Tag: Food Systems

A superb new report, ‘Food in the Anthropocene‘, published last week by The EAT/Lancet Commission sets out with tremendous clarity how “global food production constitutes the single largest driver of environmental degradation” in the world today. Moreover, it explains how “a diet rich in plant-based foods and with fewer animal sourced foods confers both improved health and environmental benefits”. It is a must-read for policy-makers everywhere, but if you don’t have time even to peruse the hard-hitting executive summary, these are the key points.

As urbanisation increases, more food is being produced and more food is being wasted. Particularly for cities, wasted food creates severe environmental and public health consequences. But it also presents opportunities to make a positive impact. It has been estimated that managing food waste sustainably could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 518 million tonnes per year globally, which is the equivalent of taking all the cars in the European Union off the road.

Milan’s Mayor Giuseppe Sala says accelerating urbanization is a threat to food security, but thinks cities can also be the answer to the problem. EAT spoke to the leader of the world’s only declaration on urban food policies.

In 2015, cities played a central role at COP21 in Paris, pushing national leaders to reach the ambitious Paris Climate Agreement. The New Urban Agenda, to be adopted at the Habitat III Conference in Quito next week, will join the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and other recent international agreements as part of a global framework for sustainability. After many rounds of negotiations, urban governance and the role of local governments have been recognized in its final draft. This is a success for the collective advocacy of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments – a platform of city networks of which C40 is a member. It is also a sign of the tremendous commitment from mayors to create equitable, prosperous, low-carbon and resilient cities. 

BY C40 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARK WATTS: A few months ago I wrote about how mayors are changing the way we think about food. Mayors are leading a revolution to improve the systems of how food is procured, produced, distributed, while minimising and managing food waste; through C40, they are working together to share best practices and new strategies.

This week, as the UN members gather for their General Assembly, I’m participating in a panel discussion on Urban Food Systems, hosted by our partners the EAT Forum, which continues to reinforce the effectiveness of global collaboration among cities. The message that I’ll be sharing is straightforward: climate change is the biggest issue facing us at this time, and cities offer a great platform to bring about change.