Conclusions of the International Seminar on Local Food Systems

Submitted by laborate on wed, 31/10/2012 - 13:12 GMT.

Last October, 27th the results of the International Seminar on Local Food Systems, organized by the Master in Sustainable Land Planning and the University of Van Hall Larenstein (Netherlands), were presented in an event held at the IBADER.

Seminario Sistemas Alimentarios Locais, entrevistas no concello de Lugo

In this seminar nine students from Holland collaborated with 19 students of the Master in Sustainable Land Planning in the generation of proposals aimed at encouraging the development of local food systems in the city of Lugo and its surroundings.

Seminario Sistemas Alimentarios Locais, entrevistas na praza de abastos de Lugo

During the seminar students attended lectures given by professor Alfonso Morales - local food systems expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) -, conducted interviews with local food producers and sellers, several members of the local government, neighborhood associations or orchards users by the Rato river, to mention some. There was also a visit to the farm Vida de Aldea, a project that seeks finding creative alternatives in the generation of new sources of revenue, such as renting plots for farming or restoring old buildings to be rented as lounges for helding events.

Seminario Sistemas Alimentarios Locais, visita á granxa Vida de Aldea

The students' work resulted in the creation of four possible scenarios for the city of Lugo, depending on the amount of funds available in the future and the public awareness of environmental and food safety:

  • Bad, Worse, Disaster, in the course of few resources and little awareness,
  • Large scale Lugo, in the course of many resources and little awareness,
  • Crisis asks for creativity, in the course of few resources and a lot of awareness,
  • Green paradise, in the course of many resources and much awareness.

These scenarios suggest new ideas and creative ways to promote urban agriculture and trade in local products. Because students have not a professional carrer yet, they were not influenced by preconceptions within the scope of work of their specialties; thus, they gave an alternative view. Besides, the larger than usual participation of foreign students introduced new ways of working and analizing the problems from outside the context analyzed, which led to imaginative and alternative proposals to get the city of Lugo and its influence area benefit from the creation of a local food system.

downloads:

  • "Bad, Worst, Disaster" [PDF, ~1.4 MB]
  • "Crisis asks for creativity" [PDF, 3.4 MB]
  • "Green paradise" [PDF, ~4 MB]
  • "Large scale Lugo" [PDF, ~4.1 MB]
  • "The foodlandscape of Lugo" [PDF, ~3.6 MB]
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