Global food systems cities depend on harm the climate, but ‘local’ may not always mean that

Given the immense impact that #food production has on climate change, it is no surprise that #localism is seen as a key ingredient in a #sustainable city. But the line between what can be perceived as local and #global can get blurred.

The global system of food production has increased production and brought new products and tastes to cities around the world. But looking at the impacts of the food system globally, agriculture and fisheries drive significant environmental change, which undermines the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The industrialised food systems have led to around 60% of global biodiversity loss on land while 33% of commercial fish populations are over exploited. They are also responsible for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. Yes at the same time, a third of all food is not eaten, instead going to waste between the points of production and consumption.

Projections by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization show that feeding a likely world population of 9.1 billion people in 2050 will require raising overall food production by some 70% compared with output in 2007. Another way of looking at it is that urban expansion in many parts of the world is taking place more rapidly than the food system may be able to cope with.

This is why international arenas such as the UN’s New Urban Agenda have highlighted the need to support urban agriculture and farming and to encourage responsible, local and sustainable consumption and production. One of the responses to the desire for urban sustainability is the idea of localised urban food systems and their potential for providing climate resilience, community building, knowledge sharing, as well as just providing food. The idea is to create an alternative to the existing food system by moving production and delivery nearer to the point of consumption that is economically viable, environmentally sound and socially just.

Blurred lines

One example is the farmers’ market, which is ubiquitous across London and in other UK cities, where producers bring their fruit, veg, breaks and meat products directly to consumers. However, their small scale and high quality mean the prices can be higher than in the shops, leading to them being dismissed as accessible only for wealthier parts of the local community, not all.

The veggie box is another response to a desire for more local supplies as well as finding an outlet for products that are rejected by supermarkets for being imperfect in some way and thus ending up in landfill. They often come with details of the origin of the fruit and vegetables, which indicates the absence of “air miles” in their delivery and also provides a connection between the consumer and the farmer.

However, the issue of the environmental impact of the supply of food is tricky. Some consumers feel understandably uncomfortable with the ideas of buying produce airlifted from faraway countries to provide out-of-season options in the supermarket. However local suppliers might indeed be using more intensive and less efficient systems of production or transport.closer to atives “depending on how and where they were grown”.

A long read by the philosopher Julian Baggini in the Financial Times gave a useful insight into the complexity of these calculations. He cites studies showing how imported foods, such as lettuces grown in Spanish fields during the British winter, have a lower carbon footprint than local alternatives "depending ion where and how they were grown".

Local is therefore not always sustainable. Baggini points to nitrogen storage technology that enables British suppliers to deliver locally produced items later, but which may lead to greater greenhouse gas emissions than fruit flown in from South America in the off season.

Another hazard is in the meaning of local. The same article talks to the owner of an independent Bristol delicatessen and tapas bar, El Comado (which the FT named in 2021 as one of the top 50 food stores in the world). Owner David Pavon says that in his view local means benefitting the local economy. However the owner of a nearby veggie box delivery service says shoppers should ask local businesses “how local really are you? What does that mean?”

The line between what can be perceived as local and global will inevitably become blurred and may sometimes be non-existent. Shoppers can be forgiven for struggling to work out what a local urban food system looks like.