ALTERNATIVE DIETS
Are they really sustainable ?
Distances:
Transport-related issues, local production & social acceptability
Soil management &uniformity
The very production structures are to be part of a transitional process toward better soil management and, in fine, diet diversification. In this field, many variables are at stakes. For alternative diets are based on alternative circuit of production, it is inevitable not to mention the production/distribution aspect of the food items consumers today have at their disposal. Hence the agricultural issues raises many questions to which political and social measures ought to answer if they are intended to promote a more sustainable way of consuming.
Monoculture is clearly one because its local consequences on environment and long-term yield are numerous: lack of positive externalities due to a decreasing biodiversity, reduced soil fertility, use of high amount of pesticide to counterbalance the consequences of regionally inadequate crops. Economically, this system is also considered as being somewhat absurd, considering the extra care and subsidies needed to counteract the long term negative effects. Rethinking cultures at a local scale implies rethinking soil, biodiversity and climate applied knowledge. In order to do so, soil management must take into account biodiversity. Indeed, rotation benefits are due to biologically fixed nitrogen and from the interruption of weed, disease and insect cycles. Maximum benefits of pasture integration can be realized when livestock, crops, animals and other farm resources are assembled in mixed and rotational designs to optimize production efficiency, nutrient cycling and crop protection. This consideration brings one to soil nutrition and crop cooperation. A result from an empirical experimentation made in 1990 showed that “crop management systems that include rotations with high residue-producing crops and maintenance of surface residue cover with reduced tillage result in greater soil organic [carbon] and [nitrogen], which may improve soil productivity.” These suggestions implies a drastic change in the way we conceive agriculture in today’s economy. Production is indeed led back to its primary use at a local scale to provide the population with their needs. Further research might consider the trade-offs, especially when thinking of food stocks stability and macroeconomics consequences for farmers.
Short-distance productions and purchases would limit transportation energy use and direct sales from farmers to consumers through new local organizations is the best way to get good prices in a fair trade as well as knowledge, understanding and confidence, thus the best way to reconcile the urban citizen and producers and be a better part of the environment. “short-distance purchases would limit transportation energy use and direct sales from farmers to consumers through new local organizations is the best way to get good prices in a fair trade as well as knowledge, understanding and confidence, thus the best way to reconcile the urban citizen and producers and be a better part of the whole ecosystem”[1].
[1] PADILLA Martine, CAPONE Roberto, PALMA Giulia (2012). Sustainability of the food chain from field top plate: the case of the Mediterranean diet, Sustainable diets and biodiversity: directions and solutions for policy, research and action, p. 230-241
The first aspect of the production approach of food sustainability is the problem of monoculture. It is opposed to sustainability for several reasons:
-
It is a threat to biodiversity. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says only 12 species of plants provide 75% of the food we consume.
-
It ruins the soils because of the intensive production and the lack of crop rotation which does not allow for soil to recover essential nutrient
-
It causes dependence on chemical pesticides and expensive equipment to provide for lacking soil nutrient through agricultural techniques that are not always well adapted or well used.
The answer to all these sustainability issues lies in polyculture and soil management. Polyculture aims at reproducing the natural diversity of ecosystems by growing different crops at the same time on the same field. Another controversial issue, tillage is being questioned: it “costs money and time, increases erosion, destroys soil tilth… ”. The sustainable solution for some cultures would be to adopt no-tillage, progressively and in a long term perspective. Crop rotation is also an essential stake of agricultural production sustainability: it is opposed to monoculture and provides several benefits. Fertilizer is more effective, it is easier to have control on weeds, and there are fewer issues of plagues and illnesses. At last, nutrient management is another path towards sustainability for producers. Plant nutrients are managed by farmers so that they rich the plants directly and at the right time, causing less pollution (water pollution for instance) and waste. Soil management can rely on soil testing, which allows to adapt fertilizers are more generally production techniques to the specificities of a particular soil. A better management of water is also possible with several new techniques exposed by the OMS “crowd sourcing in agricultural water management thanks to the submission of date via cell phones, support for deficit irrigation by monitoring of water, detection of canal water leaks through satellite, monitoring of water in canals and soils…”
