Food for thought|Sustainable Agriculture and Urban Farming

June 21, 2010

This month’s Eastside LEED User’s Group (ELUG*) panel on Sustainable Farming and Urban Agriculture drew a broad crowd beyond our traditional group of architects, engineers and contractors – as the topic of food is of fundamental benefit to us all. Whether related to its production, distribution, nutrition, security, selection, organic, local or exotic, everyone has a vested interest in the subject. Food has also become a modern-day political, economic and design issue as evidenced by the sheer volume of attention it receives; from Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food” to initiatives such as the Living Building Challenge 2.0 that promotes food production in the built environment, sustainable agriculture is recognized as essential to our survival

Our panelists represented a rich menu of interests and issues centered on food production, distribution, policy and economics:

Kathryn Gardow, PCC Farmland Trust – Kathryn informed us of her organization’s mission to secure and preserve organic farmland and lease it back to farmers who would not afford it otherwise. The smaller scale farmer’s commitment to the land results in, among other things, wise use of resources, limitations on the negative inputs of commercial farms such as petroleum-based fertilizers and effective crop rotations. She also discussed the value of maintaining wildlife corridors in supporting natural systems and biodiversity.

Gretchen Garth, 21 Acres – Several years ago, Gretchen began with the goal of finding space for a farmer’s market in Woodinville and ultimately became the recipient of King County land grant. Her story represents how one person can make a difference. Their farm produces fruits and vegetables and, as importantly, hosts a variety of schools to educate youth about farming, food and nutrition. She shared with us the value-added commercial kitchen they are installing in their under-construction LEED (targeting Silver) building to serve as an education and retail center and to provide farmers with an opportunity to derive added value from their crops.

Myer Harrell, Weber Thompson – Myer reviewed urban farming design concepts based on his firm’s winning Living Building project, Eco-Lab. He also shared their experience with Seattle Housing Authority’s new Yesler Terrace project that includes an analysis of metrics behind the value of inputs (such as water and energy) and outputs (cleaner air and local food production) on a project. He presented formats of urban farms that resemble skyscraper-sized green houses using hydroponic systems that take advantage of capturing and treating rainwater on-site and lessen the burden on urban utility infrastructures.

Linda Neunzig, Snohomish County Economic Development and Ninety Farms – Wearing two hats, as a government representative and herself a local farm owner, she discussed the economic value of rural lands and the challenge of securing a living wage as a farmer. She discussed the need for governments to minimize the barriers to maintaining the eco-vitality of farmland. In Snohomish County many initiatives are helping to drive a 100-year vision with sustainable agriculture as a key cluster for the region. Linda shared with us the challenge of farms flooding especially in financial terms with no compensation available to farmers who endure these hardships.

Gundula Proksch, University of Washington – A professor in the Built Environment school, Gundula underscored that at differing scales of urban farming — from personal to neighborhood size — the social fabric of a community can be enhanced beyond the food product. She believes urban agriculture can contribute to the development of practical skills, improve communication among residents, provide mentoring to younger generations and provide healthy activities to combat dramatic increases in our country’s obesity rates. The urban farm can become that third place that helps to make quality communities thrive and prosper.

Overall, the five panelists highlighted the key issues around farming both rural and urban and provided workable solutions to some of the challenges we face with food. Alliances were formed after the presentations that could foster beneficial relationships among stakeholders in farming, design/build, government, and NGOs. A more systems-thinking approach seemed to emerge, and while the issues are complex, most attendees agreed that more actions would result at the local, regional, state and national levels given the critical nature of food and farming.

Hungry for more? Then consider convening a community or professional group among your peers to share food for thought on this mission-critical topic area.
Bon appétit! –-alex

* ELUG is the Eastside Outreach / Education arm of the Cascadia Green Building Council. It meets on the third Tuesday of every month beginning at 7:30a at GLY Construction in Bellevue.

Filed under: farmers market,green marketing,sustainable agriculture,sustainable development,Sustainable Eastside

Tags: eastside, food security, living building challenge, local food, sustainable farming, urban agriculture