in the san fernando valley lies a model for urban farming that could change how vacant land can be transformed across los angeles. follow founders elliott kuhn and alexys romo as they recount the origins of cottonwood urban farm, its partnership with black thumb farm, and the impact they’ve had in panorama city. if you are interested in creating strategic partnerships to uplift community building, love gardening, or want to hear a feel good story about the magic of sharing resources, cottonwood is for you!

“we are just trying to feed the world,” said rafael riedel, overlooking the eternal city of rome at the un food and agriculture organization (fao) headquarters. riedel, a 24-year-old southern brazilian farmer, is acutely aware of how climate change and rising costs are impacting global food producers. at the 2024 world food forum (wff), an international conference on agrifood systems transformation, he hoped to bring this knowledge from farm to forum. 

riedel’s attendance at wff was part of a leadership programme for young farmers funded by the world farmers organisation. when reflecting on the conference, riedel recalls a lack of farmers and economists in expert panels to communicate the challenges of sustainable agricultural techniques. his perspectives are informed by his lived experience in brazil, where agricultural expansion is often scrutinized by the international community for driving large-scale deforestation of critical habitats like the amazon.

rafael riedel: a proud farmer

riedel is a seventh-generation farmer from the southern brazilian state of mato grosso do sul, where his family has operated cattle ranches and farms since the 1800’s. today, his family’s farm is an organized company (sapé agro) that practices cattle ranching, dairy farming, poultry production, and commercial crop cultivation. after experiencing life outside the farm through school and work, he has come to embrace his identity as a farmer. 

for riedel, land is life, and expansion into undeveloped areas offers new sources of production and profit. for instance, since riedel was young, his father expanded their operations from 500 to 7000 hectares, increasing the farm’s revenue tenfold. yet, cattle ranching, small-scale farming, and soybean cultivation are the primary drivers of deforestation in the amazon, implicating farmers like riedel in global conversations on forest conservation.

“i am proud of being a farmer, and that is something i learned how to do. most of my outfits i use farming boots, because that is just who i am and what i am used to and what i always did. for a while i was ashamed of that, but then i realized that is what i liked. that is me.” – rafael riedel

to cultivate or conserve: agriculture in the amazon

the agribusiness sector has been a contentious topic of economic, political, and environmental debate in brazil. for instance, former president jair bolsonaro, who served from 2019 to 2023, encouraged agricultural expansion in the amazon by defunding enforcement agencies, loosening restrictions on livestock farming, and attempting to shift decision-making powers over indigenous land away from indigenous peoples.

while current president luiz inácio lula da silva has decreased deforestation rates in the amazon from a 15-year high to a five-year low, almost 20 percent of the amazon has been destroyed by illegal cattle ranching and logging, infrastructure development, and soybean production in the past five decades. with increasingly severe wildfires and drought, the rainforest is nearing a dangerous tipping point of 25% deforestation, in which it could transition into a dry grassland, resulting in large-scale biodiversity loss and carbon release.

regarding protected areas like the amazon, riedel notes the difference between legal and illegal farming. as a legal farmer, he follows brazil’s strict forest code, which requires landowners to set aside a portion of their land for native vegetation, in addition to mandating reforestation of illegally deforested areas. in southern brazil, producers like him must conserve 20% of native vegetation, while those in the legal amazon must conserve 80%. but, legal farmers like riedel, who actively conserve land as they expand production, say they risk being misunderstood as the illegal cattle ranchers and soybean farmers driving deforestation. 

for marco ribeiro, a brazilian forestry engineer, slowing habitat loss in the amazon requires increasing regional enforcement mechanisms and overcoming entrenched political opposition and economic interests from the agricultural and logging sectors. “faster prosecution of violators is essential to maintain the credibility of enforcement, alongside closing loopholes such as the 2008 amnesty clause,” he said.

the loopholes ribeiro is referring to include sections of the 2012 forest code revision, which lessened restoration requirements and forgave fines for landowners who illegally deforested before 2008. to him, this unintentionally encouraged further deforestation by signaling leniency and disincentivizing compliance.

a study published in pnas revealed substantial economic payoffs to producers who deforested illegally before 2008 and determined that the costs of restoration represented an untenable financial burden on new farmers. according to ribeiro, “limited technical and financial resources often hinder adherence creating barriers that should be understood and resolved through fairer and more inclusive policies.”

ribeiro also calls for greater collaboration between farmers, governments, and international organizations in implementing sustainable farming methods.

“collaboration between local communities, government agencies, and international stakeholders is essential to balance economic development with environmental preservation. if implemented alongside initiatives promoting sustainable land use and economic incentives for conservation, these measures could significantly reduce illegal deforestation in the amazon.” – marco ribeiro 

riedel “gets the chills” thinking about the fines and environmental consequences of illegal farming in the amazon. he too calls for direct collaboration with farmers to better balance agricultural expansion with habitat conservation in brazil and beyond.

bringing dialogue from farm to forum

at the world food forum, riedel had one mission: reorienting discussions about agrifood systems transformation towards the needs and constraints of producers. to him, framing organic farming and agroforestry in terms of their economic and practical benefits to farmers will accelerate conservation-friendly agriculture in regions like the amazon. 

