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What is urban agriculture, and how can it provide fresh, locally grown produce while reducing GHG emissions?

By Clara Marinozzi

 

What is the Problem:

 

Rather than olive oil or vinegar, our salads are most often seasoned with diesel fuel and the tonnes of carbon that were released into the atmosphere to produce and deliver the vegetables to your house. It takes on average 10 tablespoons of diesel to produce a single tomato. Now, consider that the tomato is the most cultivated and consumed vegetable crop in the world (Smil, 2021).

 

Conventional industrial agriculture, and the economies of scale that support it, favour large-scale centralized production. Fossil fuels are critical for the production of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and heavy machinery and irrigation required for the upkeep of all industrial farms. This requires long-distance shipping, storage, processing, and trucking to deliver its goods, which emits a significant amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) (Smil, 2021). Additionally, the long-term carbon storage potential of natural ecosystems is diminished when they are converted to mono-crop plantations common to large-scale industrial farms (Weis, 2010). This results in a vulnerable food system that not only perpetuates the climate crisis but is, in turn, also made vulnerable to it.

 

Cheap oil is critical to the development of industrial agriculture, and massive GHG emissions are embedded in every step of the production process. On a global scale, agriculture has been a major source of GHG emissions, comprising 21% to 31% of emissions worldwide (Weis, 2010). In Canada, approximately 72.9 megatonnes of carbon was produced from the agricultural sector in 2018, and this has only continued to rise in the last couple of years (Fouli et al., 2021). Industrialized agriculture, while it has allowed us to produce more food than ever before, has also grown at an overwhelming environmental cost and is a significant driver of anthropogenic climate change. Industrial agriculture relies on intensive monocultures that degrade soil and must rely on pesticide and fertilizers or move their production to new land.

They decrease biodiversity and create biological systems that are susceptible to outbreaks in pests and disease, and additionally destabilize the surrounding ecosystem by causing eutrophication, habitat fragmentation and loss (Weis, 2010)

 

Not only must we work towards mitigating these environmental harms, the Canadian federal government has also committed to reducing emissions by 40% by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050 (Qualman, 2022). Many alternative farming systems are being adopted across Canada that support a shift away from more destructive methods.

 

Introductions to Urban Agriculture:

 

Urban agricultural (UA) practices are already common in Canada and include urban farms, community gardens, school gardens, and allotments within city centers. Localized and decentralized UA projects reduce the environmental and economic costs of transporting energy, water, and goods over long distances. The produce grown in urban farms is commonly donated to farmers' markets, community centers, soup kitchens, and community food pantries.

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Additionally, technologies such as hydroponics and greenhouses can mitigate issues related to limited access to space in densely populated cities and provide continuous production in the winter months (Cabanillas, 2024). However, such technologies can be energetically demanding, and employing sustainable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines can help reduce the associated emissions. Other strategies, such as reduced plastics, decreased pesticide and herbicide use, and transportation efficiency, similarly have great potential for reducing GHGs (Cabanillas, 2024; Hu et al., 2021).

 

However, an even greater transformation in our food system requires greater cooperation at a policy level to eliminate many of the regulatory barriers that have limited the development of many UA projects. For example, mixed-use zoning laws can improve access to local food sources such as community gardens and markets in residential zones rather than on city outskirts (Huang & Drescher, 2015). Additionally, infrastructural investments in cities such as more efficient storage greenhouses, facilities and transportation methods would further support smaller-scale projects. However, UA is still not often considered during city planning, which severely limits the amount of infrastructure that can be built to support such projects (Austin, 2025).

 

What are the Additional Benefits:

 

UA provides multifaceted social, economic, and environmental benefits. There is an increasing number of families and individuals experiencing food insecurity and limited access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant foods (Campbell, 2004). UA has the potential to provide greater agency and food security at the community level (Campbell, 2004). For example, Black Creek Community Farm (BCCF) in Toronto in 2022 collected 5968.5 lbs of food surplus and redistributed it to 6 local food banks while also running various educational programs, workshops, and farmers markets supporting people and communities who are most affected by poverty and food insecurity including Black and Indigenous People of Color, recent immigrants, people with disabilities and low-income families and neighborhoods (BCCF Impact Report, 2022).

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Additionally, projects such as the BCCF employ ecologically informed and restorative planting methods that support native plant populations. In fact, BCCF was so successful that the Toronto Conservation Authority transferred its authority over the Black Creek watershed and conservation practices in the area are now entirely community governed (Friedmann, 2020).

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Additionally, UA can help retain stormwater, which reduces flooding, provides shelter and nesting sites for local biodiversity, and creates habitat for plants that attract and feed pollinators.

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It has been linked to improved air quality and reduced urban heat island effects in the summer (Campbell, 2004).

 

Conclusions:

 

While we may have a long way to go, there are significant improvements that can be made to our food system, not only to reduce GHG emissions but also to construct healthier and more equitable food production and distribution. Often, environmental and social benefits go hand in hand. UA can expand Canada's perspective on food security by providing agency to local communities and decreasing food insecurity, all while nurturing healthier relationships with nature and working towards mitigating the climate crisis.

 

References:

  1. Austin, S. (2025). Toronto urban farmer seeks role in food insecurity solution. The Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toronto-declared-a-food-insecurity-emergency-this-ur ban-farmer-wants-to-be-part-of-the/article_8576ce42-e55d-11ef-a831-43c976eaa308.ht ml

  2. BCCF Impact Report. (2022). Black Creek Community Farm. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lpE-4_7eeFiDH4Eqz6S4cJxA-G1UKcM4/view?usp=s haring&usp=embed_facebook

  3. Bhattacharya, A. (2019). Chapter 1—Global Climate Change and Its Impact on Agriculture. In A. Bhattacharya (Ed.), Changing Climate and Resource Use Efficiency in Plants (pp. 1–50). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816209-5.00001-5

  4. Cabanillas, E. (2024). Comparing High-Tech Urban Agriculture to Conventional Agriculture in Canada [M.S., McGill University (Canada)]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/3122639726/abstract/4DE4B0BD730E4879PQ/1

  5. Campbell, M. C. (2004). Building a Common Table: The Role for Planning in Community Food Systems. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 23(4), 341–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X04264916

  6. Fouli, Y., Hurlbert, M., & Kröbel, R. (2021). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Canadian

  7. Agriculture: Estimates and Measurements. The School of Public Policy Publications,

  8. 14(1). https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/sppp.v14i1.72445

  9. Friedmann, H. (2020). Pandemic reflections from Toronto. Agriculture and Human Values, 37(3), 639–640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10098-6

  10. Hu, Y., Sun, J., & Zheng, J. (2021). Comparative analysis of carbon footprint between conventional smallholder operation and innovative largescale farming of urban agriculture in Beijing, China. PeerJ, 9, e11632. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11632

  11. Huang, D., & Drescher, M. (2015). Urban crops and livestock: The experiences, challenges, and opportunities of planning for urban agriculture in two Canadian provinces. Land Use Policy, 43, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.10.011

  12. Qualman, D. (2022). Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canada: A New, Comprehensive Assessment. National Farmers Union.

  13. Smil, V. (2021). How Much Energy Does It Take to Grow a Tomato? IEEE Spectrum. https://spectrum.ieee.org/how-much-energy-does-it-take-to-grow-a-tomato

  14. Weis, T. (2010). The Accelerating Biophysical Contradictions of Industrial Capitalist Agriculture. Journal of Agrarian Change, 10(3), 315–341. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2010.00273.x

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