sustainable development. It is a move that is both consumer driven and encouraged by government policies and grant schemes. This article examines what the implications for the land use planning system might be from this small revolution in farming and retailing. Research in Somerset using planning history records reveals that in some cases planning permission has proved an obstacle to the establishment and expansion of local food businesses. This is especially so for applications for farm shops and agricultural workers' dwellings. Survey data shows that a significant proportion of local food producers selling through box schemes, farmers' markets and farm gate sales are new entrants to farming. New entrants present particular difficulties for planners and planning committees, because they challenge the conventional conception of what farmers and farm businesses are like, and invoke concerns about abuse of the agricultural dwelling concessions provided by the system. A tension is identified between the interpretation of ‘sustainable development’ in planning circles and among local food proponents. The neglect of ‘food miles’ as a consideration in retail planning policy is highlighted as an example of this clash of perspectives.     

景观与建筑的完美结合——教育农场

该项目坐落在科尔多瓦市的干旱地区，是一个小型的、以加工食物为主题的农场，该场地是大型建筑群落中的一部分，是为了满足游客不断增多的需求而专门修建的，场地设计的初衷是要为游客们提供可以体验典型的农场活动。并了解食物加工的过程的一处自然景观，加工后的食物都将提供给游客，满足了人们对食物及休闲活动的需求。     

城市地下农场发展前景及实践路径初探

伴随快速城市化、人口剧增及耕地短缺的现状,都市农业不断发展并衍生出垂直农业,而后又在地下谋求发展空间。地下农场作为一种空间集约、技术先进的新载体,是推动都市农业高质量发展的重要变革。本文基于相关前沿研究和地下农场案例,探讨其发展的可行性及前景。研究发现目前地下农场缺乏理论研究与成熟的发展体系,因此,结合城市发展特征,初步探索了地下农场的发展路径,即建立评价模型来预判发展效益;立足城市既有、新建地下空间探讨集约化利用模式;构建规模化发展体系,提出散点激活、线性连通、区域联动的3种形式。本研究成果将为未来地下农场全面推广及应用提供依据。     

Feeding the global city: urban transformation and urban food supply chain in 21st-century Istanbul

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the effects of urban transformation on the urban food supply chain in 21st century Istanbul. The article begins with a discussion on the particularities of the urban transformation that has shaped the city since the 1980s, emphasizing tendencies that are relevant to food consumption and supply patterns and practices. Next, 6 categories of fresh fruits and vegetables (FFVs), provisioning agents (mixed/foreign-capital supermarkets, domestic-capital supermarkets, bazaars, local suppliers, and urban and semi-urban/peripheral farmers, internet or store-based alternative food networks) are analyzed in terms of their perception of urban transformation and various challenges it poses. The article concludes with an assessment of the changes in the city’s food supply chain in light of provisioning agents’ responses to the urban transformation as a force that either enables them compete more successfully and expand their operations or pushes them to contract or even leave the provisioning sector completely.     

Fluxes of radiocaesium in selected rural study sites in Russia and Ukraine.

Food production and food harvesting systems common in the areas contaminated by the Chernobyl accident in Russia and Ukraine can be grouped into three major categories: collective farm produce, private farming produce and foods collected from natural ecosystems. The contribution of each of these sources to radiocaesium intake by people living in rural settlements in the mid 1990s has been estimated at two major study sites, one in each country. The collective farm system provided the smallest contribution (7-14%) to the intake of radiocaesium at both sites. Natural food was the major contributor to intake at the Russian site (83%). Whereas private farm produce was the major contributor (68%) at the Ukrainian study site. The difference between the two sites was mainly because private milk production was stopped at the Russian site due to the contamination in 1986. A retrospective assessment of the situation 1 year after the accident shows that collective farming could have been a minor contributor to radiocaesium intake (8%), whilst private farming would have been the major contributor wherever private milk production and consumption continued. The extent to which inhabitants consume natural foods from forests has a considerable effect on their radiocaesium intake. The comparative importance of food products from natural ecosystems increases with time due to the long effective ecological half-lives of radiocaesium in unimproved pastures and forests. Estimation of the fluxes of radiocaesium from the different production and harvesting systems showed that the contribution from private farming and food harvesting from natural ecosystems may be significant, contributing 14-30% to the total fluxes of radiocaesium from an area even if the quantity of food produced in these systems is small. However, the major contributor to the flux exported from an area was the collective farming system, accounting for about 70-86% of the total.     