“if it is cheaper, if it makes sense in the long term for the farmer, if it makes economic sense and it’s sustainable, that is an opportunity for dialogue. if you say to someone with low margins and high costs that it is not going to benefit you in the long term, it is not going to give you any more profit, that is not going to work. not just for farming, but for everyone.” – rafael riedel

riedel recalls how agroforestry was met with skepticism by brazilian farmers but eventually embraced due to its long-term benefits, including lower energy costs and less chemical inputs. on his own farm, riedel produces organic fertilizer due to its cost efficiency. “we did it because it was cheaper and because we could take some resources from the dairy farm and use it on the soybean and corn,” said riedel.

in addition to organic fertilizer, riedel also incorporates sustainability in other ways, including rotational farming, no-till practices, and solar energy as cost efficient opportunities to decrease inputs and expand long-term productivity. marco ribeiro agrees that pragmatic sustainable farming approaches for and from farmers require stronger recognition and reinforcement in international agrifood dialogue.

 “strengthening cooperatives, creating platforms for dialogue, and encouraging partnerships with governments and international organizations would ensure that these farmers’ contributions are integrated into strategies for transitioning agrifood systems. this inclusive approach would align global efforts with the realities of those on the ground.” – marco ribeiro

riedel’s wff attendance was an opportunity to foster dialogue at a crucial turning point in brazil’s agricultural policy. these efforts extend beyond the amazon to less-protected areas like the brazilian cerrado, which experienced a  45% surge in forest loss in 2023 due to soy and beef production. according to experts like ribeiro, farmers are at the frontlines of both environmental protection and agricultural expansion, cultivating strategies for conservation-friendly food systems. while challenges in agriculture land management persist, farmers like riedel are simply asking for the platform to share their stories.  

“it’s part of what we are doing. sharing our stories and letting the world know what we are doing. come to a farm. come visit us. we will receive you with open arms. just come to a farm and see.” -rafael riedel

this year, four planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 s had the opportunity to attend the forum and be a part of the conversation, along with director of academic adventures imani cheers and associate director kim ossi. while in rome, they reported on a variety of topics, from indigenous food sovereignty to the water scarcity. in addition to attending events at the conference, correspondents had the opportunity to explore the eternal city and connect with new and old friends. 

they say rome wasn’t built in a day. and that’s definitely because you have to walk so much! each morning, the students made the trek to the fao building, either by foot or by piling into the rome metro from their apartment in re di roma. the closest metro station was quickly renamed “dupont circle” by the district folks on the trip. 

upon their arrival at the event, and once the group got past security, everyone quickly learned that the fao is one gigantic labyrinth. the floor-standing maps of the building, set up in nooks and alcoves, did little to guide you in the right direction. it was a bit like a “choose your own adventure” — wandering down random hallways and hoping you weren’t walking into someone’s office! 

the forum began with the highly attended world food forum youth assembly opening ceremony. during the event, the world food forum global coordinator, kazuki kitaoka, spoke about implicit bias and demonstrated this concept by engaging the audience in a clever activity. he began by asking half of the audience to look at a photo of vegetables, and the other half at someone washing their hands. he then displayed the text “so_p” to the audience and asked them to identify the word. the ones who saw vegetables said “soup” while those who saw someone washing their hands said “soap.”

the message behind this exercise was that people’s experiences make them implicitly biased toward one answer, or way of life, over another. this was a reminder that forum attendees carried with them throughout the event while engaging with the international crowd.

other sessions included the fao science and innovation forum and the rome water dialogue. the event’s sessions emphasized youth participation, despite the median age of those in attendance being somewhere between 30 and 40. this age average was due to the many ambassadors and country representatives present.

events located in the plenary, or the main meeting space in fao, also lacked a youth presence as only those with special guest passes or diplomats were allowed inside. instead, young attendees convened to watch live streams in other rooms. this did not deter younger participants from getting involved, and many attendees made connections with others at these sessions.

participants weren’t limited to learning inside the fao building. to the back of the main hall, the global family farming forum was set up outside in a modern wood barn. inside, participants could play a modified version of minecraft known as farmcraft, learn about the farming forum, explore how climate change is affecting agriculture, and more.

in the front of the main hall were two indigenous tents serving up lively discussions, dishing out foods, and hosting musicians. the tents were also a place where people could relax for a few minutes in front of a crackling fire, sip on hot soup, ponder the latest session they attended, and chat with new friends.

around the corner from the tents were the food trucks, and food was certainly another highlight of the trip. outside of the forum, the planet forward group took full advantage of their host city and devoured fresh pasta and creamy gelato on a nightly basis during classic two-and-a-half-hour roman dinners. when in rome! 

the fao also invited the planet forward cohort to the american youth world food forum 2024 leaders welcome reception, hosted by the u.s. representative to the fao ambassador jeffrey prescott, at his villa overlooking rome. the group gathered in a beautiful garden under a moonlit sky and heard impassioned stories from the youth representatives and a special guest speaker: u.s. special envoy for youth issues abby finkenauer.

but the highlight of the evening might have been the familiar face in the crowd. upon entering, the group ran into 2018 planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 , alaine johnson, who is now a mickey leland international hunger fellow and fao world food forum youth representative. after the reception, johnson joined the group for dinner and shared all about her work as a fellow in ghana.

planet forward found that rome is full of stories, both old and new. our time at the forum fostered the kind of invaluable connections needed to help share them here with our audience. we departed the ancient city with our hearts, minds, and bellies full.

thanks very much for the fao’s support during the event. the group is so grateful for the experience and we hope you enjoy the correspondents’ stories. 

