Media Invitation: Urban Agriculture in the European Parliament

Media Invitation 

Seminar in the European Parliament, Brussels 

4th of March 2014 at 16.30-18.30

Under the Auspices of the Members of the European Parliament:
Göran Färm, Swedish Social Democratic Party (S&D Group)
Kent Johansson, Swedish Centre Party (Alde Group)

• By 2050, 90% of the world's population will live inside cities

• Already today, 70% of the world's arable land is used for crop production 

• According to the UNDP, estimates show that urban agriculture already delivers 20% of today's food

• Urban Agriculture will play an important role in the future.  It will change city planning dramatically, not only in Asia´s mega cities but also in European cities

• Feeding the city means greater consumer influence with better patterns of health and sustainability. New lifestyles can emerge

• The European Parliament, the Commission and the Council, will be involved in new ways. Standards for the future will have to be set in agriculture, food quality, health and communications

Mega cities need food production within the cities to avoid paralyzing congestion 

Cities have the density and infrastructure needed to support vertical farms that could supply not just food, but energy and hence creating a self-sustaining environment 

If products are grown in closed urban agricultural systems, using the best environmental techniques, risks for both plants and consumers will be minimized

Cities need to be green to keep up biodiversity. Especially important is the demand for locally grown organic food 

Farming in urban environments provides incentives to develop new methods for agriculture that connects research, urban planning, infrastructure, and the market with other facets of an urban environment

Speakers:

• Hans Hassle, CEO, Plantagon International, Sweden

• Jose Manuel Sousa Uva, Director, DG Agriculture and Rural Development in the European Commission

• Ulf Ranhagen, Professor Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden 

• Monika Zimmermann, Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, Germany

• Jan de Wilt, InnovatieNetwerk, Netherlands

• Susanna Hultin, Horticulturist, Sweco, Sweden

Moderator: 

Mats Hellström, former Minister of Agriculture and European Affairs, Sweden

Contact maja.stilling@plantagon.com
to RSVP or for general inquiries.