Designathon 2021 Final Concept Submission
Group D21-26
1 Our Concept
We started this project with the aim of building a foundation for which to encourage and reward sustainable engineering in agriculture. Currently, a staggering 50% of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture yet according to The Food Aid Foundation, “821 million people – one in nine – still go to bed on an empty stomach each night” [1]. Animal farming is the most detrimental form of farming to climate change as it accounts for 77% of the global farming land but only provides 18% of the world calories. As the human population increases exponentially, this will only develop the catastrophic crisis [2].
Our concept introduces a new agricultural law which benefits those who farm sustainably and morally; the less farming land used per kg of food produce, the more income tax breaks for that farmer. This concept would encourage farmers to farm more sustainably as it focuses on driving higher profits for farmers who are able to innovate and produce ethical, sustainable crops.
2 The Current System
The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was launched in 1962 with the aims of allowing farmers to compete on a level playing field whilst protecting against volatility in agricultural prices [3]. The incentives of the CAP encouraged farmers to increase output with the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides causing problems for the environment with large agriculture businesses still receive the majority of subsidies. The UK has proposed plans to phase away from this out-of-date model and develop an eco-friendlier model of agricultural land subsidies, incentivising sustainable land use practices which aligns with our projects main goal.
3 The Role of Engineers
As for promoting better engineering practice, there is no doubt some farmers and/or people will want to take advantage of this new law and grow their own crops to sell therefore there will be demand for the most efficient farming methods possible and engineers will deliver. Structured as governmental policy, this proposal would promote engineers from a wide range of diverse backgrounds to collectivize ideas and approaches to form more environmental and sustainable farming methods.
4 Funding & Support
Subsidies currently used to fund the oil and gas sector in the UK, which total 3 Billion each year [4], will slowly be transitioned to promote inspiring engineers to rise to the challenge and make a positive impact in the agriculture sector. With support coming from the Green Party and many climate change organisations, we can actively practice defending against the negative effects of modern agriculture and intentionally accelerating its positive ones through a greater communal responsibility.
5 Impact
Our hope is this proposal will encourage farmers and corporations to innovate with their farming practices by making use of as little land as possible. Less animal farming and more crop farming would also aid in tackling the obesity crisis that also affects our planet. More land would also be available for housing which would improve the lives of over 8 million people in England currently living in unaffordable/unsuitable homes.
References
[1] https://ourworldindata.org/land-use
[2] World Hunger Statistics - Food Aid Foundation
[3] https://www.economicshelp.org/europe/disadvantages-cap
[4] https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/advantages-disadvantages-vertical-farming.php