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Sustainable Food

Area of Economy, Employment, Competitiveness and Tax

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  • Year of sustainable food
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Menu navigation instructions

Instructions for keyboard users

This menu requires arrow keys to be able to use it. The menu has up to three levels:

  • First level: main menu options
  • Second level: sub-options for elements from the first level
  • Third level: sub-options for elements from the second level

Browsing instructions:

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  • Use the right arrow key to display the second level.
  • Browse on the second level using the vertical arrow keys.
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  • Browse the third level by using the vertical arrow keys.
  • Use the Escape key to get back to the second level.
  • Alternatively, use the Enter key to display any level.
  • Year of sustainable food
    Year of sustainable food
    • Barcelona, World Sustainable Food Capital 2021
      • Barcelona, World Sustainable Food Capital 2021
      • Barcelona, World Sustainable Food Capital 2021
      • Agenda 2021
    • The Milan Pact
    • Linking places
  • Eating well
    Eating well
    • Eating well
      • Eating well
      • Eating well
      • The sustainable food test
      • Where to buy sustainable food?
  • Strengthening local economies
    Strengthening local economies
    • Strengthening local economies
      • Strengthening local economies
      • Strengthening local economies
      • Bringing sustainable food to the city
      • Do you need funding for your sustainable food project?
  • Protecting the planet
    Protecting the planet
    • Protecting the planet
      • Protecting the planet
      • Protecting the planet
      • Agròpolis
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  1. Home

Protecting the planet

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Sustainability in the food system is one of the main global challenges we need to tackle if we want to combat and mitigate the climate, environmental and health emergency.

Overall, the agri-food system is responsible for between 21% and 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this percentage is expected to rise in the coming decades. This means that, to combat the climate emergency, we must transform the prevailing food system and our diets. In fact, we should adopt the planetary health diet, which is good for both people's health and the planet.

The impact of this food system is not limited to the climate crisis. It is also closely linked to soil depletion on agricultural land, water contamination, overfishing and mass extinction, entailing a loss of 75% of cultivated biodiversity and 80% deforestation.

On top of all that, much of the food in the current system lacks nutrients, contains chemical residues and is packaged in plastic, which ends up polluting both soil and water.  

Sustainable food: more important than ever in the age of global risks

Covid-19 has taught us a lot. The loss of habitats, mainly caused by industrial agriculture and livestock farming, is generating the ideal conditions for viruses to spread and for zoonotic diseases to thrive. What is more, mobility restrictions have brought food supply chains into question on a global scale, thus highlighting the importance of the people who work in this sector in our society. The pandemic has catalysed an economic crisis that is magnifying inequalities and food poverty, especially for women

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The response to all of this should have sustainable food at its core. This means cultivating local relationships, emphasising and prioritising care, the environment, health and community action; rebuilding the links between urban and rural environments, between society and the primary sector; transforming and regenerating human activities so they may continue on a planet with finite resources; and realising that we are ecodependent and interdependent.

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The role of cities in sustainable food

Cities play a key role in how the food system works, and could be a fundamental part of its transformation. They only take up 3% of the total land surface area, but 55% of the world’s population lives in them. They consume nearly two thirds of the energy and water for domestic use. They generate over 50% of waste and 70% of emissions. And the urban setting tends to encourage a sedentary lifestyle, with high rates of obesity.
There is a lot of work to do.

Take a look at ‘Sustainable food. A manual for cities’ or click here to read its summary. 

Related projects

Imatge

Agròpolis

Imatge

Urban agriculture

Imatge

Food waste and recycling

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