2025-05-11 10:14
publication
2025-05-11 10:14
According to scientists, after a serious world disaster, urban and suburban crops could feed the inhabitants of even medium -sized cities. The best plants include peas, beets, spinach and potatoes.
The authors of the study presented in the magazine “Plos One” checked to what extent urban crops could feed city residents after a global disaster, such as nuclear war, a strong solar storm or deadly pandemic.
Such disasters would stop the production of food and transport, with high probability, leading to hunger.
Earlier, few works indicated that people could partly save crops carried out in cities – near houses or on roofs.
To deepen the understanding of this topic, the team from the University of Otago (N. Zealand) estimated the agricultural potential of medium -sized in a moderate climate, the New Zealand city of Palmerston North.
The analysis showed that urban agriculture itself could only maintain about one fifth of the middle city population in a moderate climate, but with the use of agricultural land located a short distance from the urban area, all residents could be maintained.
Complementing city crops with the use of slightly over a thousand hectares could ensure the food safety of the entire population. In addition, a little over 100 hectares for the production of biofuels could also cover the city's demand for fuel for agricultural machinery.
Researchers also looked at various arable plants.
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According to them, in a moderate atmosphere of the best plant cultivated in the city in terms of maximizing the amount of protein and calories, peas are with minimal demand for the ground.
In the script of the nuclear winter – a global cooling caused by a large -scale nuclear war – sugar beets and spinach come to the fore.
The best plants for growing near the city are potatoes in a normal climate, as well as wheat and carrots in the case of nuclear winter.
The methods used in the study can also be used by other cities to assess their own food safety and as a hint when planning actions that increase immunity in the case of a global crisis – scientists say.
“The global disaster will disturb trade and stop fuel import, which will seriously affect the industrial food production and transport systems that maintain supermarket supply. To survive, societies will have to radically focus on local food production in cities and around them. This study shows how we can achieve it” – explains Dr. Matt Boyd, the main author of the publication.
“Success depends on the integration of food production with urban space, protection and preparation of suburban areas, the development of local food processing infrastructure, ensuring the availability of seeds and incorporating the issue of food in the national safety policy” – he adds.
Marek Matacz (PAP)
mat/ agt/