城镇建设用地投入非协调性及其规划思考

我国是一个人多地少的发展中国家,位处城镇化加速发展阶段的现实背景,使城镇建设用地投入成为国民经济可持续发展研究中亟需解决的关键性问题。据此本文从非协调性的视角构建我国城镇建设用地投入合理性、效益性分析的理论框架——认为"发展"与"吃饭"问题、"人口—经济—空间"城镇化的时空一致性及制度安排的合理性问题是其研究的主要内容;自然资源条件、城镇人口、GDP、地方财政税收、产业就业非农化及社会非农化是其主要影响因素;区位商和关联系数是其可行的评价方法;并在此基础上引发出对城市规模、城镇化质量及制度安排的规划思考。     

Exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds via the food chain: Is packaging a relevant source?

Contamination of foodstuffs by environmental pollutants (e.g. dioxins, metals) receives much attention. Until recently, food packaging as a source of xenobiotics, especially those with endocrine disrupting properties, has received little awareness despite its ubiquitous use. This article reviews the regulations and use of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in food packaging and discusses their presence within the context of new toxicology paradigms.I focused on substances known to be legally used in food packaging that have been shown to exhibit endocrine disruptive effects in biological systems. I compiled a list of 50 known or potential EDCs used in food contact materials and examined data of EDCs leaching from packaging into food, with a focus on nonylphenol. I included recent advances in toxicology: mixture effects, the developmental origins of adult disease hypothesis, low-dose effects, and epigenetics. I especially considered the case of bisphenol A. The core hypothesis of this review is that chemicals leaching from packaging into food contribute to human EDCs exposure and might lead to chronic disease in light of the current knowledge.Food contact materials are a major source of food contaminants. Many migrating compounds, possibly with endocrine disruptive properties, remain unidentified. There is a need for information on identity/quantity of chemicals leaching into food, human exposure, and long-term impact on health. Especially EDCs in food packaging are of concern. Even at low concentrations, chronic exposure to EDCs is toxicologically relevant. Concerns increase when humans are exposed to mixtures of similar acting EDCs and/or during sensitive windows of development. In particular, non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) migrating from food contact materials need toxicological characterization; the overall migrate of the finished packaging could be evaluated for biological effects using bioassays. The widespread legal use of EDCs in food packaging requires dedicated assessment and should be updated according to contemporary scientific knowledge.     

Faecal indicator pollution from a dairy farm in Ayrshire, Scotland: source apportionment, risk assessment and potential of mitigation measures

The objectives of this study were (i) to apportion sources of faecal coliforms (FC) and faecal streptococci (FS) loads from a dairy farm to a stream in the Irvine catchment; (ii) to assess efficacy of pollution mitigation measures installed on this farm; (iii) to assess frequency with which observed FC loads contribute to high risk of failure of coastal bathing water to meet microbial standards. FC and FS loads in a primary stream running through the farm were estimated at up to four stations (above the farm, above the steading, below the farm and below a pre-existing 0.6 ha area of open water/wetland), in summer 2004 and 2005. During this period, steading and field mitigation measures were being installed. We estimated that farm FC loads likely to cause bathing water failure were 8.9 x 10(8) colony-forming units (cfu) ha(-1)d(-1) (guideline standards) and 1.7 x 10(10)cfu ha(-1)d(-1) (mandatory standards). In 2005, the guideline exceedance risk (42%) was associated about equally with field and steading sources, whereas the mandatory exceedance risk (11%) was mainly due to steading sources. The pond/wetland below the farm reduced these exceedance risks to 20% and <1%, respectively, but was a source of FS at high discharge. The exceedence curves below the farm were similar in 2004 and 2005, despite lower flows and installation of pollution mitigation measures. The results suggest that further mitigation efforts on this farm should be focused on improving management of the steading FC sources and that wetlands to receive steading runoff can be cost:effective mitigation tools for faecal indicator pollution.     