salmon is one of the most-farmed fish in norway’s aquaculture industry, which works by raising fish offshore in large open-net pens. norway’s salmon farms produce the highest amount of farmed salmon in the world at about 1.2 million tonnes each year. 

but tiny organisms known as “sea lice” are infecting farmed salmon populations at high levels. 

for the salmon industry, “sea lice is the number one problem here in norway,” said jelena kolaveric, a professor and researcher at the arctic university of norway in tromsø. 

a growing problem for arctic salmon farms

first prevalent in salmon farms along the southern coast of the country, the lice have spread to affect farms along the northern coast. and the climate change connection is clear: warmer water temperatures allow sea lice to reproduce faster. so as northern waters rise in temperature, even just a few degrees, the problem is spreading into the arctic.

monica eide, a community contact for gratanglaks, a salmon farming company based in the grantangen municipality in troms, norway, said this summer was particularly bad for salmon farms in northern norway.  

“we had a marine heat wave in the arctic this summer, and the temperature increased by 4-5 degrees,”  said elisabeth ytteborg, a senior researcher at nofima, whose research focuses primarily on climate change impacts to aquaculture. all that heat, says ytteborg, has led to “a sea lice explosion in the north”

but the process of fighting off the lice has its own challenges. the salmon farming industry in norway, and across the world, has received criticism for some of its negative environmental impacts. these include dumping chemicals into the oceans to get rid of the lice, diseases spreading to wild salmon populations, and farmed salmon escaping and interbreeding with wild salmon.  

delousing: harder than it looks

a longstanding method of treating the lice is to take the salmon out of the sea, remove lice in tanks on land, and return the salmon to their offshore pens. but this method isn’t ideal. 

“we’re hoping to find a system where we don’t have to take them up because that’s stressing the fish,” said eide. “what we really would like to do is to get rid of lice without handling the fish that much, without taking it out from the sea.” 

another, more recent method, which is employed at gratanglaks, is to use lasers to detect lice, and once detected, the lasers shoot at the lice to kill them off one by one. according to kvaroy arctic, a salmon farming company, the salmon aren’t hurt by the process. however, individually killing off the lice is time consuming. 

kolaveric’s research aims to address some of those environmental concerns with salmon farming. what if salmon farming could be done in tanks on land kept free of sea lice or other pathogens?  her research is primarily on recirculating aquaculture systems (ras). this is a relatively new type of technology where seawater is recycled and reused to produce salmon in water tanks on land. a challenge this system faces is that trying to replicate on land the ecological needs the salmon receive from ocean water can be expensive and energy intensive. however, kolaveric hopes it will push the industry forward to a more sustainable method of salmon production. 

“these recirculation systems, they give you an opportunity to better control the environment, and also give you flexibility,” said kolaveric. “because in a ras system, you can adjust your temperature, you can adjust your oxygen.” that control, she says, can prevent lice from infesting the pools. 

seeking holistic solutions

ytteborg emphasizes that it’s important to keep in mind that the fish aren’t solely affected by rising temperatures, but also the various stressors associated with salmon farming in general, such as viruses, bacteria and parasites. there is also the stress coming from the production itself, vaccinations, transportation and treatment. 

she emphasizes the value in doing more research to try to understand how a fluctuating environment will affect the fish on top of other stressors.  

“we need to work more trans-sectoral. biologists like me need to work with the climatologists to understand how the environment will change and how it may impact the animals, and then we need to work with the industry to see what kind of measures they have and what kind of procedures they do,” said ytteborg. “and then it’s not like one size fits all because climate change will affect one area very differently from another one and different strategies are needed.” 

eide, whose company aims to find more sustainable methods of lice treatment and salmon production, highlights the relationship between salmon farmers and the fish themselves. 

“we want them to be healthy, we want them to have a good time. we don’t want to hurt them, but there’s also a lot of things happening in the industry that aren’t good,” said eide. “not all of us are aware of what we’re doing to the fish so i think we have a lot of things that we could be better on, and i think we should be open about that too.”

take a moment to envision an alternate reality that encapsulates the past while imagining the future. personally, when i see collective and community controlled food systems, i see happy, healthy people who can cultivate and harvest food on a local level that works in alignment to the natural world, rather than against it. indigenous communities around the world have been engaging with their food systems in this way since time immemorial and continue to do so through the passing of intergenerational knowledge.

as indigenous communities in north america are sovereign nations existing within a settler colonial nation, their fight to enact food sovereignty has been and continues to be ongoing. food sovereignty can be described as the “right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.” 

while attending the united nations world food forum (wff) at the food and agriculture organization (fao) headquarters in rome, italy, i had the immense honor of attending a session called, “safeguarding indigenous people’s food systems for better nutrition.” the session brought together three indigenous panelists from around the world to talk about their efforts and experiences in enacting food sovereignty within their own communities.

after the session, i was able to meet daryl kootenay, the global indigenous youth caucus focal point for fao, to learn more about his specific community’s food sovereignty practices and how it ties them to their place of being, fosters nutritional practices, and overall brings people together through connection to food.

daryl kootenay and his food sovereignty efforts

kootenay is from the iyarhe nakoda nation in southern alberta, a part of treaty 7 territory, and is also a part of the navajo nation in new mexico. he is a land based educator, a singer, dancer, culture keeper, husband, father and so much more. as he states, “i hold many different roles. i teach as a faculty member at the university of calgary and the banff centre for indigenous leadership. i co-founded a nakoda youth council that we take annually to the un permanent forum on indigenous issues, and i’m also the co-executive director for the howl experience.” 

