There is good potential for sustainable localisation and recycling in rural food systems around the Baltic Sea. Localisation and recycling enhance sustainability in its ecological, economic and social dimensions. A sustainable way of localisation and recycling would be local recycling between farms and from the demand chain

Kahiluoto, Helena

Vesala, Kari

English

Organic Eprints

— sustainable food systems around the Baltic seaEditors:Helena KahiluotoPer G BergArthur GranstedtHolger FisherOlof ThomssonInterdisciplinary Synthesis of the BERAS projectThE powER of locAlCentrum för uthålligt lantbrukBaltic Ecological Recycling Agriculture and Society (BERAS) No. 7Editors:Helena KahiluotoPer G BergArtur GranstedtHolger FisherOlof Thomsson       	 				The Power of Local- sustainable food systems around the Baltic seaInterdisciplinary Synthesis Report of the BERAS projectCentrum för uthålligt lantbrukSLUBox 7047750 07 UppsalaCentre for Sustainable AgricultureSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesS-750 07 UppsalaAuthors are responsible for the factual contents of the reportCover photo by Hans Månsson, Bild & Mening.The photo is taken at a Farmers Market at Katarina Bangata in Stockholm in the autumn 2005.ISBN: 91-576-7160-5Antal sidor: 6767 pagesÄmnesord/Key words: Organic farming, Organic food, Local food, Sustainability, Resource management, Food systems, Rural development5       	 				conclusionsThe interdisciplinary conclusions of the BERAS project on enhancing sustainable development of rural food systems through localisation and recycling, are as follows:•  There is good potential for sustainable localisation and recycling in ru-   ral food systems around the Baltic Sea, through 1) integration of    nutrient cycles between crop and animal husbandry and between    agriculture and the demand chain, 2) increased reliance on biologi-   cal N fixation and local renewable energy, 3) reduced transporta-   tion, 4) increased local employment and public financing and 5)    greater equity in influence and trust in interactions between local   actors.    •  Localisation and recycling enhance sustainability in its ecological, econo   mic and social dimensions if firm economy is improved 1) through    fair cooperation and/or through 2) public economic interventions    or 3) price premium, or all three. From the viewpoint of social sus-   tainability, cooperation and interventions are more beneficial   means than price premium. Localisation and recycling decrease    nutrient load, global warming and use of fossil energy, and en  -   hance local economy as well as equity, social capital and resilience    of the community. Local recycling is essential for ecological sustai-   nability, and localisation contributes to this. Localisation is a key    for benefits to the local economy and social sustainability. •  A sustainable way of localisation and recycling would be local recyc   ling  between farms and from the demand chain. Most stages of    the food chain, including inputs, would be local. There would be   greater shares of local, organic food, for which the markets would    extend also beyond the local rural community. Essential to ac    hieving benefits in all three dimensions of sustainability   is 1) establishment of “local partnership” of actors, 2) “internalis   ing of externalities” through taxation, reallocation of subsidies and    regulation, and 3) promotion of “learning citizen-consumers” th-   rough appropriate distribution of information combined with po   licy intervention to remove the social and institutional constraints    on informed choices.•  For sound conclusions, it is crucial to consider interactions among    the various dimensions of sustainability, irrespective of, whether the    study focuses on one or several dimensions. For the interdiscipli   nary process to be successful, to get most use of interdisciplinarity,    1) the project has to be planned in an interdisciplinary manner, 2)    all contributors must be committed to the process, 3) research    Helena KahiluotoKari Vesala5  must be organised around interdisciplinary research questions or    hypotheses within an integrative framework, and 4) to interdis-   ciplinary work packages and working groups and to be reported    in interdisciplinary publications. Close attention should be paid to    interdisciplinary communication. •  Research needs exist in regard to 1) the creation of collaborative, re   flexive, democratic processes to develop sustainable local food sys   tems, 2) the development of effective means to internalise the exter   nalities of food and 3) the understanding of aspects of most inte   rest to food system actors, and the development of tools, enabling    conscious choices. In addition, 4) advanced procedures and tools    need to be developed for interdisciplinary communication in re   search aimed at promoting sustainable food systems. 

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