Achieving Sustainable Phosphorus Use in Food Systems through Circularisation

Paul J. A. Withers, Donnacha G. Doody and Roger Sylvester-Bradley
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Paul J. A. Withers: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
Donnacha G. Doody: Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast BT9 5BX, UK
Roger Sylvester-Bradley: ADAS, Boxworth, Boxworth, Cambridge CB23 4NN, UK

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: The notion of a phosphorus (P) circular economy provides the philosophy, framework, and opportunity to enable food production systems to become more efficient, sustainable, and resilient to a future P scarcity or sudden price shock. Whilst P recovery and recycling are central strategies for closing the P cycle, additional gains in environmental performance of food systems can be obtained by further minimising the amounts of P (a) introduced into the food system by lowering system P demand and (b) lost from the system by utilising legacy P stores in the landscape. This minimisation is an important cascading component of circularisation because it reduces the amounts of P circulating in the system, the amounts of P required to be recycled/recovered and the storage of unused P in the landscape, whilst maintaining agricultural output. The potential for circularisation and minimisation depends on regional differences in these P flow dynamics. We consider incremental and transformative management interventions towards P minimisation within circular economies, and how these might be tempered by the need to deliver a range of ecosystem services. These interventions move away from current production philosophies based on risk-averse, insurance-based farming, and current consumption patterns which have little regard for their environmental impact. We argue that a greater focus on P minimisation and circularisation should catalyse different actors and sectors in the food chain to embrace P sustainability and should empower future research needs to provide the confidence for them to do so without sacrificing future regional food security.

Keywords: phosphorus; food system; circular economy; circularisation; minimisation; efficiency; resilience; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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