This platform matches farmers & landowners to boost local food

A rendering of the meeting venue and restaurant Garveriet i Floda; rendering sourced from The Foodprint Lab Architects

And yet, even this eco-conscious country is not free of unsustainable agricultural practices. 

According to a 2018 market analysis from Flanders Investment and Trade Agency, half of all food sold in Swedish stores is imported. They report that "Sweden has traditionally been more or less self-sufficient in basic foods like meat, dairy products and cereals. However, during the last two decades, especially since joining the EU in 1995, imports have shown a steady yearly increase, also regarding the basic 'domestic' products." 

This increasingly globalized food system has a heightened environmental impact, as well as increasing the likelihood of disruption along the supply chain. 

Growing awareness of these problems has led to an increased interest among Swedish consumers in sourcing locally-grown food and growing their own produce at home. There has been an explosion of local food markets to meet this demand, with customers looking to prioritize transparency and sustainability in their food choices. 

This booming interest in local farming has exposed some fundamental weaknesses in the local food model in Sweden. Issues in accessibility stem not from a lack of fertile land — 6.2% of Sweden's total land is arable, according to World Bank Data from 2018 — but rather from a lack of connection between farmland-owners and growers.

Continue reading.

Editor's Note: The information above is derived from an interview between the Agritecture team and Jonathan Naraine, Co-founder, Architect & Food System Designer of The Foodprint LAB, and Co-founder & Project Manager of Grow Here.

Header photo: Jonathan Naraine, Co-founder, Architect & Food System Designer of The Foodprint LAB, and Co-founder & Project Manager of Grow Here; image sourced from Thought Leader Global

Source: Agritecture