“What will we eat as the oil runs out? Food security in an energy-scarce world.” This was the title of a three day conference that focused on the fact that Peak Oil has provided us with the geological requirement for reducing the amount of fossil fuels in our diet. Held in University College Dublin at the end of June, this conference was organised by Feasta, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability, in association with the Department of Environmental Resource Management at the Faculty of Agri-Food and the Environment, UCD. Over a three day period an impressive list of 30 speakers addressed up to 140 delegates from a wide variety of backgrounds in the first major gathering in the world to explore the direct relationship between food security and energy scarcity.

The first day of the conference focused on trying to understand the complexity of the problems that we face and the context within which we must search for solutions. The enormity of our task was described by Richard Heinberg as “an immense challenge and will call for unprecedented levels of creativity at all levels of society.” Our current food systems are under pressure from increasing environmental degradation and changing weather patterns. In many cases we can trace the causes of these environmental threats to the unsound practices of industrial agriculture. Mae-Wan Ho argued that these problems are directly related to the way that energy flows through and escapes these agricultural systems. The simple cycle of industrial agriculture releases most of the inputs of energy and nutrients, and it is this which causes the degradation of the environment and global warming. Biologically diverse landscapes and agriculture systems are made up of complex, nested cycles that capture and reuse inputs of energy, water and nutrients.

The social, political and economic world in which our food supply systems operate is actively moving things in the wrong direction. Helena Norberg-Hodge described from personal experience how difficult it is to convince younger people within many ‘underdeveloped’ areas of the world to maintain their traditional way of life and their sustainable systems of food production, when faced with the perceived ease and benefits of the ‘developed’ world. The situation in Ireland is not much different. As globalisation continues most communities and nations are losing the democratic control of their food supply systems and are unable to make the transformations that are necessary to establish and maintain their own food security.

Compounding these issues is that fact that the population of the world continues to grow and millions of people are adopting western, meat based diets that are far more energy intensive and destructive of the environment. The fact that global grain yields on a per capita basis have fallen for the past 15 years is a definite sign that something is seriously wrong.

Do we have enough time, knowledge, money, energy and political power to make the necessary transformations to our food supply systems within the context of these other serious issues? Perhaps, but we need to fundamentally change the way that we look at food and its relationship to our health, our economies, our communities and the environment. Colin Sage described this as the need for a paradigm shift, a need to create “a new vision for a sustainable, health enhancing, ecologically sound agriculture.”

The second day of the conference concentrated on solutions; the tools and techniques that we can use to feed the world’s population while decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels. The diversity of possible solutions was examined as four basic themes: technology, knowledge, infrastructure and society. The first two dealing primarily with agriculture and the last two engaging with the world beyond the farm gate.

There are numerous possibilities of technology based solutions but most are simply modifications of industrial agriculture, adapting systems that are fundamentally flawed. GMOs are seen by some as part of the solution. Much of Monsanto’s long term research and development seems to focus on drought and heat tolerant plants. No doubt they would focus on other input-conserving creations if they thought there would be a market, but do we really want their help? Integrated pest management and precision agriculture offer many ways to save energy, inputs and increase yield, but most of these are costly to develop, difficult to use and unaffordable for most of the world’s farmers. Technological based solutions are loved by industry, wealthy farmers and governments obsessed with GDP but technology is expensive and often ties farmers to repeated expensive inputs and to crippling debt. In comparison, farm based energy sources such as biofuels, windmills, and solar collectors are examples where technology can really benefit the farmer because they increase control and reduce the necessity to import expensive energy in the future. Most farms could easily produce enough renewable energy to run all of the on farm processes, with enough left over to power food storage and small scale distribution systems. Julian Darly expanded this idea farther by introducing the concept of an Energy Farm that could generate and store energy for distribution to the local community.

Organic farming provides many examples of knowledge based solutions because it is based on an understanding of natural interactions and the use of biological processes rather than energy based solutions. The knowledge of how to build and maintain soil fertility with minimal external inputs is a very valuable solution and as Cáit Curran insisted this is the most important aspect of any sustainable agriculture system. The use of polycropping instead of monocropping was presented as a way to obtain greater overall yields of multiple crops using the same amount of land, nutrients, water and sunshine, with additional benefits such as improved soil fertility and the production of biofuels. Irish Seed Savers and similar organisations preserve both the genetic diversity of our past as well as the knowledge of which plant varieties are disease and pests tolerant or can thrive in different environmental and soil conditions. Knowledge based solutions such as these are easy to disseminate, adaptable and are generally focused on more integrated, small-scale systems. We should be concentrating on these types of solutions but it is a lot easier to find funding for the development of technology and systems that can be sold for profit.