kootenay began his introduction with an explanation of the people and places he comes from. this is very common in indigenous communities, as doing so honors relationships to the people and places that make someone who they are. 

the iyarhe nakoda, or stoney nakoda, communities are the original “peoples of mountains.” “iyarhe nakota, we’re mountain people and are well known for big game harvesting,” kootenay said. elk meat is one of the many indigenous game foods that kootenay specifically relates to and educates others on. part of his role as an educator is to engage both indigenous and non-indigenous folks in food sovereignty. he does that by coordinating camps as a part of the howl experience, as he knows it takes collective community efforts to successfully accomplish these types of traditional activities.

land dispossession and conservation practices as a challenge for food sovereignty

due to settler colonial violence, such as forced removal of indigenous people from their homelands, enacting food sovereignty has been no easy feat. one reason that indigenous peoples, like daryl’s community of the iyarhe nakoda nation, have been forcibly removed is through the creation of parks canada. the creation of banff national park led to the removal of stoney nakoda from their homeland, in turn causing disruption to their ways of being and traditional practices of hunting and gathering.

there is a distinct difference between indigenous communities and settler societies, and the ways in which each believes people should interact with plants, animals, and other non-human beings. the conservation method of parks canada is rooted in the belief that nature should be untouched and exists separate from humans, whereas indigenous communities believe in reciprocal and respectful interactions with their environment. this belief is central to the ways in which food sovereignty practices are carried out. 

these ideas are spoken of in an article that highlights the voice of a nakoda elder, sykes powderface. powderface declares that, “it denied our ancestors from accessing an area that has sustained who we were from time immemorial… the so-called conservation/preservation, particularly for wildlife, what does it mean? it means something different to us than the western world. to the western world it means money, to us a belly full. that’s what it means.”

indigenous people and foodways are resilient

despite colonial systems working against indigenous peoples’ efforts to maintain food sovereignty and community connections to land, indigenous people and their foodways continue to thrive. creating spaces where people can connect to their food on a deeper level is one way this is done, but also by using intergenerational knowledge to carry forth ways of being into the future.

kootenay spoke about recreating a type of learning environment where knowledge that’s shared is based off of the way stoney people operated their harvest camps in the past. this type of knowledge is based on long-standing connection to a place. indigenous knowledge itself is scientific and the ways of knowing are created through the lived experience.

this is further described in a journal which states, “traditional foodways are based on an intimate and spiritual connection to the land and entail a reciprocal relationship that must be actively maintained… indigenous knowledge derives from traditional teaching, empirical observation, and spiritual insight.”

none of this work could be done without the head and the heart. while at the wff, kootenay commented on how he notices that in these spaces there is a lack of people leading with their hearts. he beautifully describes, “i think that’s primarily the main cause for how things are taking the wrong turn today, because there’s a lot of policy, there’s a lot of academia that requires a lot of your brain and your head and lack of love.”

kootenay was given a native american name, wocantognake itancan, which is lakota for “the one that leads with his heart”, and as he states, that is exactly as he tries to do while engaging internationally and within his local community. the wff was about bringing people together for their love and knowledge of foods. kootenay’s food sovereignty efforts and his role as an educator really embody the goals of what wff is all about.

nasef partnered with the united states department of state to create a modified version of minecraft, dubbed farmcraft, to teach students about new innovations in farming through gaming with the broader goal of connecting play and learning along with showing students farming as a possible career path. chief innovation officer of nasef claire labeaux said farming in recent years has been more innovative and farmcraft is looking to provide students with this new knowledge. 

“our objective is to help kids view what careers they might pursue and then help them sort of get a little sampling of it,” labeaux said.

learning by playing minecraft

maurizio pastore developed farmcraft for nasef by designing the gameplay students experience. he said students are given enough money to begin the game where they buy their first plot of land in the rural area and choose a crop to plant.

the plants include fictional crops such as posh plum, ring radish, moon melon, root fruit, dream berry, and bloom bean. the end goal of the game is for students to grow 1,500 of each of the six crops. 

students then plant their crops and start by watering them. but pastore said plants dry out, weeds begin to grow and bugs infest plants, which students either need to manage manually or pay up for machines in the game to take care of those problems. 

after the first round pastore said students harvest then sell their grown crops for money, which they can then use to purchase upgrades in the laboratory for the crops or technology, along with more plots of land, to make more productive farms.

“farmcraft 2024 is focused on the impact of digital technology on agricultural productivity,” the farmcraft website states. 

pastore said the newest version of farmcraft, or farmcraft 2024, introduced students to farming in suburban and urban areas. he said students are forced to purchase plots in these areas because certain crops grow the best there. 

getting kids excited about solving real world problems

pastore said nasef and developers tried to make farmcraft as applicable to the real world as possible.  

a volunteer, who helped run the game at the wff and wished to remain anonymous because she is not associated with nasef, showed local middle schoolers how to play the game and educated them about its real world applications.

“kids are really interested while playing minecraft because they actually learn and remember things,” the volunteer said. 

the volunteer was present for all four days of the wff and said people and students have kept coming back to try out farmcraft. 

“people kept going so there was a line to play,” she said.

labeaux said every year nasef releases a new version of farmcraft with 2024 being the first year they introduced suburban farms with greenhouses, and urban vertical farms. she said they decided to include these different farms to show students how technology has evolved within farming. 

