Urban food system - Assignment Example

Urban Food System al Affiliation Urban Food System Urban Agriculture: Small, Medium, Large In this article, the author explains how urban agriculture is becoming the next frontier of design. Even though horticulture has remained remote from contemporary architecture, it offers numerous ecological, economic and social benefits for city residents. Urban agriculture can contribute to urban architecture in areas such as window and roof designs. Such designs can be proposed to allow city residents practice urban agriculture even though they face the challenges of limited space.

For instance, an underused lawn can be divided into strips and house owners can use such spaces to grow foods of their choice (Doron, n.d.). 2. Baldor’s Big Move The article outlines the success story of Baldor. Baldor is a massive supplier of vegetables, fruits and fancy foodstuffs that dominates the New York market for beverages. The company transformed its business practices to offer its clients the best services. It has invested in its supply chain systems and acreage in order to enhance its ability to serve a growing beverage market.

The company’s biggest move was the idea of sourcing produces from its backyard. Consequently, the company engaged farmers from New York to serve its growing market base. The company is a powerhouse in the New York beverage market because of its massive size of operation (Wharton, 2012). 3. What is Organic Certification? The article addresses the concept of organic certification including its definition, minimum requirements, and its cost. According to the article, organic certification verifies a farmer’s handling equipment and enables the farmer to meet the requirements of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic regulations.

Such a certification enables the farmer sell organic products in the global market (USDA Organic, 2012). Farmers can receive organic certification from any organization that has been accredited by the USDA by submitting an application. Categories of organic products include crops, livestock, processed products and wild crops. The cost of certification varies from a few hundreds of dollars to several thousands of dollars depending on the certifying agent and the complexity of a farmer’s operation.

The organic certification process involves an agent receiving an application and fees then the agent reviews the application and conducts an inspection at the farmer’s facility. The farmer receives a certificate if he or she meets the requirements of USDA. References Doron, G. (n.d.). Urban Agriculture: Small, Medium, Large. USDA Organic. (2012). What is Organic Certification? New York: United States Department of Agriculture. Wharton, R. (2012, May 1). Baldor’s Big Move: A massive city wholesaler now sources from its own backyard.

Edible Manhattan.