Sustainable Food

The people who produce the food we eat are experiencing the consequences of the climate emergency at first hand. Difficulty in rearing livestock, crops that fail to thrive, and a new marine ecosystem are some of the unprecedented situations that farmers and fishermen have to deal with. Today we’re talking to Mireia Alonso and Josep Canal, founders of Bec d’Or and specialists in breeding organic ‘Pota Negra’ chickens; Gilad Buzi, agronomist at Aurora del Camp, and Anna Bozzano, marine researcher and founder of El Peix al Plat [Fish on a Plate].

Bec d’Or: a climate-proof chicken farm

At Bec d’Or farm, Mireia Alonso and Josep Canal have been breeding organic Pota Negre chickens since 2022. When they embarked on the project, they wanted to ensure that their farming methods met the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency. The practices they adopted at that time are now helping to reduce their vulnerability to extremes of climate.

To promote resource savings, the nests and sheds where the chickens roost are designed to minimise heat loss and water consumption when being cleaned. Furthermore, the farm also has a photovoltaic system that makes them self-sufficient for most of the year, and thermal insulation and river water collection and reuse systems, making them more resilient in the event of restrictions due to drought.

Native breeds: key to adapting to climate change

These measures help to safeguard the welfare of the Pota Negra chickens, a slow-growing breed that requires more time and greater resources before it is optimally ready for sale. The effects of climate change have been most pronounced when it comes to procuring feed for the chickens: “We’ve noticed that chicken feed is becoming both less available and more expensive due to the decrease in agricultural production”.

They have also noticed that during summer heat waves, chickens eat less and this impacts on their growth. However, Mireia and Josep say that working with native breeds is key in tackling the consequences of the climate emergency on livestock farming, as they are better able to adapt to changes in the environment than foreign breeds.

Aurora del Camp is committed to technical innovation to address climate change in agriculture

Gilad Buzi s farm manager and agronomist at Aurora del Camp in the Maresme region, and has also developed systems to mitigate the effects of climate change, and help farms to adapt. Aurora del Camp was founded in 2010, and for the first two years operated along the lines of conventional agriculture, until they realised that a change of system was needed if they were to function successfully as growers during the climate emergency.

The solution lies in the addition of organic matter to the soil

The new methods introduced by Gilad not only achieve a soil that can adapt to harsh weather conditions, but also increase soil productivity. The system is based on introducing organic matter into the soil and drastically reducing soil movement during cultivation.

Buzi explains that “by adding life to the soil, we give it the ability to self-regulate, double its water retention capacity and increase the amount of carbon sequestered”. In this way, at Aurora del Camp they have managed to reduce the quantity of water needed for their crops to grow, and when it rains, the water seeps in, and is retained in the soil. This means that the restrictions due to the drought emergency are less keenly felt.

They have indeed seen that the harvest has suffered, and they know that they will need to adapt both their methods and their crops when heat waves are more severe, but their production network based on native seeds will make those adaptations easier.

Fishing in Catalonia, on the way to sustainability in the face of the challenges posed by the climate emergency

To assess the impact of climate change on fishing, we spoke to Anna Bozzano, founder of El peix al plat. Anna has been studying the biology of fish species for 20 years, and explains that what for humans is a variation of a mere half a degree or a degree of temperature can be decisive for the very survival of marine organisms. Temperature variations and marine heat wave events trigger variations in the pH of the water, and alter the seabed.

The rise in temperature has resulted in a change in the Mediterranean ecosystem. Some native species, such as mackerel, have moved to colder waters, while others, more accustomed to the warm waters of the south, are becoming increasingly common on our beaches. One example is the sardinella. However, for organisms that are unable to move, such as the sea fan, which is rooted to the seabed, rising temperatures are deadly.

Protecting traditional fisheries

Work has been underway for some time in an attempt to resolve problems caused by the climate emergency, such as the proliferation of blue crabs along the Catalan coast. For example, a co-management committee has been set up with all the relevant stakeholders, and one of the measures it has proposed is to stimulate market demand to deal with the overpopulation of the invasive species.

A working group has also been created at the Institute of Marine Sciences focusing on the responsible and sustainable management of fisheries, with the aim of improving fishing methods without the loss of any of the techniques currently in use, and without sacrificing jobs.

It is also involved in promoting generational change and the inclusion of young people in the sector, which is increasingly advocating sustainability: “Fishing in Catalonia is progressing towards a more sustainable model. It’s still not perfect, but we’re doing better here than they are in other places like Italy,” says the biologist.

The Healthy and Sustainable Food Strategy Barcelona 2030 has been launched with the primary objective of having a food system that is transparent, participatory, resilient, safe, fair and equitable; one that is inspired by agroecology, addresses the issues of the climate emergency and the extinction crisis, and prevents food loss and waste.

Among the most salient objectives of the strategy to address the climate emergency are: increasing the production, sale and consumption of seasonal, local, organic produce, sustainable fisheries and high standards of animal welfare, as well as distribution in shorter, fairer and more balanced chains, increasing the resilience of the food system and guaranteeing the right to healthy and sustainable food, and combating the climate emergency and the extinction crisis.