Much of the energy use within our food supply systems takes place after the food leaves the farm gate and because of this infrastructure based solutions offer the greatest possibilities for reducing our energy demand. Localisation not only reduces food miles, it is perhaps the best tool for creating sustainable food systems and is an integral part in development of sustainable communities. However, localising existing cities and towns requires the transformation of significant aspects of our society, our economy and many parts of our infrastructure. Urban and peri-urban agriculture not only allow significant amounts of food to be grown near population centres but can also contribute significantly to the localisation of economies and to the health and well being of urban populations. Food production can also make good use of what would normally be considered “wastes” in the form of underused space, waste heat, organic matter and the nutrients that would otherwise be flushed down our toilets. We need to stop the linear flow of essential nutrients, especially phosporus, that are currently dumped onto our fields as manufactured and mined fertilisers, transported to the cities as food, and then flushed away to the sea as sewage. Folke Günther insisted that closing nutrient cycles is an essential part of any sustainable food system and requires the reintegration of food production with human habitation.

Societal based solutions was not the focus of a dedicated session but a general theme that ran through many presentations of the conference. People in wealthy parts of the world need to eat less meat for the simple reason that eating lower down the food chain can greatly reduce the amount of energy, nutrients and water used. Buying more local in-season food can save tremendous amounts of food miles as well as energy used in packaging and storage. Community Supported Agriculture projects are even better at establishing closer economic and social relationships with those who grow your food and provide real food security for the community. Perhaps the best solution is to grow as much of your own food as possible.

The third day of the conference presented a range of different types of food systems which can be seen as realistic precedents. David Holmgren talked about permaculture as the most effective method of designing sustainable and low energy systems of living and food production. The idea of ecolabels (an evolution of organic and fare trade labelling) was introduced by Lori Stahlbrand as a system which allows people to choose food that is local, ecologically sound and socially supportive. Cuba is the only example of a country that was forced to change its food systems because of an abrupt decline in energy availability and Micheline Sheehy Skeffington described her personal experience of how people in Cuba have adapted in many positive ways. Although Jules Pretty was unable to attend, Tom Campbell presented his exploration of the nature of sustainable, productive and culturally supportive farm systems that are possible here in the ‘developed’ world. The Centre for Environment and Society, of which Jules Pretty is the director, has documented many examples within the ‘developing’ world where sustainable agricultural practices have increasing yields while supporting the local community and environment. This study shows that change is not only possible, it is happening on a wide scale.

Wayne Roberts from the Toronto Food Policy Council talked in very practical terms about what changes local governments can begin to make in order to implement food security at local level, while promoting popular education, public health and community control. John Feehan ended the session with an impassioned appeal for real support and adequate resourcing for the farming community within rural Ireland. ‘A new revolution is needed if farming is to recover the dignity that many farmers believe it has lost, allowing it to put the production of quality food back at the centre of what it does.”

What was the overall outcome of the conference? Did we answer the question of how the world can be fed without the intensive use of fossil fuels? Many of the participants would have broadly agreed with the opinion of Richard Douthwaite that we had answered the question or at least established an approach, a broad range of techniques and a shared vision of how to proceed. Localisation of as much of our food systems as possible is a key element. We need a combination of social control and a reintegration of human habitation with food production. We need to develop systems of polycropping, such as permaculture systems, that do not rely on extensive use of external inputs while increasing overall yields from limited amounts of land, nutrients, water and sunlight.

There are a few important issues that must be addressed. We have very little time to make these transformations. A huge amount of research is needed in all aspects of sustainable agriculture systems and this requires heavy investment and tremendous support.

Richard Douthwaite made the point that we need to view the remaining fossil fuel as capital to be invested wisely in this “conversion process, so that we can stop living unsustainably and put into place the tools and equipment that we need to live sustainably and to grow our food sustainably.” We need to limit the growth of the global population and to make real attempts to gradually reduce the population to more sustainable levels as we carefully use the second half this generous gift of energy from millions of years ago.

With all of the possible benefits of transforming our food supply systems so that they are drastically less reliant on oil and natural gas, it would be very worthwhile to do so even if we were not threatened by Peak Oil and Climate Change. As I cycle to my allotment to harvest a crop of low-carbon vegetables, I can’t help wondering if the overall benefits of Peak Oil could outweigh the inevitable traumas.

For more information go to www.feasta.org/food