The City as Dining Room,Market and Farm

Food has been sold on the street ever since people have lived in town settlements. Encouraging social exchange and interaction, the public consumption of food brings vitality and conviviality to urban life. In recent years, the sale of food in upmarket cafés and speciality shops has intensified, becoming a tool of urban regeneration. Here, Karen A. Franck, the guest-editor of this issue, introduces the themes behind ‘Food + the City’ and suggests why architects and planning professionals should pay attention to ‘the city's multiple functions as dining room, market and farm’.     

我国屋顶农场的现状分析与关键技术研究

通过对屋顶农场的现状分析与关键技术研究,论述了屋顶绿化在当代的重要意义,同时指出屋顶空间建设将成为空间特色绿化的有效途径,以期促进屋顶农场建设的发展和推广,从而开辟城区发展空间特色绿化的新途径。     

Gardening cyberspace—social media and hybrid spaces in the creation of food citizenship in the Bristol city-region,UK

Abstract

This paper conducts a detailed analysis of urban food and online networks in Bristol, UK. In particular, it examines social media postings of grass-roots food networks. Qualitative research identifies and analyses five core themes, from which two dominant discourses emerge. Analysis reinforces the multifunctional nature of city food but moves beyond dominant scholarly pre-occupations with nutrition and physical resources. Instead, the paper positions social and symbolic aspects as equal components within the convening power of food. To date, social media has been neglected in urban food research, although this is a space as well-tended and structured as the physical spaces it augments. The paper finds a relationship of limited collaboration between the grass-roots networks and the city council. While the former are dynamic and networked, the council adheres to a linear policy process that limits the scope of citizenship. The relationships examined here indicate implications for urban planning processes.     

The Intersection of Planning,Urban Agriculture,and Food Justice: A Review of the Literature

Problem, research strategy, and findings: We draw on a multidisciplinary body of research to consider how planning for urban agriculture can foster food justice by benefitting socioeconomically disadvantaged residents. The potential social benefits of urban agriculture include increased access to food, positive health impacts, skill building, community development, and connections to broader social change efforts. The literature suggests, however, caution in automatically conflating urban agriculture’s social benefits with the goals of food justice. Urban agriculture may reinforce and deepen societal inequities by benefitting better resourced organizations and the propertied class and contributing to the displacement of lower-income households. The precariousness of land access for urban agriculture is another limitation, particularly for disadvantaged communities. Planners have recently begun to pay increased attention to urban agriculture but should more explicitly support the goals of food justice in their urban agriculture policies and programs.

Takeaway for practice: We suggest several key strategies for planners to more explicitly orient their urban agriculture efforts to support food justice, including prioritizing urban agriculture in long-term planning efforts, developing mutually respectful relationships with food justice organizations and urban agriculture participants from diverse backgrounds, targeting city investments in urban agriculture to benefit historically disadvantaged communities, increasing the amount of land permanently available for urban agriculture, and confronting the threats of gentrification and displacement from urban agriculture. We demonstrate how the city of Seattle (WA) used an equity lens in all of its programs to shift its urban agriculture planning to more explicitly foster food justice, providing clear examples for other cities.     

Expanding the social performance of food production landscapes: measuring health and well-being benefits

Advocates of integrating food production landscapes within urban, suburban, campus and other design arenas cite multiple and integrated benefits, including enhanced food security and quality; land access for small farmers; psychological and social benefits; educational opportunities; and green infrastructure contributions, among others. If performance can be understood as ‘the fulfilment of a claim’ then landscape performance measures for food production would ideally encompass the overall range of cited benefits. Yet in current practice the performance of food production landscapes tends to be measured in limited ways, most often by weight and value of harvest. The aim of this paper is to identify expanded methods and metrics for measuring the performance of food production landscapes, in particular for health and well-being benefits. Through a transdisciplinary literature review, evidence for mental well-being, physical activity and human nutrition benefits of food production landscapes is presented, and performance metrics and evaluation methods are catalogued.     

