Food and Farming Systems

Our agriculture system is under a greater strain than ever before. The growth of global green yields has fallen behind global population growth, and artificial fertilisers and pesticides are reducing the soil’s ability to renew. “We need to take a different direction”€, say Martin Stuchtey and Morten Rossé, who explore ways to reshape our food system. Martin Stuchtey is the Director of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment. Morten Rossé is an Expert Associate Principal with McKinsey’€™s Sustainability & Resource Productivity practice.

In public discussion, the circular economy is often described as a way to allow technical products and their components to be used as endlessly as possible. But we can’t forget about the biological cycle – how does it work when we come to the system that sustains life: agriculture? In this episode, Hunter Lovins argues that we need a ‘circular economy of the soil’ to feed a growing population, restore soil quality and ultimately reconcile farming systems with natural cycles. L. Hunter Lovins is President of Natural Capitalism Solutions (NCS) and is co-author of Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution. Hunter LovinsThis podcast series presented by Colin Webster explores the recently published book A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy. Each programme features an interview with authors of the book’s chapters. These leading experts on architecture, agriculture, design, business or engineering, provide unique insights that reflect on the necessity to develop a whole-system approach to re-think our economy.

This scoping paper focuses on the potential of the significant volume of organic waste flowing through the urban environment. The aim is to highlight the opportunities to capture value, in the form of the energy, nutrients and materials embedded in these flows, through the application of circular economy principles. Organic waste - from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste streams and wastewater that flows through sewage systems - is traditionally seen as a costly problem in economic and environmental terms. This scoping paper explores the idea that
 the equation can be reversed by designing more effective recovery and processing systems to 
turn organic waste into a source of value and contribute to restoring natural capital. The objective of this scoping paper is to present an initial exploration of the circular economy opportunities for the biocycle economy. It presents the first steps towards a deeper understanding enabled by a more comprehensive analysis.

This lesson is part of the World's Largest Lesson series of lessons. This come from a series of 5. Look out for the others in the Collection titled 'Lesson plans'

Find out more about the work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Read how British Sugar take a circular approach to their operations

Leontino Balbo took his 20,000 hectare sugar cane farm and switched it from conventional sugar cane farming to 'revitalising agriculture'. The results are astonishing.

Not many people know it, but all sorts of communication takes place beneath our feet. And just as well, too: the 'secret life of soil' is responsible for the conditions that allow plant and insect life to grow and thrive on our planet.

The Plant in Chicago is a perfect example of an urban farm taking a systems approach to maximise outcomes. Watch and learn how and why a collection of businesses share resources and use each other's waste as inputs.

What goes regenerative agriculture on land and at sea look like? Meet two experts who each have a fascinating story to tell...

In the future, perhaps all food will be grown in cities...

This articles investigates the blossoming trend for growing alternatives to finite resources.

From pollution to overfishing, we need to take a new approach to how we manage our seas. Bren Smith has a neat idea that he calls 3D Ocean Farming. Watch this video to find out how it works.