Abstract
Although a circular economy promotes economic and environmental benefits, knowledge gaps remain surrounding the application of these concepts to food systems. A better understanding of the connection between different flows of biomass and energy at different spatial scales is needed to facilitate effective transitions towards circular bioeconomies. This study provides a framework for assessing the circularity of food systems, which we exemplify by identifying key steps towards circularity for three contrasting farming regions in Finland. For each of the regions, we quantified the flows of biomass, nutrients and energy. We found large differences in circularity, depending on the chosen indicator. Most biomass and nutrient flows were related to livestock production, which implies that it plays a key role in circular food systems. Current livestock production was found to be connected to national and global food systems through the international feed trade. This trade generates imbalanced nutrient flows between regions and countries, resulting in excess accumulations of nutrients in regions with net imports. In terms of circularity in energy systems, we found that substantial amounts of energy could be produced from manure and plant-based biomasses without causing food-fuel competition in land use. We also observed that, the inclusion of human excreta would further improve recycling but this was significant only in the region with a high population density. Thus, in his study, we propose a concept of nested circularity in which nutrient, biomass and energy cycles are connected and closed across multiple spatial scales.
Highlights
The concept of circular economy (CE) has been proposed as a promising approach to creating more sustainable agricultural food sys tems with a great potential for economic and environmental benefits (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2019)
We address the knowledge gaps described above, first by developing a generic framework (Section 2.1) to assess the circularity of food systems and to explore how biomass, nutrient and energy flows are connected at different scales, and secondly, by applying this framework in regional case studies aiming to assess these flows within a food system
In order to facilitate a transition toward CE in food systems, we need to develop a better understanding of current biomass, nutrient, and energy flows within these systems, and how these flows are connected at different spatial scales
Summary
The concept of circular economy (CE) has been proposed as a promising approach to creating more sustainable agricultural food sys tems with a great potential for economic and environmental benefits (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2019). Defined as an industrial system that is designed to be restorative and regenerative at different spatial scales, the concept includes the goal of replacing extract-use-dispose systems with an economic and technological model that is based on principles such as reuse, recycling, reducing and recovering with a shift towards renewable energy (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2012, Jawahir and Bradley, 2016, Jurgilevich et al, 2016, Kirchherr et al, 2017, Winans et al, 2017). The government of Finland has worked over the last decade to develop a program which promotes efficient nutrient recycling in agriculture (Ministry of Agri culture and Forestry of Finland, 2011)
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