“farming today is not what a lot of kids view it as,” labeaux said. 

tapping into a global community

besides having students play at the wff, labeaux said nasef takes farmcraft to other conferences to introduce the game to students. labeaux also said many elementary, middle, and high schools have implemented farmcraft as part of their curriculum. 

“this game is played around the world,” labeaux said. 

she said more than 12,000 students from more than 63 countries, including colombia, japan, kenya, and the united states, have played farmcraft.

labeaux also said after students have finished playing farmcraft at the world food forum, they have the option of joining farmcraft’s virtual programming. she said there are two challenges that students aged eight through 18 years old can join along with virtual exchange programs. 

students are first challenged with creating a minecraft world educating others on food transportation in the student’s area. another challenge is using a custom map created by nasef to grow crops then ship them to a desert biome where crops cannot be grown. 

nasef with farmcraft also hosts virtual exchange programs connecting students with other students around the world to discuss their different educational and personal experiences. the virtual exchange programs for 2024 will happen on nov. 12 and dec. 12. 

“we would love to have them join,” labeaux said.

“my name is ignacio vargas sánchez. i am costa rican […] and i’m dedicated to coffee farming, a tradition passed down through my family and one that i enjoy,” my dad said proudly when i asked him to introduce himself. 

coffee culture is a foundational part of our family tradition and who i am. i grew up in a large, close-knit family, where more than 50 aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather once a year in an activity to collect coffee and honor our family’s coffee-growing roots. the fun began when about 30 of us squeezed into the back of a toyota dyna pickup truck, packed tightly together, and laughed and teased each other as we headed to the coffee farm. yes, i know. really unsafe, but also a lot of fun. 

once we got to the coffee farm, we would attempt to collect coffee for a couple of hours, only to realize how hard and labor-intensive it was. i would rapidly give up my dedication to focus on what was naturally most important to 7-year-old me: playing and running around the farm with my cousins. the activity would then transform into enjoying a costa rican breakfast under the trees’ shade, while we teased each other about who had most likely done the worst job at collecting coffee cherries. 

among all the family activities i grew up with, this one was always one of my favorites, and hearing my dad introduce himself as a coffee farmer by tradition, reminds me of it. 

urbanization and coffee growing

in recent decades, costa rica has undergone a large urban and commercial development in the central valley, where cement structures have replaced coffee plantations, a key economic activity since the 1800s. according to the state of the nation report in 2018, just in the past few decades, the urbanized area in the central valley has increased by 65%. 

at the same time, one major climate change threat in cities is heat stress due to the heat island effect, where structures such as buildings, roads, and sidewalks raise temperatures in urban areas as they absorb and release high heat levels. a study in the costa rican central valley shows that coffee farms can reduce surface temperatures by more than 20°c (the equivalent of a 36°f change) compared to fully urbanized areas.

rapid and massive urbanization also threatens the habitats of many urban wildlife species. in costa rica, a study conducted by the university of costa rica and the national autonomous university of mexico (unam) links the decline of coffee farms in the central valley to extinction threats due to habitat reduction for the endemic bird cabanis’s ground sparrow (melozone cabanisi).

la valencia – the neighborhood where my family’s farm is located – in santo domingo, heredia, is no exception to urbanization trends. my dad, ignacio, was born and raised in santo domingo, an area in the central valley of costa rica. he remembers the days when he would go to collect coffee in la valencia. 

“as soon as we went on school vacation, we would go to collect coffee because our vacation coincided with coffee harvesting season. my whole family would walk to the farm together, filled with incredible joy, carrying lunches prepared in the morning to enjoy in the coffee fields, where we would spend the entire day,” he said, filled with nostalgia. 

“in the past, it was common to see that area (la valencia) bustling during coffee harvests, with many people walking through the streets to collect coffee from the various farms […] large groups of people would walk along streets that were once made of gravel. at that time, vehicular traffic was very rare—only an occasional car. you would mostly see ox carts used for transporting coffee. depending on their financial situation, people would either use an ox cart or a car, though cars were very scarce.” 

today, the same streets my dad used to walk through are full of supermarkets, factories, and commercial offices. i can see a mcdonald’s on the corner and the latest neighborhood acquisition is the first dunkin’ donuts in the country, for which hundreds of people lined up on opening day. “today, the same number of people travel those streets, but in vehicles, heading to work at the various industries around the area,” my dad said. 

among the few things that remain the same in the area is my family’s farm, finca rivera. my dad is one of only two neighbors in la valencia who, despite commercial development in the area, has kept his coffee farm. finca rivera, which spans 10 hectares (approximately 25 acres), belonged to our family for three generations before him, and he has now managed it for 30 years since his father passed on the administration to him.

urban agriculture: an ally in reducing urban heating and enhancing wildlife connectivity

coffee farms in urban areas have a major positive impact because they provide green spaces that help regulate urban temperatures and promote biodiversity. 

“coffee is a tree (plant) species of about 1.5 meters (approximately 5 feet) tall and densely grown in areas dedicated to coffee. in a coffee farm, these plants are spaced 1 to 2 meters apart and have a population of 5,000 plants per hectare,” my dad said. 

