Research estimates that the use of natural resources is thirty percent more than the earth can replenish and that the population will have consumed 3 planets worth by the year 2050. This overconsumption of natural resources leads to visible effects such as climate change, ecosystem degradation and unsustainable food systems. To reverse this negative trend, cities are trying to establish sustainable food systems by working jointly in various aspects and projects related to food and ecosystem sustainability. A pioneering country, the United Kingdom, with a network of about 36 cities working in harmony, has various projects that aim in attaining this vision. This paper is focusing above these issues.
Keywords: Sustainable food city, Food security, Consumption pattern, Food system
Abbreviation
GHG: Green House Gas; NGO: Non-Government Organization; SFC: Sustainable Food City
Case Report
How to transform Sustainable Food City (SFC) in the world and alleviate some of the negative trends of the current unsustainable food system and how to implement the United Kingdom
Introduction:
Food is a basic human need. Foods supply nutrients, which is a prerequisite for healthy life and living. In the last 50 years society has witnesses a change in the way food is grown and produced. New technologies made it possible to produce in a more efficient way; intensive systems have emerged on the land through e.g. hybrid plant breeding or intensive livestock rearing. Food is no longer sourced locally or nationally but rather internationally (Lang , 2010). In developing countries, hunger and malnutrition are common place as the cities grow, making food security a major issue (FAO, IFAD and WEP, 2014). Recently, more than half of the population around the globe lives in cities and this proportion continues to grow (WHO, 2015). By understanding the problems of today’s unsustainable food system and having a successful example set by the UK’s Sustainable Food City Network, transferring these gained insights was the fundamental task to be accomplished. The objective of this paper is describing of the negative trends of the current unsustainable food system and how to transform the UK’s concept of Sustainable Food City to other countries in the world.
Discussion
Today’s unsustainable food system
The consequences of the current food system, meaning how food is produced, processed, distributed, accessed, consumed and disposed (illustrated in fig. 1), are diverse (Lang , 2010).
