Instant Insights: Developing a Circular Economy

This book features five peer-reviewed reviews on developing a circular economy in agriculture. The first chapter discusses the relationship between a circular economy and bioeconomy as they relate to agriculture, as well as the key principles and challenges of circular, closed-loop agricultural systems. The second chapter introduces new approaches to food production and ‘waste’ management, including the opportunity to partially close nutrient cycles in urban agricultural settings and the wider food system. The third chapter provides a brief overview of the key principles of a circular economy and discusses how the advent of new alternatives to plastic food packaging, such as bioplastics, can contribute to mitigating plastic waste and its environmental impact. The fourth chapter discusses facility-based plant production systems, such as plant factories, and the importance of the circulation of materials in achieving a sustainable balance between food production and environmental protection. The final chapter considers how regenerative urban agri-food systems can be built through a circular economy approach and provides examples of how this can be achieved, as well as how novel natural resource networks can be created in circular food economies in urban areas.