Browsing by Author "Mead, Bethan R."

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    Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown
    (Emerald, 2021-05-04) Mead, Bethan R.; Davies, Jessica A. C.; Falagán Sama, Natalia; Kourmpetli, Sofia; Liu, Lingxuan; Hardman, Charlotte A.
    Household food insecurity and poor well-being have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting lockdown measures. Home food growing has been associated with improved food access and well-being, but it is unknown what role it plays during food supply crises and lockdown. It is also unclear how home food growing and social restrictions may affect opinions about growing food in urban areas (i.e., urban agriculture [UA]). A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during the UK national lockdown in March-April 2020 to measure home food growing, perceived food insecurity, well-being, and opinions of UA. The participants were 477 UK-based adults (369 female, mean age 39.57 years ± 13.36); 152 participants were engaged in home food growing prior to the pandemic. Responses were compared to data collected from a separate sample of participants before the pandemic (N = 583) to explore potential shifts in opinions about UA. Participants who engaged in home food growing had lower levels of food insecurity (U ­= 19894.50, z = -3.649, p<.001, r = -.167) and higher well-being (U = 19566.50, z = -3.666, p<.001, r = -.168) than those not engaged in home food growing. Perceived food insecurity partially mediated the relationship between home food growing and well-being; home food growing was associated with less food insecurity, which in turn was associated with better well-being. There were no differences in opinions of UA compared to the sample of participants from before the pandemic. Home food growing may have had a protective effect over perceived food security and well-being in the early stages the pandemic. Opinions of UA were positive and unchanged compared to data collected pre-pandemic. Policies that support home food growing and access to suitable growing spaces and resources may be beneficial for food system resilience and well-being.
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    How much food can we grow in urban areas? Food production and crop yields of urban agriculture: a meta-analysis
    (American Geophysical Union (AGU) - Wiley, 2022-08-23) Payen, Florian Thomas; Evans, Daniel L.; Falagán, Natalia; Hardman, Charlotte A.; Kourmpetli, Sofia; Liu, Lingxuan; Marshall, Rachel; Mead, Bethan R.; Davies, Jessica A. C.
    Urban agriculture can contribute to food security, food system resilience and sustainability at the city level. Whilst studies have examined urban agricultural productivity, we lack systemic knowledge of how agricultural productivity of urban systems compares to conventional agriculture and how productivity varies for different urban spaces (e.g., allotments vs. rooftops vs. indoor farming) and growing systems (e.g., hydroponics vs. soil-based agriculture). Here, we present a global meta-analysis that seeks to quantify crop yields of urban agriculture for a broad range of crops and explore differences in yields for distinct urban spaces and growing systems. We found 200 studies reporting urban crop yields, from which 2,062 observations were extracted. ‘Lettuces and chicories’ were the most studied urban grown crops. We observed high agronomic suitability of urban areas, with urban agricultural yields on par with or greater than global average conventional agricultural yields. ‘Cucumbers and gherkins’ were the category of crops for which differences in yields between urban and conventional agriculture were the greatest (17 kg m-2 cycle-1 vs. 3.8 kg m-2 cycle-1). Some urban spaces and growing systems also had a significant effect on specific crop yields (e.g., tomato yields in hydroponic systems were significantly greater than tomato yields in soil-based systems). This analysis provides a more robust, globally-relevant evidence base on the productivity of urban agriculture that can be used in future research and practice relating to urban agriculture, especially in scaling-up studies aiming to estimate the self-sufficiency of cities and towns and their potential to meet local food demand.
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    Is urban growing of fruit and vegetables associated with better diet quality and what mediates this relationship? Evidence from a cross-sectional survey
    (Elsevier, 2021-03-18) Mead, Bethan R.; Christiansen, Paul; Davies, Jessica A. C.; Falagán, Natalia; Kourmpetli, Sofia; Liu, Lingxuan; Walsh, Lael; Hardman, Charlotte A.
    Urban agriculture (UA), the growing of fruits and vegetables in urban and peri-urban areas, may improve food security and access, public health and dietary quality on both a broad and personal scale. However, there is little research on the relationship between UA and diet, and potential mediating factors are also unclear. This study aimed to investigate if proximity to and engagement with UA is associated with better diet quality, and what accounts for this relationship. UK-based adults (N = 583, 69% Female) completed measures of proximity to and engagement with UA, perceived access to fruits and vegetables, health and ethical food choice motivations, connection with nature, psychological distress and dietary quality in an online survey. Participants were recruited from UA-related groups and the general public. Proposed relationships were analysed using a structural equation model. Greater proximity to and engagement with UA was associated with greater perceived access to fruits and vegetables, more health-related food choice motivations, more ethical-related food choice, feeling more connected with nature, and, surprisingly greater psychological distress. Furthermore, proximity to and engagement with UA was indirectly associated with better diet quality via health-, and ethical-related, food choice motivations. While the direct pathway between proximity to and engagement with UA and diet quality was not significant, UA is associated with better diet quality, partly via healthier and ethical food choice motivations. Upscaling UA may have benefits for dietary quality via these factors, and more research is needed to test causal relationships and understand these complex interactions.
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    Potential of urban green spaces for supporting horticultural production: a national scale analysis
    (IOP, 2022-01-14) Walsh, Lael E.; Mead, Bethan R.; Hardman, Charlotte A.; Evans, Daniel L.; Liu, Lingxuan; Falagán Sama, Natalia; Kourmpetli, Sofia; Davies, Jess
    As urban areas and land-use constraints grow, there is increasing interest in utilizing urban spaces for food production. Several studies have uncovered significant potential for urban growing to supplement production of fruit and vegetables, focusing on one or two cities as case studies, whilst others have assessed the global scale potential. Here, we provide a national-scale analysis of the horticultural production potential of urban green spaces, which is a relevant scale for agri-food and urban development policy making using Great Britain (GB) as a case study. Urban green spaces available for horticultural production across GB are identified and potential yields quantified based on three production options. The distribution of urban green spaces within 26 urban towns and cities across GB are then examined to understand the productive potential compared to their total extent and populations. Urban green spaces in GB, at their upper limit, have the capacity to support production that is 8× greater than current domestic production of fruit and vegetables. This amounts to 38% of current domestic production and imports combined, or >400% if exotic fruits and vegetables less suited to GB growing conditions are excluded. Most urban green spaces nationally are found to fall within a small number of categories, with private residential gardens and amenity spaces making up the majority of space. By examining towns and cities across GB in further detail, we find that the area of green space does not vary greatly between urban conurbations of different sizes, and all are found to have substantial potential to meet the dietary needs of the local urban population. This study highlights that national policies can be suitably developed to support urban agriculture and that making use of urban green spaces for food production could help to enhance the resilience of the national-scale food system to shocks in import pathways, or disruptions to domestic production and distribution.