Spatialised Method for Analysing the Impact of Food

Abstract

Diets of residents in cities across the world are shaped by globalised systems of food production, supply, sale and consumption. Consequently, this distances the consumer from the impacts it has on the landscape, in addition to the energy and water needed to grow, process and transport food. This chapter sets out a method for spatialising the impact of Northern Irish food production and consumption by quantifying and visualising the land use in the production cycle, carbon sequestration area to offset full life-cycle emissions and rainwater collection area needed for production. The process spatialises the ‘food print’ at the scale of the individual, the household, the neighbourhood, the city and at the regional level to underscore the challenges of moving towards sustainable forms of production and consumption. It explores future dietary possibilities and the impact it has on the ‘food print’ to highlight the benefits of moving towards vegetarian and vegan diets. Finally, the chapter demonstrates how design interventions in the neighbourhood can reduce the ‘food print’ of residents by proposing productive, technical food systems.