Bertand Aznar
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, empty supermarket shelves prompted people to ask – sometimes for the first time – where their food comes from. In 2021 we will see more food in cities provided by producers who are less vulnerable to the disruptions of long supply chains we experienced during 2020.
The pandemic caused consumers around the world to turn to smaller, local and regional food providers that could secure access to food during lockdowns. In the UK, the Farmers to Feed Us digital platform created new ways for small-scale food producers to provide fresh produce directly to consumers. Sales of food from community-supported agriculture (CSA), where consumers subscribe to receive in-season harvests from groups of UK farmers, increased by 111 per cent from February to April, with this trend also being apparent in the US and China. The 105-acre Eatwell Farm in California saw such a big spike in demand that it had to cease new subscriptions – and the wait
Bertand Aznar
Zero-carbon power outstripped fossil fuel in the UKâs electricity mix in 2020 for the first time since the industrial revolution. Back then, Thomas Edisonâs Holborn Viaduct coal plant â opened in 1882 and the worldâs first coal-fired power station â could light 1,000 lamps. Today, a single rotation of a wind turbine off Scotlandâs coast can power a home for a day.
The challenge of green power is that while we humans are creatures of routine â we get up, travel and cook at the same time, creating predictable peaks and troughs in demand â wind and sunshine can show up at unexpected times or not at all. This causes fluctuations in power that our engineers at National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) must smooth out by balancing supply and demand in real time.