Regional conditions shape the food–energy–land nexus of low-carbon indoor farming

Weidner, Till; Yang, Aidong; Förster, Florian; Hamm, Michael W.

doi:10.1038/s43016-022-00461-7

Cited by 30 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Especially for cities in the Global South and developing countries, local food production deserves further exploration for food security. To buffer the possible turbulence of local food provision in the context of urbanization 44 , productive land shortage 45 , extreme-weather events 46 , and recent pandemic 47 , the development of rooftop farming will be a step forward that makes vertical farming an emerging urban approach for compact cities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The food-water-energy nexus and green roofs in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa

et al. 2023

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Green roofs affect the urban food-water-energy nexus and have the potential to contribute to sustainability. Here we developed a generalizable methodology and framework for data-sparse cities to analyze the food-water-energy nexus of green roofs. Our framework integrates the environmental costs and benefits of green roofs with food-water-energy systems and makes it possible to trace energy-water-carbon footprints across city boundaries. Testing the framework in São José dos Campos (SJC), Brazil and Johannesburg, South Africa, we found that green roofs are essentially carbon neutral and net energy consumers from a life cycle perspective. SJC is a net water beneficiary while Johannesburg is a net water consumer. Rainwater utilization could save irrigated water, but requires 1.2 times more energy consumption. Our results show that SJC and Johannesburg could direct their green roof development from local food production and energy saving, respectively and highlight opportunities for green roof practices in cities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The food-water-energy nexus and green roofs in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa

et al. 2023

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“…Based on the role of vegetation, photovoltaic panels on green roofs can signi cantly increase energy generation 38 , actuating green roofs' energy bene ts. In doing so, local energy generation may become a solution for urban agriculture with high energy loads 39 , such as the aquaponics abovementioned. Considering the energy saving bene ts of green roofs, cities could bene t from the synergistic effect of energy generation and conservation to decrease the trans-boundary environmental footprints in energy conveyor chains.…”

Section: Green Roofs' Trade-offs Driven By Resource Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Especially for cities in the global south and developing countries, local food production deserves further exploration for food security. To buffer the possible turbulence of local food provision in the context of urbanization 46 , productive land shortage 47 , extreme-weather events 48 , and recent pandemic 39 , the development of rooftop farming will be a step forward that makes vertical farming an emerging urban approach for compact cities.…”

Section: Directions On Green Roof Practices In Different Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A method to analyze the food-water-energy nexus for data-sparse cities: A comparison of green roofs in São José dos Campos, Brazil and Johannesburg, South Africa

Meng

Yuan²,

Bellezoni

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Green roofs have gained relevance in urban sustainability and affect the urban food-water-energy nexus in cities in many different ways. However, it remains unknown regarding systemically quantifying the trade-offs of green roofs on urban food-water-energy nexus. Most city-scale research is restricted to a silo lens (e.g., life cycle impacts and food-water-energy related benefits) while research focusing on green roof’s multiple trade-offs occurs at smaller scales (e.g., neighborhood). Here we developed a generalizable integrated methodology framework for data-sparse cities to analyze the food-water-energy nexus of green roofs from an urban system perspective and tested the framework in two global south cities, São José dos Campos, Brazil and Johannesburg, South Africa. We find São José dos Campos could reach its total self-sufficiency of vegetables in prospect by green roof farming, whereas its life cycle energy consumption would achieve 45% of urban energy demand in the worst scenario. Fueled by the scheme of rainwater substitution, 96% of the life cycle water consumption in São José dos Campos rushed to the infrastructure stage from the operation stage. Johannesburg had potential to satisfy 73% of urban vegetable self-sufficiency and contribute 8% to the city’s alternative water supply goal by rainwater harvesting. Local food supplies are cardinal drivers of trans-boundary water footprints beyond the cities of both São José dos Campos and Johannesburg. We highlight the necessity to balance the trade-offs of green roofs orienting urban food-water-energy goals and call for opportunities for green roof practice in cities.

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“…However, a widespread transition to renewable energy and resource-saving materials, such as paper pots and coir as growing substrate, could lead to large environmental impact reductions 46 . Further, the sustainability performance and benefit of VF depends to a large extent on the regional context, being primarily recommendable for climate-extreme areas 44,61 . FD services, especially on-time groceries, are growing rapidly and are backed by billion-dollar investments.…”

Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic scoping review of the sustainability of vertical farming, plant-based alternatives, food delivery services and blockchain in food systems

et al. 2022

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Food system technologies (FSTs) are being developed to accelerate the transformation towards sustainable food systems. Here we conducted a systematic scoping review that accounts for multiple dimensions of sustainability to describe the extent, range and nature of peer-reviewed literature that assesses the sustainability performance of four FSTs: plant-based alternatives, vertical farming, food deliveries and blockchain technology. Included literature had a dominant focus on environmental sustainability and less on public health and socio-economic sustainability. Gaps in the literature include empirical assessments on the sustainability of blockchain technology, plant-based seafood alternatives, public health consequences of food deliveries and socio-economic consequences of vertical farming. The development of a holistic sustainability assessment framework that demonstrates the impact of deploying FSTs is needed to guide investments in and the development of sustainable food innovation.

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Regional conditions shape the food–energy–land nexus of low-carbon indoor farming

Abstract: Crop code Crop description (fresh) Nutrient score Crop code Crop description (processed) Nutrient score 11527 TOMATOES,GREEN,RAW 8.64 11693 TOMATOES,CRUSHED,CANNED 6.92 11821 / 11951

Cited by 30 publications

References 79 publications

The food-water-energy nexus and green roofs in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa

The food-water-energy nexus and green roofs in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa

A method to analyze the food-water-energy nexus for data-sparse cities: A comparison of green roofs in São José dos Campos, Brazil and Johannesburg, South Africa

A systematic scoping review of the sustainability of vertical farming, plant-based alternatives, food delivery services and blockchain in food systems

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