Research – Evidencing the Benefits of Growing your Own
In 2018, University of Liverpool academics (and Liverpool Food Growers Network board members) Professor Charlotte Hardman and Dr Beth Mead embarked on a programme of research in collaboration with Lancaster and Cranfield Universities to uncover the transformative potential of urban food growing for health, sustainability and food-system resilience.
The Rurban Revolution project is the result of this collaboration. “Rurbanisation” refers to ruralising urban areas by dramatically upscaling food-growing and greening. The project addresses key priorities around (1) improving availability, access and consumption of fruit and vegetables, (2) boosting food production, quality and resilience of the UK food system, and (3) ecosystem service delivery, both inside and outside cities.
The project has generated important new evidence. Here are the 10 top findings.
1. Urban green spaces in Great Britain, at their upper limit, have the capacity to support production that is 8× greater than current domestic production of fruit and vegetables. This amounts to 38% of current domestic production and imports combined, or more than 400% if imports of exotic fruits and vegetables less suited to GB growing conditions are excluded.
2. All 26 towns/cities included in our analysis had enough green space to substantially help meet the fruit and vegetable dietary needs (5-a-day) of their local urban populations, as specified by the World Health Organisation. For example, in Liverpool, by harnessing all of the city’s urban green spaces we would be able to produce roughly of 113.4 metric tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables per year. Taking into account the population of Liverpool, this equates to 192.2kg of fresh fruit and vegetables per person/ year. That’s more than the World Health Organisation’s recommended intake of 146kg per person/year (i.e. 5 a day)!
3. Most urban green spaces in Great Britain fall within a small number of categories, with private residential gardens and amenity spaces making up the majority of space. Therefore growing in households and workplaces is an important arena to consider for expanding urban food growing activity.
Academic article : Walsh, L. E., B. R. Mead, C. A. Hardman, D. Evans, L. Liu, N. Falagán, S. Kourmpetli and J. A. Davies (2021). “Potential of urban green spaces for supporting horticulturalproduction: a national scale analysis.”; Environmental Research Letters, 17: 014052
Blog: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/about-us/news/study-shows-urban-britains-potential-as-a-grow-your-own-nation
4. Urban agriculture can have similar or greater yields compared to conventional agriculture. Urban yields for crops like cucumbers, tubers and lettuces are 2-4 times higher than conventional farming.
Academic article : Payen, F., Evans, D., C. A. Hardman, L. Liu, N. Falagán, S. Kourmpetli, R. Marshall, B. R. Mead, and J. A. Davies, “How much food can we grow in urban areas? Food production and crop yields of urban agriculture: A meta-analysis”; Earth’s Future, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EF002748
Blog: https://news.agu.org/press-release/urban-crops-can-have-higher-yields-than-conventional-farming/
5. Urban agriculture delivers a wide range of ecosystem services. Urban greenspaces and urban agriculture are similar in their ability to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. Community Gardens, allotments, and parks were found to be most conducive for diverse service provision (e.g. creating pollination and biodiversity win-wins).
Academic article : Evans, D., B. R. Mead, C. A. Hardman, L. Liu, N. Falagán, S. Kourmpetli and J. A. Davies (2022). “Ecosystem service delivery by urban agriculture and green infrastructure – a systematic review”; Ecosystem Services, 54: 101405
News article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/04/londons-food-growing-schemes-offer-harvest-of-fruit-veg-and-friendship
6. Urban agriculture can improve food security by increasing access to and availability of healthy, fresh food. It can also have wider benefits for individuals such as supporting skill development, social connections and well-being.
Academic article : Mead BR, Duncombe T, Gillespie R, Pugh N, Hardman CA. Does urban agriculture contribute to food security, and how might this be achieved? Proc Nutr Soc. 2024
Sep;83(3):195-203. doi: 10.1017/S0029665124002209.
7. People who are involved with urban food growing tend to make healthier and more ethical food choices, as shown by our survey of over 500 people.
8. Opinions of urban food growing are positive. Between 87% and 94% of people in our survey endorsed urban agriculture as beneficial for themselves, their communities and the environment. Improved access to growing spaces, time, access to information/guidance, and awareness of urban growing were most frequently identified as factors that would make it easier for people to engage in urban growing.
Academic article : Mead, B. R., P. Christiansen, J. A. Davies, N. Falagán, S. Kourmpetli, L. Liu, L. Walsh and C. A. Hardman (2021a). “Is urban growing of fruit and vegetables associated with better diet quality and what mediates this relationship? Evidence from a cross-sectional survey.” Appetite 163: 105218.
Blog: https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/rurbanrevolution/2021/04/30/urban-agriculture-healthy-diet-and-understanding-how-they-might-be-related-new-rurban-revolution-research-now-published/
9. Food growers were less worried about their food supplies and reported higher levels of wellbeing during the UK COVID-19 national lockdown (March-April 2020), compared to people who were not involved with food growing
Academic article : Mead, B. R., J. A. Davies, N. Falagán, S. Kourmpetli, L. Liu and C. A. Hardman (2021b). “Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown.”; Emerald Open Research 3: 7.
10. Community-scale food providers played a vital role in supporting a resilient supply of nutritious food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater investment is recommended to allow these providers to further contribute to a more resilient UK food system.
Policy brief : Resilience of the UK Food System in a Global Context (GFS-FSR) Programme (2022).
“Making community-scale food systems more resilient: reorienting consumption practices by supporting community scale supply chain models”. Global Food Security – Policy and Practice Brief.