Sustainable Food

More than half of the world’s population live in cities, and most significantly, consume about 70% of the food produced. Focusing on urban and peri-urban food systems is becoming increasingly urgent, particularly as 1.7 billion people in these areas – three-quarters of those living in urban and peri-urban areas – face food insecurity.

The report “Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanisation and rural transformation”, published by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), highlights this issue.

The report challenges prevailing narratives, and finds that contrary to common belief, urban areas are more vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition than rural areas. In fact it warns of the urgent need for specific policies to address the complexities of urban food systems, and provides a roadmap for policy makers in order to guarantee the right to food.

Key recommendations

Drawing on the report, the UN recommends integrating food systems into urban planning and ensuring that urban food policy focuses on the need for a healthy, affordable diet for all, including vulnerable groups of people. Furthermore, the organisation urges the recognition of the support of all stakeholders in the system to help make improvements.

Finally it notes that investment in digital systems needs to be considered to improve the evidence base for policy decisions, while at the same time safeguarding decent work and employment in food systems.

The OCAS [Joint Office for Sustainable Food] as an example of multi-level governance

Looking beyond coordinated urban food units within local government bodies and across metropolitan areas, the report also underlines the importance of alignment mechanisms linking different levels of government, considering these essential to ensure coherence in terms of policy, and the effective deployment of resources.

Among the different mechanisms introduced, the report highlights the Joint Office for Sustainable Food (OCAS), through which Barcelona City Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMB) co-ordinate policies, programmes and initiatives.

The actions of this office are focused on Barcelona and its metropolitan area, given the high levels of food consumption, although it also works to generate as many synergies and alliances as possible with the other regions of Catalonia.