Global Food Crisis Climbs on EU Agenda

BRUSSELS, March 4th. For the first time in the European Parliament, representatives from the Commission, the Parliament, experts in the field and invited participants met to discuss urban agriculture as an integral part of urban planning.

“Increased demand for food in the future will have to involve production also in mega cities, not just rural areas. Until 2050, it is expected that food production will have to double to feed a population of around nine to ten billion people. This is not impossible. Since 1970, the world’s population has doubled and enormous efforts have increased productivity to meet current needs. Still today, however, between 30 and 40 percent of the harvests are lost due to bad storage, long transportations and pure waste,” said Mats Hellström, former Swedish Minister for Agriculture and European Affairs, introducing the seminar.

Plantagon International AB took initiative to the seminar as part of their work to secure sustainable systems for food production. According to Hans Hassle, CEO, Plantagon International AB, “Urban Agriculture includes everything from low tech solutions to industrial scale vertical greenhouses. We are part of this movement to promote societal change by informing and establishing an active debate regarding the emerging food crisis and to present both challenges and opportunities for future urban food production.”

Representing the Commission was Jose Manuel Sousa Uva, Director, DG Agriculture and Rural Development and hosts for the seminar were European Parliament members Göran Färm, Swedish Social Democratic Party (S&D group), and Kent Johansson, Swedish Centre Party (Alde group), who argued that we must find new possibilities, new business perspectives, and new innovative solutions in order for cities to become more sustainable.