“in addition to the coffee trees (plants), you can also find other trees that support coffee production, and other plants grown on the property, like bananas and plantains,” he said. he quickly did some math and assertively said: “the farm (la rivera) contains 50,000 medium-sized coffee (trees), plus shade trees, trees in live fences, and other trees we plant in the farm – these coffee farms are a small green lung within a city filled with buildings!” 

my dad goes on to explain how coffee cultivation practices have changed during his time managing the farm.

over the past years, he has been working on reforesting the farm with poró gigante (erythrina poeppigiana). poró is a legume tree known for its natural nitrogen-fixing properties. 

he shares how it works: “nitrogen fixation in the soil is important because coffee plants, as part of their physiological functioning, capture nitrogen from the soil for their nutrition.” 

having poró trees on the farm reduces the need for nitrogen-based fertilizers, which in large quantities can contribute to environmental issues such as water pollution, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, and soil degradation.

my dad continues to point out the benefits of poró trees. he shares that their canopy shelters the coffee plants from the harsh sun and rain. 

“[the] poró tree renews its leaves at a certain time of the year and when the leaves are shed they form a vegetative layer on the soil that will later form an organic fertilizer,” he said. “also, this layer of leaves is a natural mulch in which weeds will not grow.” 

but not all weeds are harmful. “there is also growing awareness about certain plants (weeds) that coexist with coffee crops without causing harm. it’s been proven that some of these weeds can live in harmony with the coffee plants and don’t compete with them at all,” he said.

this is also helpful in reducing the need for chemical products, such as herbicides. “[…] i believe their use is decreasing more and more,” he said. and when you do need to clear weeds, my dad said the use of brush cutters is also replacing herbicides. 

the changes in managing coffee crops on my dad’s farm mainly come from the technical assistance provided by la libertad coffee growers cooperative, where he delivers his coffee, and from the insights he has gained through obtaining certifications like rainforest alliance and starbucks c.a.f.e practices.

“this information helps us raise awareness about the use of chemicals in coffee farming. there is still a long way to go, but progress has been made,” he said. he also highlights that his work to increase tree coverage on the farm came from a growing technical trend he noticed. as he read and informed himself, he recognized the significant benefits of shade for coffee plants and began incorporating it into his own practices.

listening to him reminds me of the importance of working directly with farmers when transitioning to sustainable practices. his message brings up his courage and humility to recognize that even after 40 years of experience, there is still more to learn. it makes me reflect on how this blend of openness and practical guidance is powerful and essential for fostering local sustainable change.

the motivation behind this positive impact

my dad unknowingly combats the urban heat island effect and enhances urban biodiversity connectivity in santo domingo, heredia. if you ask him, he probably would not even know what this climate jargon and concepts mean, yet he is doing it. his motivation for preserving his coffee farm in a highly urbanized area is not driven by economic gain or even elevated climate change awareness. his motivations are rooted in his deep love and the sentimental value of his family’s coffee legacy and a deep connection with the healthy lifestyle farm life offers. “you enter the coffee farm and you breathe a different kind of air […] and start to enjoy things that no longer exist out there,” he said. 

my dad’s story is one of the power of personal passion and cultural heritage to preserve our environment. it demonstrates that impactful actions can stem from a sincere connection with nature and one’s roots, not just from scientific and technical knowledge. by preserving his coffee farm, my dad not only honors my family’s coffee roots but also leaves a legacy for the quality of life in his — and my — hometown.

rapid ocean warming poses existential challenges to maine’s largest commercial fishery. stress induced by rising temperatures can make lobsters more susceptible to shell disease, compromising their ability to reproduce successfully. in warmer waters, tiny copepods eaten by larval lobsters are growing smaller and shifting their seasonal migration patterns. this results in less nutritious food for baby lobsters, greater mismatch between lobster larvae release and food availability, and fewer juveniles surviving into adulthood. in the wake of these changes, experts predict that lobsters will increasingly seek refuge in colder, deeper waters and migrate northward toward canada. 

transcript: generally, we are seeing a pattern of lobster shifting further into the northeast region of the gulf of maine into cooler, deeper waters during certain life stages. but, that doesn’t necessarily imply that they’ve all migrated there or moved or marched up from southern new england. it will be more about redistribution of where lobsters are more available, which relates to how readily some people compared to others can capitalize on those different changes. and perhaps abundances returning to early or mid-2000s landing levels rather than staying at that peak that we have known in more recent years.

kat maltby, ph.d., postdoctoral research associate in the integrated systems ecology lab at the gulf of maine research institute (gmri).

notably, ocean warming has supported a boom in maine’s lobster industry and a bust in southern new england. in the gulf of maine, temperatures have become optimal for lobster reproduction and species range shifts have contributed to record commercial catch. yet, experts predict that rapid warming will only exacerbate the volatility of maine’s lobster industry, posing novel challenges to fishers and business owners to adapt alongside the shifting crustaceans.

on the frontlines: lobster fishers

ivan bly started lobstering in midcoast maine when he was young. today, he hauls commercial traps from the iris irene, a boat named after his grandmother, irene, and 12-year-old daughter, iris. alongside her father, iris has been lobstering her entire life. “we’ve had her out here before she remembered. we used to put her in a lobster crate,” bly said.

bly lobsters out of tenants harbor, where his state commercial fishing license allows him 800 traps within an established fishing zone. state and federal licenses are coveted and scarce in maine, requiring extensive apprenticeship, extended processing times, and expensive permitting costs. those born into the lobster industry are entering increasingly precarious waters, where rigid rules and regulations preoccupy fishers and lack adaptive measures for climate impacts.

