Presentation from Sam Henderson, co-founder of Agrarian Renaissance on the need for a radical approach to farming and food and how clever use of geographical information may help address the question: "Can Britain feed itself?" Presented at Ordnance Survey hosted Science and Innovation 2010 Seminar: Underpinning innovation with geography launching this year's GeoVation Challenge - "How can Britain feed itself?"

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The Agrarian Renaissance
why and how food and farming must change

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A Perfect Storm
Global Food Riots
No 10 Strategy Unit
Chatham House
The Royal Society
The UK Government Food Strategy
Foresight Programme
“The Perfect Storm” - Population, Urbanisation & ‘Prosperity’ drive demand
- Energy, Water & Land + CLIMATE constrict supply
“Food Fundamentals” - less oil; climate change; water; biodiversity; urbanisation; labour;
population; affluence & health; climbing the food chain

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There is really only one option
The International Assessment of Agriculture, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
It is NOT a simple question of yield-per-acre - access more important than production
- markets more important than technology
Proposed GMO fixes are fundamentally flawed - create more entrenched dependence on inputs
- relies on not-yet-created multi-genetic traits
- ignores issues of livelihood and equity
The health impacts of eating processed foods and factory farmed meat
The quality of the countryside and health of rural economies and cultures

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Can Britain Feed Itself?
YES! - we have enough arable land already... and with a few simple calculations:
arable pasture woodland spare land
Chemical Vegan 3 - - 15.6
Chemical Livestock 4.4 6.4 - 7.6
Organic Vegan 7.3 - - 11.2
Organic Livestock 8.1 7.8 - 2.6
Permaculture Vegan 7.2 - 6 8.8
Permaculture Livestock 7.5 5.9 6 2.8
“Self Reliance” “Food Sovereignty” “Freedom to Trade”
Can Totnes Feed Itself? Can Norwich Feed Itself? Can Brixton Feed Itself? Can Bristol Feed Itself?

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The State Of UK Farming
MASSIVE fall in Total UK Farming Income - from £7 bil (1970s) to £2.5 bil (current)
Accompanying 22% reduction in share of market price - from 47% (1988) to 36% (2007)
This is a DIRECT transfer of wealth to the supermarkets
Total profitability almost wiped out by estimated cost of Nitrate Pollution alone (£1.8 bil per year)
The system is propped up by ineffective and grossly unfair subsidies
Additional externalities not counted - Health, Roads, High Streets...
UK Farming stripped of its assets - People, skills and culture
- Infrastructure
- Secondary economy
- Biodiversity, hedgerows, soil condition
- Over-burdened by debt

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The Agrarian Renaissance
Agrarian - relating to rural matters; “an agrarian society”
- implies a strong connection between people, land and food
Renaissance - resurgence, reawakening, rebirth, renewal, revival
- emphasises the role of learning and culture
Food and Farming must change...
The margins, labour and know-how exist...
Customers, customers, customers...
All that a farm can be...
If it can be done once...

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Founding Principles
We can feed ourselves (if we choose to)
There is only one realistic option
Farming must be mixed, diverse and complex
We all farm three times a day
An Agrarian leap forwards
The huge importance of the small
Act global, buy local
If something can be done once...
Great farming = great food = great life
Because it is right: our shared humanity

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Church Farm, Ardeley

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FARM:shop

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The New Agrarian Convention

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A People’s Brand Based On Farms
AGRARIAN RENAISSANCE
RECONNECTING PEOPLE, LAND & FOOD
Registered pursuant to the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965.
Issued in compliance with and subject to the provision of the Society’s registered rules.
ÊÊÊShareÊCertificate
Registered No. of Shareholder: No. of Certificate:
ÊOf
AgrarianÊRenaissanceÊIPSÊÊ
This is to certify that
......................................................................
Of
......................................................................
......................................................................
is the registered holder of Fully Paid Share(s) of £1 numbered:
in the above Society subject to the Rules of the Society.
Signed: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Signed: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Secretary
Date of Issue: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Signed: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Members of the Governing Body
No transfer of any of the above mentioned shares can be registered until this certificate has been deposited at the registered office of the IPS

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The role of geo-data
Ongoing collaboration with live|work over 2 years
Engagement with OS and Geovation
Ideas that might just work?
- The State of UK Farming (interrogate baseline
data and the current situation)
- Open Land Map (using geo-tagged “tweets”?)
- Local Food Mash-Up (compile all existing local
food and growing data in one place)
- Planning to Grow (interactive map-based
planning tool using existing data)
- The REAL Farmville (open innovation for food
and farming)

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