Systemic sustainability characteristics of organic farming: a review

Agriculture for food production has come to crossroads: while conventional agriculture needs to improve environmental and social performance, organic agriculture needs to increase the production volumes and to re-establish the connctedness between producers and consumers. Through re-localising the food production there is an increasing convergence of the farming practices towards sustainable agriculture acknowledging the prospects, advantages and limitations of the different production systems. The aim is to find combination of production methods that is optimal in given circumstances and to adapt the production system accordingly. Assessment of the environmental impacts should be integrated into assessment of the overall sustainability. Formulation of the management strategies requires evaluation and integration of reaseach results from many different disciplines, and the focus of the interdisciplinary research should be on food systems bioregions rather than on the level of farms or farming systems. The present article is a review on today's discussion and research dealing with conventional, organic and local farming for food production. The future prospects of organic production to respond to the challenges of advancing global food security and to contribute to overall sustainable development are discussed. It seems that as a developing production mode organic agriculture has a role to play in the green global network of local food systems

Case study fact sheet- PolarShiitake,Finland

Short compilation of the full case study repor

Institutional consumers' views of GHG emission reduction by optional milk systems within sustainability frame

An on-going study examines how Green House Gas (GHG) emission information could be used to support consumption driven changes in production, leading to reduction of GHG emissions in agriculture. This paper presents a pre-study, looking for discursive grounds by which institutional consumers make choices when confronted with the knowledge of GHG emission characteristics of five optional milk systems. The milk systems to be compared in terms of agricultural GHG emissions were (Option I) conventional milk system based on imported soy protein feed, (Option II) conventional milk system using domestic protein source and (Option III) organic milk system, as well as vegetable milk systems based on (Option IV) imported soy and (Option V) domestic oat. The discursive turn to these optional milk systems was taken by five catering information professionals, who tried to respond to the idea of catering for sustainability. The results revealed four different discourses, with variable ability to make use of emission information when systemic change is to be approached in everyday productive activities. Regarding emission information, the least sensitive discourse was the one of modernization, emphasising the use of conventional, cheap products. Sustainability and ecological modernization discourses exhibited most imaginative and novel solutions in productive activities. Bioregionalism discourse joined other discourses connecting them with the idea of domestic production. The discourses identified in this pre-study were, however, very fine-grained and intermingled, offering rather lean support for novel choices. Additionally the market position of organic milk suffered due to emission information, stressing heavily the reliability of environmental information as a ‘change agent’ on the market

Towards sustainable food systems through innovative networks in public catering

Sustainability of food systems inherently implies food security, but in search for cost savings, the decision‐makers tend to belittle the significance of food security, to overlook the various aspects of sustainability in statutory catering and to ignore the environmental, societal and cultural aspects of food. An extensive survey on the present status of statutory public catering shows, that although the severe natural circumstances present great challenges for food production in Finland, municipal public catering is still today largely based on domestically produced food. Thus, even in extreme circumstances national food security is possible. However, because food security is not seen as constituting an essential part of sustainable development (SD), the situation may alter in future. There is also large variation among Finnish municipalities as to how those involved in catering understand the concept SD, how SD has been accounted for and how it can be promoted in practice. In addition, there is very little direct co‐operation between researchers, extension and practical actors of municipal catering. The results imply that in order to encourage sustainable food consumption, the concept of SD should be brought clearly into the context of public catering. The municipalities differ as to the foci and development needs. Therefore, there are no universal solutions, but the solutions need to be slotted to the prevailing local circumstances and reconciled in mutual understanding among the actors. Innovative networks involving municipal actors, researchers and an expert as a broker provide one promising channel for finding the local way to improve sustainability of public catering. This study aims at reconnecting people to the origin of food in their own surroundings and encouraging them to actively promote sustainable food systems and sustainability in public catering through empowerment of the actors within innovative local networks. The presentation captures the results from the survey and discusses future perspectives of increasing sustainability within public catering in light of first experiences from the actors’ innovative networks

Luomua vai kestävää elintarviketuotantoa?

Koveneva taloudellinen kilpailu suosii suurtuotantoa. Myös Suomen maataloustuotannossa on käynnissä voimakas rakennemuutos. Tämä näkyy sekä maatilojen että viljelijöitten määrän vähenemisenä, keskimääräisen tilakoon kasvuna ja tuotannon lisääntyvänä alueellisena erikoistumisena. Viimeisten vuosikymmenien aikana tuotanto on myös merkittävästi voimaperäistynyt. Kasvinviljelyn hehtaarisadot ovat liki kaksinkertaistuneet, mutta maatalouskemikaalien käyttö ja energiankulutus ovat kasvaneet melkein samaa tahtia.vo

Tutkimuskohteen esittely. Järvifisu, Kiuruvesi

Compilation in Finnish of the full case study repor

Tutkimuskohteen esittely. PolarShiitake, Rääkkylä

A compilationin Finnish of the full case study report of PolarShiitak

Local food and municipal food services: case Kiuruvesi, Finland

In Finland, the Kiuruvesi municipality is the pioneer in use of local and organic food (LOF) in the statutory municipal catering services. The LOF strategy is based on territorial approach, and it was adopted as one means of enhancing the attractiveness of the remotely located municipality with unfavorable population development. The local policymakers have been fully committed to the strategy, and this has enabled the consistent development during nearly two decades. The Kiuruvesi case demonstrates the gradual shift of focus in the competitive bidding process from price-based tendering towards anticipatory dialogue and interaction between the suppliers and catering personnel. Over the years the LOF concept has brought about various kinds of food entrepreneurship to the region. The case serves, therefore, also as an example of the institutional customers’ significance for the SME:s in the competitive food market

Local food and public food procurement

As part of a wider concern with sustainability issues, throughout Europe there is increasing interest in alternative food supply chains. Local and organic food (LOF) is gradually gaining ground also among institutional customers. Public food purchases are constrained by the legal framework of the EU law on public procurement. The law encourages the use of most economically advantageous tender (MEAT), which enables the contracting authority to take into account criteria other than only the lowest price. One of the restrictions in increasing the use of LOF items in institutional kitchens is the tedious procurement process. Using a case study approach, this paper explores the tendering process and its development from price-based competitive bidding towards anticipatory dialogue and interaction between the suppliers and catering personnel. The implications for SMESs are discussed. It is concluded that when the purchasing know-how is used wisely public catering constitutes a protected space for the SME:s to develop. The most important steps in increasing LOF in public catering are taken at local level. It requires local policy makers’ strategic decisions and strong commitment to long-term development work. Access to LOF items vary, and the goals in increasing the use of LOF need to be defined so as to address the case-specific circumstances and by paying due attention to the experts by experience, i.e. the actors of the catering sector and their customers. Important ingredients are the role of the path-breaking municipalities and exchange of experiences both nationally and internationally

Case study fact sheet. Järvifisu, Finland

Compilation of the full case study repor