bly recognizes ocean warming and its contribution to maine’s lobster boom. he also knows the challenges and costs of fishing in deeper waters. “when you go further out, it costs more money, and it’s a bigger risk. you need bigger rope, heavier, bigger traps,” he said.

yet, faced with the annual volatility of a dynamic industry, his anxieties are resigned to the short-term: “i think we’ll kill the industry with chemicals and nonsense before that. warming is the least of my concerns. when the water warms up that much, i’ll be long gone.” for bly, “nonsense” includes the environmental and economic costs of chemical pollution, offshore wind development, and inconsistent rope and trap regulations for north atlantic right whale protection.

contributing to bly’s focus on pollution and regulation is the rigid territoriality built into the culture and permitting of the lobster industry. while a commercial fisher can move their traps within a permitted zone, they risk retaliation and violence from encroaching on another fisher’s territory.

according to bly, “you’d be welcomed with shotguns and knife blades” if you messed with another’s traps. notably, a state license prohibits fishing in federal waters further offshore and can rarely be transferred to a different zone within state waters.

in this rigid framework, fishers like bly cannot follow lobsters into northern, deeper waters beyond where their permit allows. “the fishing grounds do move. different areas have had great fishing and hopefully, we get our turn. but, you gotta fish where you live,” bly said.

from sea to table: lobster shacks

in maine’s coastal economy, changes in the water directly affect livelihoods on land. in bar harbor, patti staples is the owner and manager of the happy clam shack, where hand-picked meat is enjoyed by consumers in iconic lobster rolls.

since 2015, staples has operated a sea-to-table business that values quality over quantity. to do so, she buys catch directly from local fishers and picks the lobster meat in-shack each morning. having experienced increased costs, decreased tourism, and supply chain shortages during the pandemic, staples sees ocean warming as another existential threat to her business and local suppliers.

“if they don’t have their product, we don’t have their product, and the families don’t have their product. if the gulf doesn’t stop warming up, they’re going to crawl into canada,” she said.

profit and catch in the lobster industry fluctuate with consumer demand and market price. for instance, in 2023, maine experienced its lowest lobster haul in 15 years, as inflated fuel and bait costs disincentivized fishers to get on the water. yet, the second-highest price ever recorded ($4.95 per pound) contributed to a noticeable rebound from lower profits in 2022.

ocean warming will only exacerbate these unpredictable boom and bust cycles. as warming decreases regional productivity and increases operational costs, per-pound prices will reflect the increased effort and resources needed for fishing in deeper waters. as a result, staples anticipates higher costs for herself and her customers. 

transcript: unfortunately, we will see the prices go up. we won’t see as many businesses like our lobster pound being able to sustain if we don’t have a product. if it gets too costly, a lot of people — the families we want here to enjoy our lobster — won’t be able to afford it. and if our fisherman aren’t catching their product and they are paying all this money for their sternmen, their gas, their bait, how are they going to be able to sustain also? it’s scary. we don’t want to see our product leave.

patti staples, owner and manager of happy clam shack

what’s next for maine’s warming waters and its lobsters?

since ocean warming intersects with the economic and regulatory challenges facing fishers like bly and business owners like staples, climate adaptation is an opportunity to build a more resilient, productive, and profitable industry. at the gulf of maine research institute (gmri), kat maltby, ph.d., studies the social resilience of imperiled fisheries to inform adaptive planning in maine’s lobster industry. to her, adapting to warming waters requires a holistic management approach in collaboration with industry, government, and the scientific community.

transcript: there’s an opportunity for us to be more integrated in joining efforts to think more holistically about supporting resilience. when we talk about adaptation strategies, we need to talk about that in the context of all the other issues the industry is concerned about and think holistically about the future needs of the fishery and the industry together. just thinking about climate change in a silo risks maladaptive strategies or implementing strategies and solutions that might not work as effectively or successfully because there are other drivers of change that haven’t been considered.

kat maltby, ph. d., gulf of maine research institute

for fishers, she emphasizes empowering a sense of agency over diverse livelihood options, including:

• directly changing fishing practices or shifting fishing grounds, if possible.
• moving into direct sales with consumers to increase the value of lobster products. 
• diversifying into other fisheries or marine occupations like aquaculture and kelp farming.  
• participating in science-industry partnerships and management decision-making at the state, regional, and federal levels.

maltby upholds that the burden of adaptation should not be on fishers alone. she contends that all levels of the industry must adapt simultaneously. this includes changing processing and handling capacities in the supply chain in order to enable diversification into other fisheries.

she also recommends maintaining working waterfronts that protect coastal properties for commercial fishing and aquaculture use. lastly, maltby supports the creation of more flexible permitting structures that incorporate information and decision-making from lobster fishers like bly.

while lobster redistribution is inevitable in maine’s warming waters, fishers already follow strict sustainable fishing standards that support stable, resilient lobster populations in the gulf of maine. these practices include notching the tails of egg-bearing females and measuring catch to ensure small juveniles and large, reproducing lobsters remain in the water.

transcript: ivan: is it a boy or girl? iris: girl. ivan: does it have a v-notch? eggs?

a gmri study found that the lack of protections on larger reproductive lobsters in southern new england made the population less resilient to warmer waters, contributing to its collapse. on the contrary, conservation measures in the gulf of maine supported a lobster boom and can mitigate expected productivity declines. given maine’s lobster fishery is already resilient due to sustainable management, maltby sees hope and opportunity for the broader industry to operate in warming waters. “it’s not all doom and gloom. this really provides us an opportunity to think about the kinds of futures we want.”

