This project explores emerging approaches to food production in the UK and Canada, with a focus on agroecology and precision agriculture approaches. The researcher will compile data related to key approaches and create a spreadsheet tool for assessing resource demands associated with these.
Department: Construction Management & Engineering
Supervised by: Eugene Mohareb
The global food system is in a period of transition; in the face of increasingly urgent ecological crises, a dramatic reconfiguration is needed to ensure food system sustainability and resilience. With $1.72 trillion in global trade in agricultural products in 2021, the food system is an essential area of investigation for recentring our economy around regenerative processes that are in partnership with local ecosystems and the biosphere more broadly. This project will examine the intersection of energy demand and food production in our current and future food system. Our contemporary food system is recognised for its delivery of myriad undesirable outcomes from nutrition-related chronic conditions to diminishing biodiversity and worsening climate crisis. Our current project examines the resource implications of restructuring our approaches to food resource production, security, and utilisation under a biobased economy. Two food system solution classes will be examined to understand where they contribute to the biobased economy – labour-intensive and capital intensive. The aim of this proposed project will be to survey the literature on emerging food system production practices in the UK and Canada towards understanding the limits of resource efficiencies, productive/valorisation capacities, and technological substitutions available in the shift towards more sustainable, resilient food production. The focus will be on the energy implications of the changes in food production systems, with a special focus on contrasting more traditional methods with capital-intensive alternatives.
- Systematic literature review on resource inputs in agroecological and precision production methods -Summarising the findings from the literature review and identifying gaps in the literature - Based on the findings of the literature review, compile data in MS excel on resource inputs per unit of yield, focusing on energy
Essential: • Background or strong interest in the food production methods and emerging production methods • Excellent communication and organisational skills • Good analytical skills or should be able to learn them quickly • Comfortable with reviewing and analysing food production literature Beneficial: • Experience in literature review • Experience in data collection
This placement will allow the student to develop both transferable and research-specific skills. The student will develop a broad range of research skills, such as reviewing literature, primary data collection, categorisation of data, and possibly also data analysis of secondary data. The student will develop library research skills, become familiarised the emerging food production methods, and gain an understanding the broader, long-term implications of scaling these up.
Chancellor’s Building
9am - 5pm
Monday 10 June 2024 - Friday 19 July 2024
The deadline to apply for this project is 5pm on Friday 5th April 2024. To make an application, please go to the following link and complete the application form: https://forms.office.com/e/pMgea0dAHv. To find this project in the application form, please filter ‘school of project applying to’ and select School of the Built Environment