Food
Food
The basic need for food is interconnected with other needs and ecosystem services – air, water, waste management, energy, and more. Problems in one system tend to multiply into other areas. But solutions can also be multiplied. For reasons of food safety and health, cities are increasingly engaging in food policies and urban farming.
A salad of ecosystem funtions
Food policies include meat-free days, school lunches, local procurement and regulation of restaurants. Agriculture near or in cities reduces the need for transport of food, cutting a city’s dependence on fossil fuels, and reducing emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants. When urban agriculture is combined with waste recycling, composting, and wastewater irrigation, cities are solving several problems at once. Today nearly 15% of the world’s food is supplied by urban farming, increasing cities’ resilience as well as providing employment and community building.
A salad of ecosystem funtions
Food policies include meat-free days, school lunches, local procurement and regulation of restaurants. Agriculture near or in cities reduces the need for transport of food, cutting a city’s dependence on fossil fuels, and reducing emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants. When urban agriculture is combined with waste recycling, composting, and wastewater irrigation, cities are solving several problems at once. Today nearly 15% of the world’s food is supplied by urban farming, increasing cities’ resilience as well as providing employment and community building.
