Growing Healthy Local Food: Sustainability Potential and Household Participation in Home Gardens

The continuing population growth, decreasing availability of productive land due to land conversion, transport emissions of food and other factors will create significant challenges for supplying future food demand and sustainability. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) identified that by 2050 there will be an additional 2.7 billion people in the world (UNDP, 2009). Two thirds of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2030 (Population Reference Bureau, 2011). Over the period of ten years, between 1982 and 1992, 18.5 hectares of prime farm land per hour were converted to urban built up areas in the USA (Heller and Keoleian, 2003:1014). In the UK, 12% of the nation's fuel consumption is food related and is spent on packaging and transporting food (Garnett, 1997). If all foods are grown within 100 km farm to plate travel distance, a 96% reduction in emissions is possible in current food transport emissions in New Zealand (Pritchard and Vale, 1999). Local food production in home, community and allotment gardens are becoming very popular all over the world as evidences show (Australian City farms and Community Gardens Network, 2011; National Gardening Association, 2009). Local food production minimises transport emissions by facilitating shorter food supply chains (SFCs); provides fresh and nutritious food for better public health; reduces prolonged refrigeration and storage requirements; reduces food wastage; improves overall carbon footprints and develops social interactions and better engagement with nature for improved sustainability performance (Gaynor, 2006; Ghosh et al., 2008; Ghosh, 2010). Home gardens exist within millions of private residential outdoor spaces in the cities and suburbs of the world. Local food production in these home gardens could work as an informal alternative local food production network; build positive connections to nature and could contribute immensely to sustainability of residential neighbourhoods (Gaynor, 2006; Kneafsey et al. 2008; Ghosh et al., 2008; Ghosh, 2010).