{"id":3752,"date":"2014-03-07T14:48:41","date_gmt":"2014-03-07T13:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752"},"modified":"2014-03-10T16:14:08","modified_gmt":"2014-03-10T15:14:08","slug":"one-thing-we-have-learnt-this-week-growing-low-food-miles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752","title":{"rendered":"One thing we have learnt this week – growing low food miles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"farming-underground-550x366\"<\/a>How in the middle of a major city do you cultivate low food miles?\u00a0 By growing underground that’s how.\u00a0 Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr is now involved in what sounds a crazy scheme.\u00a0 In fact that’s what he said when he met Richard Ballard and Steven Dring who have been working on the idea for the last 18 months.\u00a0 According to an interview in the Evening Standard newspaper he was quoted as follows;<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first met these guys I thought they were absolutely crazy. But when I visited the tunnels and sampled the delicious produce they are already growing down there I was blown away. The market for this produce is huge.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

As we wrote in our book<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The resource constraints that the world is facing will<\/em>
\nmean that industrial agriculture in its present form will inevitably<\/em>
\nfalter and fail – and in fact it never did feed the world adequately<\/em>
\nanyway. We are all likely to be eating more locally in the future. But<\/em>
\nif we don\u2019t plan for the changes that will happen, many of us will<\/em>
\nhave to eat less.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

What we didn’t envision was people would be carrying low food miles food up stairs from an underground den!<\/p>\n

There are apparently loads of abandoned tunnels under London and this project uses tunnels last used during the blitz.\u00a0 They have started growing small amounts of herbs to show proof of concept.\u00a0 To grow them Ballard and\u00a0 Dring are using a hydroponic system based around discarded carpet.\u00a0 Obviously they have to provide light, but not just any old light, the mix of wavelengths would need to match that of the sun.\u00a0 The pair have sourced some specialist LED’s.\u00a0 When I heard them on the radio they said that they hoped to power the entire project using they own renewable generation.\u00a0 Apart from the low food miles another advantage is a lack of weather extremes (constant 16 degrees C) and no pests.\u00a0 What a great idea, I wonder which other cities could replicate the idea.\u00a0 I know there are loads of tunnels under Liverpool…\u00a0 The ultimate in low food miles-\u00a0 grow it under your feet.\u00a0 While you are here check out our lent guide No oil in the lamp – Lent guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Neil<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How in the middle of a major city do you cultivate low food miles?\u00a0 By growing underground that’s how.\u00a0 Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr is now involved in what sounds a crazy scheme.\u00a0 In fact that’s what he said when … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9,17,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-change","category-food","category-one-thing-we-have-learnt-this-week","category-peak-oil"],"yoast_head":"\nlow food miles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How in the middle of a major city do you cultivate low food miles? By growing underground that's how. Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr is now involved in what sounds a crazy scheme.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752\",\"name\":\"low food miles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/farming-underground-550x366-300x199.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-07T13:48:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-10T15:14:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f\"},\"description\":\"How in the middle of a major city do you cultivate low food miles? By growing underground that's how. Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr is now involved in what sounds a crazy scheme.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/farming-underground-550x366-300x199.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/farming-underground-550x366-300x199.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"One thing we have learnt this week – growing low food miles\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil\",\"description\":\"Blogging by Neil and Andy about Peak oil and faith.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"low food miles","description":"How in the middle of a major city do you cultivate low food miles? By growing underground that's how. Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr is now involved in what sounds a crazy scheme.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752","url":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752","name":"low food miles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/farming-underground-550x366-300x199.jpg","datePublished":"2014-03-07T13:48:41+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-10T15:14:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f"},"description":"How in the middle of a major city do you cultivate low food miles? By growing underground that's how. Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr is now involved in what sounds a crazy scheme.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/farming-underground-550x366-300x199.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/farming-underground-550x366-300x199.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=3752#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"One thing we have learnt this week – growing low food miles"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/","name":"The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil","description":"Blogging by Neil and Andy about Peak oil and faith.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3752"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3770,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3752\/revisions\/3770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}