P2P food system as a major environmental and social solution?
Robert LaRocque
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Hello everyone.
I'm new to the group. Have been interested in P2P-Commons ideas for some time though.
I'm an Ecology student and particularly interested in agriculture. Both from a social standpoint, and an ecological standpoint.
So, existing practices in agriculture often focus solely on maximizing profit. And that focus excludes other externalities. There are several major issues with the dominant mode of food production.
Soil degradation: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/
Encroachment on ecosystems: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/10/agriculture-and-overuse-greater-threats-to-wildlife-than-climate-change-study
Large levels of chemical input, domination by "cash crops", developing countries producing only expert crops and not food for people to eat locally, etc.
I think that agriculture can be better be done with a few novel principles. These principles are embodied in concepts like permaculture, agroecology, aquaponics, etc.
We can do agriculture in ways that have diverse benefits. Such as increased soil carbon uptake, increased farm biodoversity, as well as returning something of a humanistic heart and an ecology-valuing ethic into it.
One of the links above claims that agriculture and land use is a bigger threat to wildlife than climate change. Which I think is accurate. And now consider we are going to add another 3 billion humans on to the planet by 2050. What will our land use impact look like then?
Well, I think that we can shrink this footprint drastically, and at the same time make the fundamental human activity of growing food one that is regenerative and actually friends with ecology/biodiversity.
There is a good argument that we can bring a significant proportion of food production into the area of in and around urban areas: http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2016/10/can-local-food-feed-an-urban-world/
With new systems such as aquaponics, we can produce with less water, less size footprint, less resources of all sorts.
So, perhaps an alternative system is possible. It could be organized with a platform that allows direct P2P exchange on local markets. Perhaps the idea can be popularized to attempt to eat your entire diet based on local sustainable food, which can be done as simply as using an app.
This connection would also help prospective growers enter and sell food with much lower barriers to entry. Maybe all you've got is an apple tree and a squash plant in your backyard. But those will produce a surplus, and we can incentivize that local and environmentally benign mode of food production for those who would like to enter and earn a small amount of money doing so.
You can boost the practices of the producers in such a market by amassing a common pool of resources and knowledge, on farming in local conditions, using certain techniques, on issues like carbon sequestration or habitat creation, etc.
Local seed markets could reinvigorate our ancient traditions of active plant breeding and adapting diverse strains to our local conditions. Hierloom and local cultivars could make a big comeback.
Such a system, in my view, could be a major first step towards truly developing an alternative economy. If we can grow and trade our own food in this way, what else? Perhaps energy? Or goods in themselves?
A P2P Local Food Market, hosted on a coop platform, using a common resource of knowledge and practices... Not only does this have the potential to be broadly beneficial, both environmentally and socially, and return autonomy and connection to our own resource base as humans, it could also be a major cirst step starting point towards creating other horizontally networked modes of production and cooperation in other domains.
Sorry to go on at such length here, but I had to get the idea out of my mind fully! Does anybody have any thoughts on this?
Robert LaRocque Tue 17 Oct 2017 12:56AM
Miguel,
Thanks for your response.
Yes, I agree with what you say. It has to be something that is replicable anywhere. And I like the way you approach this sort of thing.
I'm a student currently who just moved to a new location on a college campus. I participate with a community garden here (CSA) and farmers market. But also face difficulties to start such a system as I described that I think many will also face (raising awareness among the right people, accessing land, meeting existing growers, limited time, etc.).
However I do think the idea is very important to attempt to develop upon. So I do hope to move forward with it to the best of my ability.
I will read your other threads though, and contact you if I have any thoughts on it! Hopefully we can move these practices forward!
Stacco Troncoso Tue 17 Oct 2017 8:14AM
If you haven't already, check out Jose Luis Vivero Pol´s excellent work on food as a commons, specially the policy proposal he coordinated for the European Commons Assembly:
Or check out the Food an agriculture P2PF blog category, for more stories and perspectives.
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Simon Grant Tue 17 Oct 2017 8:35AM
That's what I'm saying, @staccotroncoso — there's no mention I can see in those pieces of food storage or cold storage.
I should add to this. It's obvious that food storage is necessary in all but subsistence hunter-gatherer societies (and maybe even for them). To minimise the carbon footprint of the food supply chain, and to maximise its resilience, we need food storage closer to the producers and the consumers. Come on, folks, where can we discuss this?
miguel novik Tue 17 Oct 2017 4:30PM
Robert
Sorry but what is in lumio of my project is not updated.
I could give you 2 new webpages, but I do not think that you need them.
Let us start from your experience and reality and get set up the task and "right questions" that would drive us to "your vision".
I look forward to hearing from you
Nicolas Stampf Wed 8 Nov 2017 12:16PM
Indeed, David Holmgren's book on Permaculture is more a transitioning book toward less energy than an agriculture book (which it is absolutely not IMHO): https://permacultureprinciples.com/au/product/principles-and-pathways-ebook/
Very worth a read also IMHO, and very P2P (and Commons) orientated.
Nicolas
Steve Huckle Wed 8 Nov 2017 4:19PM
@nicolasstampf, do you know where the terminology "bolo'bolo" (as well as all the other phrases used in that doc', such as "ibu" and "eodu") originates? I'm intrigued...
Nicolas Stampf Wed 8 Nov 2017 6:53PM
It's explained in the book: purely invented language to ensure total neutrality and void meaning so no bias involved.
Steve Huckle Thu 9 Nov 2017 7:11AM
Is it? Oh! I haven't yet come across that explanation - maybe I should pay closer attention ;)
Robert Pekin Thu 9 Nov 2017 8:38PM
Hi Robert, great to hear your thoughts and vision. I have been in this space for over 30 years both as a farmer and now as a Food Hub operator / software developer / investment cooperative board chairman here in Australia.
Check out Open Food Network (OFN) and the things that are happening through that open source software system globally, is quite inspiring. There is a big global get together of all the developers with public workshops and events in Melbourne in early Dec from around the world strategizing the next steps.
We have taken a system perspective to building the complementary parts to replace the old model.
My main work is with the Food Connect Foundation and also with ORICoop if you want to see what is happening in our space.
Lots to do so look forward to your work.
Love the bolo, bolo read @nicolasstampf, what a readable and perceptive piece of writing, still appropriate for today.
All the best and my apologise for not providing hyper links to my notes (I can't seem to find where to link in loomio .... yet :)
Robert
miguel novik · Mon 16 Oct 2017 8:41PM
Robert
I really liked your approach and the idea. (Moreover food production fit perfectly in a supermarket coop that I belong to).
But I do not think that we are going to go forward to something concrete "giving opinions " here. For sure it helps, but for me it takes too much time.
You can read other threads that I started.
If them make some sense to you, and you want to achieve something concrete, let us work using "on line meetings".
1.- we sincere our intentions, our objectives and our availability.
2.- we define hypotheses or concrete tasks that allow us to advance ...
3.- what ever we achieve has to be replicable (you do it in your country and I should be able to implement it in Israel ) and of course it has to be P2p (where the connections add social value (to the community) and this way to each one...) ..
If you like the idea give me a call (what's up) or email.
+972 584881158
[email protected]