Climate Change, Peak Oil and Food Security
Report from Manchester's new Food and Wellbeing Group:
Oil supplies are peaking, meaning that half of the world’s predicted oils supplies have been consumed, and that for the first time in human history, demand for oil is outstripping our ability to be able to supply it. The result of this is that oil prices are beginning to skyrocket. Since the western way of life is energy intensive, and highly dependent on oil, rising prices caused by peak oil mean that the cost of living is going to increase for everybody. Since we are locked into a globalised food system, dependent on oil based chemicals, and heavy machinery, and with high food miles, the cost of food is certain to increase dramatically as a result of peak oil prices rises.
The peak oil issue is coupled to climate change, which is resulting in large areas of marginalised land becoming agriculturally unproductive. On top of this, the world’s population continues to expand. The outcome of these combined factors is almost certain to be increased food poverty, both overseas and also in the UK.
- See my short paper, Food: the Local and Global Context, for summary information about the interrelated problems of global food security, peak oil, climate change, and population growth.
- See this article on the Roblog for resent newspaper articles
- See the Cabinet Office’s report, released tis week, Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century, for the government’s take on the importance of these issues.
Localisation of the food system, and conversion to non-industrial food production offers solutions to the interrelated issues of peak oil and climate change. In light of this, Tim McMahon from the Sustainable Neighbourhoods Pool is working on an agenda to increase the amount of land available in Manchester for food production.
Action: Tim is has provided more information about how much additional land has been provided per person, and how many extra plots this equates to in the City. Click here to see these figures.
The question was asked of the group, “Should Manchester be less dependent on international trade?” I shall be sure to be asking this question again in future meetings, as I believe that it is a question that is vital to the future well-being of citizens in this country.
MCC recently produced a paper called The Principles of Tackling Climate Change in Manchester with the intention to introduce the issue of climate change and to outline the principles behind tackling climate change in Manchester. Tim McMahon informed the group that Manchester City Council's Green City Team are writing a Climate Change strategy, but they are unclear about when it will be produced. According to the Sustainable Neighbourhoods Partnership work plan the Climate Change Strategy should be produce by 2008 (although this date may well change, as it's production has been delayed). In addition they are producing what is being described as a ‘mini Stern’ report, in order to investigate the likely effects of climate change on the city’s economy. The mini-STERN report will feed into the Climate Change Strategy. It is thought the production of the mini-STERN report is the course of the delay of the Climate Change Strategy.
I informed the meeting that there is an intention to recruit more people onto the Food Futures board. I have already discussed with members of the board, the possibility of including somebody with an interest in climate change, and possibly with a scientific background, because this issue is not being very clearly addressed by Food Futures yet, in my opinion.
It was agreed that I should make further inquiries with Food Futures, to ascertain what Food Futures could hope to achieve by having a climate change specialist involved on the board, or in a subgroup. With this information, it will be more likely that the Food and Wellbeing group will be able to assist in identifying suitable candidates for this role.
