scholarly journals Advancing the evidence base for sustainable city-region food systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigrid Wertheim-Heck ◽  
Melika Levelt ◽  
Lisa ten Brug ◽  
Jessica van Bossum
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
City Region ◽  
Sustainable City

scholarly journals Assessing and Planning Sustainable City Region Food Systems: Insights from Two Latin American Cities

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marielle Dubbeling ◽  
Guido Santini ◽  
Henk Renting ◽  
Makiko Taguchi ◽  
Louison Lançon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
City Region ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
American Cities

scholarly journals Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: building the evidence base

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 065007
Author(s):  
Francesco N Tubiello ◽  
Cynthia Rosenzweig ◽  
Giulia Conchedda ◽  
Kevin Karl ◽  
Johannes Gütschow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Gas Emissions

scholarly journals City-Region Food Systems and Second Tier Cities: From Garden Cities to Garden Regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2532
Author(s):  
Koen van der Gaast ◽  
Eveline van Leeuwen ◽  
Sigrid Wertheim-Heck
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Urban System ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
City Region ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Garden Cities ◽  
Contextual Elements ◽  
Second Tier

Theory and practice show that second-tier cities can play an important role in linking the urban and the rural. Second-tier cities are the middle ground of the urban system. The smaller spatial scale of second-tier cities, and their often-stronger connections with the rural hinterland can potentially enable a more sustainable food system. In this paper, we argue that the extent to which the benefits ascribed to the re-localisation of food can be achieved greatly depends on the contextual specifics of the second-tier city and the region in which it is embedded. Furthermore, we argue that to reach resilient, healthy and environmentally friendly city region food systems, three contextual elements need to be considered in their mutual coherence: (1) the historical development of the second-tier city and the region; (2) the proximity of food production to the second-tier city; (3) the scale and reach of the city region’s food system. We use the case-study of the Dutch city Almere to show how (a controlled) growth of cities can be combined with maintaining (or even increasing) the strength of adjacent rural areas. Such cities can play a role in creating Garden Regions: regions that foster healthy, sustainable and resilient food systems and that do not just connect urban and rural regions, but also connect city region food systems to national and global markets.

scholarly journals Assessing Transitions to Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems: A Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Mottet ◽  
Abram Bicksler ◽  
Dario Lucantoni ◽  
Fabrizia De Rosa ◽  
Beate Scherf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Agroecological Transition ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Scale Step

There is increasing interest in agroecology as a way to move toward more sustainable agriculture and food systems. However, the evidence of agroecology's contribution to sustainability remains fragmented because of heterogeneous methods and data, differing scales and timeframes, and knowledge gaps. Facing these challenges, 70 representatives of agroecology-related organizations worldwide participated in the development of the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE), to produce and consolidate evidence on the multidimensional performances of agroecological systems. TAPE is composed of: Step 0, the preliminary step that includes a description of the main socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the agricultural and food systems and an analysis of the enabling environment in terms of relevant policy, market, technology, socio-cultural and/or historical drivers; Step 1, the Characterization of Agroecological Transitions (CAET), based on the 10 Elements of Agroecology adopted by FAO and its member countries, using descriptive scales to establish scores and assessing the degree of transition, with information from the farm/household and community/territory scale; Step 2, the Core Criteria of Performance listing the key dimensions considered relevant to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Environment & climate change; Health & nutrition; Society & culture; Economy and Governance. Finally Step 3, a participatory validation of the results obtained from the previous steps with the producers and relevant stakeholders. TAPE can be used (i) to assess the extent of agroecological transition among agricultural producers in a community or a territory, (ii) to monitor and evaluate projects by characterizing the initial and subsequent steps in an agroecological transition, and/or (iii) to evaluate widely diverse agricultural systems against agroecological elements and how they contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Its application can support the transition of all forms of agricultural systems toward more sustainable practices and the formulation of adequate policies to enable this transformation. Preliminary results from pilot applications show that TAPE can perform in a variety of geographic regions and agroecosystems and that it allows assessment of performances of various criteria that move beyond classic indicators to begin to build a global evidence base for agroecology and support transformation to sustainable agricultural production and food systems.

scholarly journals Feeding the world healthily: the challenge of measuring the effects of agriculture on health

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1554) ◽  
pp. 3083-3097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Hawkesworth ◽  
Alan D. Dangour ◽  
Deborah Johnston ◽  
Karen Lock ◽  
Nigel Poole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Double Burden ◽  
Healthy Human

