Episode 6 - Locally Grown In: Brussels

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests – Jeffrey Landau, Nele Lauwers, Stefaan Kint, Alexandre Van Deun, Olivier Paulus, and Alexandre Lefebvre – as they explore the local food system in Brussels, Belgium.Brussels is an ideal city for creating a regenerative agriculture system, being the political center of the European Union. This position in European politics and the physical position of Brussels to its surrounding farmland, gives Brussels a strong profile for urban agriculture initiatives. While the demand for organic and local food products is rising in the city of Brussels, rural farming around the city is producing products using conventional farming methods and directed for the European and world market. How can food production in and around the city meet local demands? A network of both urban and rural farmers could learn from each other in order to accelerate a healthy, local food production that plays an important role in feeding the city of Brussels.In this episode, we speak with Nele Lauwers, Stefaan Kint, and Alexandre Lefebvre and learn more about the ambitious targets set by the Good Food Strategy. The policy calls for a 30% reduction in food waste by 2020, 30% autonomy in fruit and veg by 2035, and a 30% increase in revenue from organic food. We also hear from entrepreneurs, Olivier Paulus and Alexandre Van Deun, who founded Urban Harvest a vertical farm in Brussels that uses a minimum input to produce a maximum yield. Have you listened to Episode 5 - Locally Grown In: Toronto? If not, check it out first!