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5. Vegetable farming, climate change, and food security in the Arctic
In: Justice and food security in a changing climateThe Arctic Institute, Center for Circumpolar Security Studies, P.O. Box 21194, Washington, DC 20009, USA.
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The last years have been witness to an increasing number of projects, initiatives, and farms in the Arctic, experimenting with a variety of techniques to grow vegetables (referring here to all plants used as food) to make the most out of the Arctic’s often harsh conditions. In addition to the use of more traditional greenhouses for vegetable production, newer technologies such as hydroponics and geodesic domes help Arctic farms thrive. As infrastructure is often limited in many remote Arctic regions, the transportation of fresh, healthy food can be lengthy, inadequate, and difficult, rendering the supply unreliable or at times impossible. This greatly reduces the availability of healthy foods and food security in many Arctic communities. Removing the troublesome transportation from the equation, better quality produce, improved health and well-being, and increased food security are among the benefits of regional or local vegetable production in the Arctic. Another benefit of locally growing vegetables is decreasing greenhouse gas emissions stemming from the long transport routes of imported food. An important factor that presents opportunities as well as drawbacks for food procurement and vegetable production in the Arctic is climate change due to associated warmer temperatures in some areas, but also more extreme weather events. This contribution examines the linkages between Arctic vegetable farming, climate change, and sustainability, as well as vegetable farming’s repercussions on Arctic communities’ food security, health, and well-being. The example of ‘Arviat Goes Green’ illustrates the developments and effects of these linkages.