Food For Thought

Food For Thought

Our Food for Thought exhibition takes a look at the balance of supply and demand of food within the UK, against the backdrop of the climate and biodiversity emergency, the cost-of-living crisis, and the issues surrounding energy and food insecurity.

We have a strong opinion that our urban environments and mixed-use developments could more positively contribute to the production of the food that we eat, demystifying producer-consumer connections, and educating us in nutrition, food provenance, climate impact and energy balance.

Hungry to learn more? Let’s chew the fat.

The Challenges of Food Production

To tackle the issues of food production, we first have to understand the challenges of this complex and fragile system. We've broken this down into 3 main categories:

The Socio-Economic Challenge

The cost-of-living crisis is pushing an increasing proportion of London’s population into food insecurity - a condition whereby households have limited or uncertain access to adequate food. One in six children and one in five adults in London have experienced food insecurity within the past year - which equates to over 3 million Londoners [GLA, 2019]. As inflation and energy prices continue to soar, these challenges are only set to worsen.

The Supply Challenge

Food production systems are susceptible to a wide variety of disruptions, such as extreme weather events, outbreaks of diseases and pests, or interruptions in infrastructural systems. Despite occupying 71% of our land area, the UK currently produces only 60% of its domestic food consumption, the majority of the shortfall imported from the EU [Defra, 2022].

The Climate Challenge

Increasing our food supply isn’t about simply scaling-up. Our current methods of food production are contributing to the climate crisis. Food accounts for almost 10% of London’s consumption based greenhouse gas emissions due to the type of food we eat, how it is produced and the amount that is wasted. Globally, the food industry contributes 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions [Charles, 2021]. We must change our current food system for a more sustainable diet.

The Future of Food Production

Behind our food produce is a sophisticated food industry that is supported by a mature commercial chain - encompassing farming, processing, distribution and retailing. Over the recent years, as technology has evolved, so too has its influence on the food industry. Today, the upstream and downstream food chain is developing into a more integrated knowledge network.

Our colleague, Wei Wen, penned a research piece on the Food Future, investigating the emerging trends within mixed-use, knowledge-led and density-dependent food projects.

Read the full article here: Food Future

Five Percent for Food

We propose that in strategic sites, new or refurbished buildings should commit to an area target that allocates “Five Percent for Food”.

#FivePercentForFood is a provocation to designers, developers and policy makers to consider the importance of food production within urban environments. The intensification of food production within our cities will not only help increase food supply, but also ease the burden on rural land, allow regenerative farming and rewilding practices to flourish, and place increased priority to ecological and biodiversity recovery.

Both local development plans and the National Planning Policy Framework contain prescriptive area targets for affordable housing, commercial space, cultural use and public art - to name a few uses - but you will find no targets for food production.

It’s time to stir the pot.

We ask: in buildings of strategic interest, could we assign a minimum of 5% of gross area to the production of food?

A taste of more to come!

Launching our exhibition was only the first step.

In the coming months, Food For Thought will play host to symposiums, workshops and supperclubs - gathering industry professionals, urban farming practitioners, designers and policy leaders to share their thoughts on the future of urban food production.

Have the appetite for more? Find out about our other current and past exhibitions here:

The SEW Showroom