HRT/PSMS Spring 2015 Seminar Series
Parwinder Grewal
Professor and Fulbright Scholar
The University of Tennessee
will present
Building Resilient Urban Food Systems
Cities are considered engines of wealth and prosperity, but their increasing dependence on imported resources to meet even the most basic daily human needs such as food, water, and energy, makes them vulnerable to global shocks particularly those affecting supply chains. Worldwide more people now live in cities than in rural areas, and virtually all future growth is expected to occur in cities. Cities already consume 75% of total global energy, produce 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and export substantial amounts of waste and pollutants daily. This growing and leaky urban metabolism is threatening the resilience of ecosystems both locally and globally by compromising their capacity to produce essential ecosystem services and sometimes resulting in regime shifts, placing both local and global sustainability at risk.
This presentation will explore how local self-reliance principle may be used as a planning tool to transform cities and communities to a path that balances environmental, economic, and social needs; enhances adaptive capacity; reduces vulnerability to external shocks; and by doing so link global sustainability with resilience in social-ecological systems. Food production is intimately tied to energy and water use, technology, education, human health, and preservation of culture and livelihoods. Cities could meet some of their food need by developing production systems within, reduce their vulnerability from external shocks, improve access to healthy food, and decrease their ecological footprint. A set of key principles for building resilient urban food systems will be discussed.
Thursday, April 16, 2015 @ 4:10 pm
A149 Plant & Soil Science Bldg
Refreshments will be served @ 4:00 pm
