How and why do local food policies emerge and consolidate?

Over recent years, the international community has gradually acknowledged that the way food systems are evolving needs to be coupled with sustainability. The need to develop sustainable forms of food production, distribution and consumption is as a matter of fact at the core of the ecological transition. Strengthening local systems of food and supporting a sustainable circular economy might be the only way to try to address the various challenges presented by current food system failures.

Since – as stated by the UN – by 2050 66% of the world population will live in urban areas, the role played by cities, in both global North and South, is crucial in tackling climate change and fostering adaptation measures for food security. 

In this panorama, an increasing number of cities around the world have begun to implement new urban food strategies. The fundamental feature of sustainable urban food strategies is the strong attention to justice and rights, which is summed up in the concept of food citizenship: the practice of engaging in food-related behaviours that support the development of a democratic, accessible, socially, and economically just and environmentally sustainable food system.

Thus, these cities are moving towards the creation of institutional arenas – food policy councils, for example – to accelerate the process of agglomeration and innovation in local food systems, supporting and promoting issues of environmental, social, and economic sustainability.