Agricultural production, food systems and population health are intimately linked. While there is a strong evidence base to inform our knowledge of what constitutes a healthy human diet, we know little about actual food production or consumption in many populations and how developments in the food and agricultural system will affect dietary intake patterns and health. The paucity of information on food production and consumption is arguably most acute in low- and middle-income countries, where it is most urgently needed to monitor levels of under-nutrition, the health impacts of rapid dietary transition and the increasing ‘double burden’ of nutrition-related disease. Food availability statistics based on food commodity production data are currently widely used as a proxy measure of national-level food consumption, but using data from the UK and Mexico we highlight the potential pitfalls of this approach. Despite limited resources for data collection, better systems of measurement are possible. Important drivers to improve collection systems may include efforts to meet international development goals and partnership with the private sector. A clearer understanding of the links between the agriculture and food system and population health will ensure that health becomes a critical driver of agricultural change.

scholarly journals Foodsheds and City Region Food Systems in Two West African Cities

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Karg ◽  
Pay Drechsel ◽  
Edmund Akoto-Danso ◽  
Rüdiger Glaser ◽  
George Nyarko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
West African ◽  
City Region ◽  
African Cities

scholarly journals Why Food System Transformation Is Essential and How Nutrition Scientists Can Contribute

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Lartey ◽  
Janice Meerman ◽  
Ramani Wijesinha-Bettoni
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
New Thinking

Background: The International Union of Nutritional Sciences held its 21st International Congress of Nutrition in October 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina under the theme – From Sciences to Nutrition Security. In addition to multiple sessions on food systems and their links to diet, nutrition and health, the Congress closing lecture focused on the need to transform food systems so as to increase their capacity to provide healthy diets, making a call for greater involvement of nutrition scientists. Summary: This article presents the main messages of that lecture, providing (i) an overview of global nutrition trends and their links to diets, food environments and food systems, (ii) a synopsis of the current global momentum for food system transformation and (iii) the need for nutrition scientists to leverage this momentum in terms of increased evidence generation and policy advocacy. Key Messages: Poor quality diets are increasingly leading to the compromising of human health as never before; the prevalence of undernutrition persists and remains acute in vulnerable regions, and hunger is increasing concomitantly with an unprecedented rise in overweight, obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. Increasing access to healthy diets through faster, stronger implementation of supply and demand-side strategies that address the underlying drivers of today’s faulty food systems is imperative to solve these problems, as well as to address related environmental and economic costs. The global momentum for such action is increasing, but the evidence base needed to galvanize governments and hold stakeholders accountable remains yet a fledgling. To date, inputs from nutrition scientists to this reform agenda have been weak, especially given the unique contributions the field can make in terms of rigorous analysis and technical advice. Strengthened participation will require innovations in metrics and methodologies, combined with new thinking on what constitutes viable evidence and a greater willingness to engage with private sector agri-food actors.

scholarly journals Significance and Vision of Nutrient Recovery for Sustainable City Food Systems in Germany by 2050

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10772
Author(s):  
Volkmar Keuter ◽  
Sebastian Deck ◽  
Heidi Giesenkamp ◽  
Denise Gonglach ◽  
Victor Takazi Katayama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Nutrient Recovery ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
City Region ◽  
Urban Dynamics ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Plant Cultivation ◽  
Joint Contribution

Within this paper, the authors explain their transdisciplinary vision of nutrient recovery for sustainable urban plant cultivation in Germany from different but complementary perspectives (SUSKULT vision). Nowadays, the demand for fresh, healthy, locally and sustainably produced food in German urban areas is constantly increasing. At the same time, current agricultural systems contribute significantly to exceeding the planetary boundaries. The disruption of the phosphorus and nitrogen cycles in particular stands out from the manifold effects of modern food production on the Earth system. One central issue that will have to be faced in the future is how increased yields in agriculture will be achieved with high-energy requirements in fertilizer production and pollution of water and soil by phosphorus and reactive nitrogen. City region food systems (CRFS) can be a solution to overcome these issues. Nevertheless, to ensure sustainable CRFS, innovative technologies and methods need to be developed, including nutrient and energy recovery and adapted horticultural cultivation methods that fit complex urban dynamics. Such new strategies need to be integrated in long-term social and political transformation processes to enhance acceptance of food produced by recyclates. The joint contribution of experts from the wastewater, horticultural, and political sciences, together with industrial and societal sector actors, is critical to reach these objectives. The overarching goal of SUSKULT’s vision is the establishment of the field of urban circular agricultural production as an innovative sector of the bio-based economy in Germany.

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