Evidence for higher biomagnification factors of lower chlorinated PCBs in cultivated seabass

Thirty three PCB congeners were analyzed in three size classes of seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), from a semi-intensive fish farm, in food and in abiotic compartment. Water and suspended particulated matter (SPM) showed higher concentrations of lower chlorinated PCBs, whereas fish tissues and food showed higher concentrations of CB153 and CB138. In order to examine the influence of different inputs to seabass contamination, bioaccumulation factors (BAF), biota-suspended particulate matter bioaccumulation factors (BSMAF) and biomagnification factors (BMF) were calculated. In general, the log BAF and log BSMAF showed good correlations with log K(ow), for congeners with log K(ow)>6.1. In three fish size classes, PCB congeners with log K(ow)<6.1 were found at concentrations higher than what was expected based on the BAF calculated for the more hydrophobic congeners, suggesting a different contribution of sources. The application of a mass balance model for accumulation of some congeners in seabass estimated concentrations in fish 3- to 38-fold higher than the measured values, probably by overestimating gill absorption. The model was applied with other scenarios in order to maximize uptake from food, which may have a significant influence in accumulation, and not only from diet pellets. Its contribution to fish contamination for highly chlorinated PCBs may reach a maximum of 54-64%, and for lower chlorinated PCBs its contribution is lower than 20%. In this work it was proved that to reduce fish contamination the quality of the water should be controlled.     

Where is urban food policy in Switzerland? A frame analysis

Food is increasingly included on the urban agenda in many countries, and comprehensive food policies have been developed in several cities, but the development of articulate urban food policies is still in its infancy in Switzerland. The goal of this paper is to explore the ways in which food is framed in official policies in Switzerland and thereby gain a better understanding of the potential for the development of urban food policies. The analysis is based on a case study approach focusing on the formal frames of food: reconstructed from official policy documents on agriculture, food, health, environment, and planning, at the federal and the local level. The results show that ‘urban food’ is not a major topic in most policy documents and that the dominant frame of food is economic. There is a clear distinction between the rural and the urban, and there were no frames integrating (rural) food production and (urban) consumption, across the city’s departments, or between the local and the federal level. We can conclude that there is not yet a comprehensive urban food policy in Switzerland. The analysis further allows the nomination of two possible pathways to guide the development of coherent and integrative urban food policies.     

城市用地扩张的社会人文驱动机制——以上海市为例的实证研究

近年来我国快速的城市化发展进程使大量耕地被城市用地所占用,严重威胁了国家和地区的粮食安全和生态安全。以上海市为例,对其2000年到2009年城市扩张的社会人文驱动机制进行了定量分析。研究结果显示,上海市产业结构的调整、城乡人口结构、交通运输规模、社会劳动力资源等都对研究期内城市用地的扩张起到了积极的、较为明显的驱动作用,与此同时,政府土地出让政策对城市用地扩张的调控效果并不理想。     

Fecundity of the parti-coloured bat Vespertilio murinus L., 1758 (Chiroptera,Vespertilionidae) in urban and suburban environments

Abstract

The impact of the anthropogenic environment on the fecundity of the bat is poorly understood. Therefore, in this study we chose the parti-coloured bat Vespertilio murinus – synanthrope, which is known to produce 1–4 pups, to assess that association. We compared the litter sizes of V. murinus among synanthropous maternity colonies associated with urban and rural habitats. Two colonies were examined from the city and two colonies in suburbs, with a total of 144 individuals. Larger litter size (2.7–2.9 pups per female) was observed in urban colonies, compared to 1.8 in rural colonies. We hypothesise that specific micro- and mesoclimatic conditions along with artificial light could predict that difference, and thus could reduce the time spend in estivation, stimulate higher milk production in lactating females and accelerate juvenile growth. Artificial urban light may secure abundant and affordable food for females, producing larger offspring.