transcript: climate change is a very big risk and has a lot of impacts now and will continue to have for many coastal communities in maine. but, it is not all doom and gloom. this provides an opportunity for us to think about the kind of futures that we want and think about the processes that allow us to get there. drawing on more innovative and creative ideas and solutions. really connecting people who haven’t necessarily been able to exchange ideas and information before. it doesn’t have to be such a gloom-and-doom narrative.

kat maltby, ph. d., gulf of maine research institute

this immediately caught my attention because watsonville is a mere 30 miles from where my parents live in california, and where i was residing before moving to d.c. over the summer.  

not only did the homesickness kick in with the realization that these strawberries had come from only a near distance from my family, but it also raised my awareness of the environmental implications of the strawberries i was about to eat.

these strawberries had traveled nearly 2,900 miles from watsonville, ca to washington, d.c. in order for me to enjoy in my breakfast. 

you may be thinking, “while that is an awfully long distance for fruit to travel, why does this matter in terms of environmental sustainability?”

i’ll tell you why. 

the cross-country road trip my strawberries had taken to end up in my local trader joe’s for me to purchase and eat produces a ghastly amount of carbon emissions. 

“food miles” have been defined as the distance from where the food is produced to where it is consumed, according to carbon brief. studies have found that yearly, food miles produce 3bn tonnes of carbon emissions. 

if, like me, you aren’t a science-minded person and this metric doesn’t make sense to you, note that in the same study, the transport of fruit and vegetables was responsible for twice the amount of greenhouse gas than was emitted to actually grow them. 

while the implications of “food miles” are serious and concerning, there are ways we can all cut down our “food miles” and help the climate fight.

with that, here’s my guide to eating sustainably!

1. eat local

the first tactic to decrease the “food miles” of your produce is to eat locally grown foods. shopping at farmers’ markets is the number one way to do this. farmers’ markets are a great way to ensure that your produce has been grown locally and to support local farmers in your community. 

produce from farmers’ markets not only has fewer “food miles” but also tends to be more nutritious and flavorful than store-bought produce. due to the great distances that store-bought produce has to travel before it’s eaten, such produce tends to be harvested before peak ripeness and stored in coolers to preserve its freshness. however, this process strips the produce of its natural nutrients and flavor. 

shopping at farmers’ markets can also cut down on your single-use plastic consumption. instead of buying fruit in plastic clamshell containers, bring your reusable bags to the farmers’ market and buy produce straight from the producer.

for help finding farmers’ markets near you, use the usda’s local foods directory.

2. eat seasonally

the next tactic can be slightly more difficult. eating seasonally means eating fruits and vegetables during the months that they are in peak harvest.

while harvest months for produce vary widely from region to region, a rough guide to the foods that are in peak harvest in large swaths of the u.s. during the year is as follows:

summer

• melons
• cucumbers
• tomatoes
• eggplants
• peppers
• stone fruits
• summer squash
• herbs 

fall

• squashes
• root vegetables
• onions
• potatoes 

winter

• brussel sprouts
• citrus 
• pomegranates 
• squashes
• potatoes 
• beets 

spring

• asparagus 
• spinach 
• radishes
• rhubarb 
• scallions
• chives
• leeks 

for a complete list of seasonal foods that grow where you live, check out this seasonal food guide. 

eating seasonally goes hand-in-hand with eating locally. when shopping at the farmers’ market, be aware of what kinds of produce tend to be at the market during different times of the year. the produce at the farmers’ market is a direct indication of what foods are at peak harvest and what should be eaten during that season.

3. plan ahead

a big part of eating seasonally is planning ahead. if there are summer foods that you can’t go the winter months without, look to preserve them at their peak harvest to enjoy during the off-season. for instance, this could be done by freezing fresh berries during the summer and enjoying them during the fall and winter months. other techniques to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables include canning, pickling, fermenting, and dehydrating foods.

4. limit meat consumption

lastly, i’d be remiss to write a column about sustainable eating without mentioning reducing your consumption of meat. eating less meat reduces methane emissions that occur from the raising of livestock. according to the epa, a single cow produces between 154 to 264 pounds of methane gas per year. additionally, raising livestock consumes copious amounts of water in cleaning and processing the cattle, as well as watering the crops that the cattle eat.

thus, in order to have a more sustainable diet, people should try eating more plant-based meals rather than meat-based meals. for instance, protein substitutes for meat include beans and legumes, eggs, tofu, nuts, quinoa, grains, and mushrooms. these foods and more can provide you ample protein, without the need to consume meat. 

additionally, in 2024, there now exists a slew of meat alternatives that provide the nutrients and taste of meat, without the cardboard texture and lack of flavor that the meat alternatives of 10 years ago had. my favorite meat alternative is impossible meat, but there also exists beyond meat, gardein, and boca, to name a few.

now i’m not suggesting that people should quit eating meat cold turkey (turkey, get it?). instead, i’m hoping to share reasons why eating meat isn’t the best for the environment and suggest small ways you can make a difference. even just cutting down the frequency in which you eat meat, especially red meat, can go a long way in creating a more sustainable diet.

the big picture

for all these recommendations, assess the possibility and limitations for implementation into your own life. most importantly, we should all do what we can to adjust our eating habits to better protect the environment and fight climate change.

happy sustainable eating!