Chew on this: Local agri-food leaders push London-area sustainability
The food supply chain has been hit hard by global disruption, reinforcing the need to strengthen local growers and food producers, a London agri-food conference heard Tuesday.
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The food supply chain has been hit hard by global disruption, reinforcing the need to strengthen local growers and producers, a London agri-food conference heard Tuesday.
The supply of food to grocery store shelves is under stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic, spiking fuel prices and war in Ukraine, making the growing London and area agri-food sector critical to food supply, the Building Sustainable Food Systems conference was told.
“There is an advantage to a localized eco-system. We live in an inter-connected world, but we are realizing now how vulnerable it is,” said Mohammed Ashour, chief executive of Aspire Food Group, one of the businesses speaking at the event.
“Most countries import their food, and there is an enormous looking-inward happening everywhere now.”
Aspire Food Group is part of a small sector of the agri-food industry that is growing plants indoors on walls and racks, offering an alternative to massive farm operations. It will not replace large farms any time soon, but is a sign of what is needed in the industry, said Kapil Lakhotia, chief executive of the London Economic Development Corp., one of the conference organizers.
“We have to move to a sustainable food system, to vertical farming and local supply chains,” he said. “There are different paths to sustainability. Look at vertical farming. Using urban environments reduces costs.”
London has a diverse food sector, with a host of industries stressing sustainability, from giants such as Maple Leaf Foods, to mid-size industries such as Aspire and small, fledgling businesses such as Green City Aquaponics that grows microgreens indoors.
“It is a sustainable model. We use 10 per cent of the water to grow the same food. It can be grown indoors in a controlled environment, year-round,” owner Rheece de Veyra said.
Green City grows plants using water from fish tanks. It has tilapia, goldfish and koi in tanks in its London shop on Rectory Street.
Aspire Food Group is building a plant in London where it will hatch crickets and farm them as a source of low-fat, high protein food. It will sell cricket waste as a soil enhancement for agriculture, Ashour said.
Like Green City, Aspire Food Group is innovating.
“We have built a model that uses vertical farming and indoor agriculture to farm year-round,” Ashour said. “We are laying the foundation for a new type of industry. We use less feed, less land and less energy.”
The conference, held online and at Western University, brought together small and large food sector industries in the London area to talk about the sector and its future.
It featured three panel discussions with 12 businesses and agencies discussing issues such as attracting and developing workers, economic sustainability and environmental responsibility.
The conference heard a forecast that one in three agriculture jobs may go unfilled as the sector faces a labour shortage.
“The labour market demand for grads in this area speaks to demand for well-trained talent. We also need to upscale existing talent and look at different programs to train those while working,” said Alison Ewart, dean for research and innovation at Fanshawe College.
Jeff Watson, associate director of employer relations at Western University, urged agri-food industries in London and area to “get in front of workers” by going to schools to meet students and hold job fairs.
“The job market favours the job seeker right now. Students have more employment options, organizations are struggling to fill talent needs,” he said.
Watson encouraged employers to think outside the box when hiring and not focus solely on technical program graduates, but consider those in social science, arts and humanities to fill jobs.
“They can bring unique insights and can add innovation. Employers have to recognize skills from (non-technical) applicants.”
The agri-food sector in London and area employs about 10,000 workers, Lakhotia said.
Along with LEDC, Western University, Fanshawe College, Ontario Centre of Innovation and Brescia College supported the event.
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