Food Landscapes: A Landscape Model for Intensive Farming

Abstract

With rising meat consumption worldwide, particularly in developing countries, there is a need to explore new approaches in designing forms to assist with affordable meat production within a framework of improved environmental sustainability. New Zealand (NZ) hos a strong agricultural history.As world leaders in research and development, agriculture shaped our nation structurally and socially and will continue to do so into the future .To facilitate the continued supply of affordable meat, exploration of initiatives in design to support sustainable agriculture is required. This paper presents a research project that has used landscape design methodology to anloyse and quantify existing intensive farming models (or chicken meat production (broiler shed farms) and explores potential design interventions that can contribute to improved quadruple bottom line outcomes in intensive farming practice in NZ. System approaches such as industrial ecology. cradle to cradle, permoculture and zero energy buildings informed a design model that reduces the intensive farming footprint while improving the interconnections between the multiple inputs and outputs required for such forming practices, within the site and brooder environment Comparison of quantitative data on aspects such as water; energy. biodiversity and waste between the existing intensive farm model and the proposed sustainable design model has shown that the inclusion of landscape architectural design methodology informing intensive farm development can improve sustainability in an economically viable way and contribute to a more appropriate approach to food production and land use.