Sustainability success can't hide woes
Milk processor Synlait claims that despite a poor financial result, it delivered several sustainability successes in the last financial year.
The solution to the problem of rising world population is ‘agritecture’, says Julian Cribb – meaning essentially ‘architects becoming aware of agriculture’.
The plantings of beautiful plants around architect-designed buildings will in future give way to vegetables, he says.
Cities of the future must recycle all the nutrients and water they use, “and the best way is to recycle it through the food system back into intensive horticulture, protected cropping, aquaponics and hydroponics”.
“We will take the nutrients we currently discard in the garbage, all the water we now flush out to sea, and put them back into food production.
“This will be integrated with the buildings. These could harvest stormwater for growing vegetables on the roofs of buildings so we can have beautiful cities, instead of these sterile concrete wastelands we have today.”
Cribb sees these changes as ‘futuristic’, including a move to synthetic meat. But the idea of growing food in cities will suddenly bring consumers in touch with agricultural production, he says.
The world is now at the foot of a very steep curve that will transform how we grow food and where.
“Your office canteen will harvest vegetables grown on the roof of your office, watered by waste water. Hospitals will grow their own vegetables, so will restaurants and supermarkets. Shipping vegetables around the world at great expense and massive carbon emission will disappear. We will see much greater diversity of vegetables and fruit grown indoors in city buildings.”
Cribb has visited a Norwegian farm where they grow 3000t of tomatoes and peppers on 7ha indoors, recycling all nutrients.
A sensor on each plant helps determine its exact daily nutrient need, ensuring it gets it. So no nutrients are wasted and no pollution enters the local river.
“Such an agricultural system recycles all its waste, which we are now not doing. We allow wastes to drain through the soil into rivers, allowing the waste to exit a city sewer pipe or run from supermarket to urban landfill.”
The legacy of Dr Peter Snow continues to inspire as the recipients of the 2023 and 2024 Peter Snow Memorial Awards were announced at the recent National Rural Health Conference.
One of Fonterra’s global customers, Mars is launching an ambitious sustainable dairy plan to work with dairy farmers and cut emissions by 50%.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive for the past eight years, Sam McIvor is heading for new pastures at Ospri, which runs NZ’s integrated animal disease management and traceability service.
The world's largest wool scouring facility, WoolWorks Awatoto plant in Napier, is back operating at full capacity.
A year on and the problems created by Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle has largely dropped off the radar of media and politicians.
Feeling forgotten and in a fragile space financially and mentally.
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