Feeding the future: what role for cities?

Globally, food systems are becoming sites of ‘experimentation and contestation’ as state and civil society actors gain awareness of their environmental, public health and social justice ramifications.[1] In the context of climate change and a burgeoning global population, all food system activities—production, processing, packaging, distribution, retailing, and consumption—are under increased scrutiny. This is evident in highly urbanised nations like Australia, where industrialised food systems interact with the spatial form and socio-economic inequalities of cities to produce perverse outcomes including non-communicable diseases and food insecurity. Although food policy is not a traditional focus of city-level governments, cities are now leading the charge to create more environmentally sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems. Using the city of Melbourne, Australia as a case study, this article will examine how this transformation is occurring through integrated city planning, alternative food networks, and urban agriculture.

City-food system interactions in Australia

The challenge of feeding Australia’s growing population has a distinctly urban dimension. Approximately 83 per cent of Australians reside in capital cities, and of the forecast national population growth of 11.8 million by 2046, 75 per cent is expected to occur in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.[2]­[3] While cities are hubs of innovation and cultural diversity, they often have large ecological footprints.[4] For example, research suggests that Melbourne will require at least 60 per cent more food by 2050.[5] Meeting this demand will be challenging within the current ‘productionist paradigm’.[6] Characterised by large-scale, mechanised farming of monocultures reliant on cheap fossil fuels inputs, the sector has contributed to soil degradation, water scarcity, and approximately 13 per cent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.[7]–[8] Urban expansion is also associated with the loss of fertile peri-urban farmland, which in the state of Victoria accounts for around 59 per cent of vegetable production.[9] Even with such local production capacity, Australian cities remain largely reliant on long, complex supply chains to meet food demand.[10] Consequently, urban consumers have become disconnected from the origins of their food, arguably making it easier for them to disregard its ecological consequences, such as food waste.[11]

Australian cities have also become ‘placeless foodscapes’ whereby most fresh produce is available year round regardless of seasonality, while traditional culinary cultures are disappearing from households.[12] For example, Indigenous youth living in urban areas may have limited experiences of customary food sharing practices and ‘bush tucker’, although this is increasingly marketed to tourists.[13] The placeless nature of Australia’s urban food systems is also reinforced by the market concentration of the grocery sector, with three major supermarkets controlling 60 per cent of fresh food sales, reducing the market share of small-scale, independent retailers.[14] Limited diversity, along with the major supermarkets’ use of sophisticated ‘just-in-time’ logistics—allowing them to keep limited stockpiles—reduces the level of redundancy and resilience in the food system. This is problematic given projections of more frequent extreme weather events under climate change that could disrupt Australia’s road transport network­. [10]

The dietary impacts of city living are also significant, and urbanisation is associated with greater consumption of convenience foods processed or prepared outside of the home, more sedentary lifestyles, and increased risk of non-communicable diseases.[15] Australia is generally considered ‘food secure’ because domestic farmers provide 90 per cent of fresh food consumed by Australians and export enough food for over 40 million people.[16] Despite this abundance, food security only exists ‘when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods’.[17] By this definition, low-income households, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, refugees, the homeless, older people and those living with disabilities are more likely to experience food insecurity.[18] Indeed, urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are three to six times more likely to be food insecure than their non-Indigenous counterparts; and also experience higher rates of obesity.[19]–[20] Such trends are not particularly visible in cities, where Indigenous people often belong to heterogeneous and dispersed communities, which may lead outsiders to question their Aboriginality.[19] Socio-economic inequalities are also being exacerbated by urban gentrification, which can displace low-income households to the city periphery where access to transport determines access to healthy food.[21] Moreover, in the context of climate change, urban food security will likely be affected by rising food, fuel, and utility costs, placing further financial stress on low-income households.[22] Despite these clear interactions between food and the environmental, health, and social justice outcomes of urban environments, city governments have only recently become more involved in food policy.

The New Urban Food Agenda

Over the past decade, cities have turned their attention to solving the above problems through a new urban food policy agenda. The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact established in 2015 highlights the crucial role of cities in shaping sustainable food systems through integrated policy development.[23] Indeed, city governments are in a unique position to influence food systems through the levers of ‘land use planning, infrastructure development, transport, environmental conservation, housing and economic and community development’.[21] Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), city governments are seeking to address interlinked challenges such as: ensuring food security and improving nutrition (SDG 2), improving health and well-being (SDG 3), and making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SDG 11).[24] In doing so, they must promote urban food systems that operate within planetary boundaries, for example, through policies that support a circular bio-economy approach to minimise food waste, or encourage increased consumption of plant-based foods.[25]?[26]

Cities could also promote a ‘cosmopolitan localism’ approach to sourcing food sustainably, which balances local products from short supply chains with responsibly produced and traded imports that contribute to culturally appropriate diets for immigrant populations.[27] This multi-dimensional issue demonstrates the need for cities to support inclusive food systems by incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives and knowledge into planning and decision-making. One mechanism for achieving this is the formation of advisory bodies—such as the Food Policy Councils of Bristol and Toronto—which bring together government, private sector, and civil society actors over multiple scales and policy arenas. Cities can also build inclusivity by forging positive linkages with surrounding rural areas that encourage more geographically even economic development.[25]

Inclusive city governments breed resilience, as the resultant information exchange and networks created lead to better cohesion and responsiveness within food systems during emergency situations.[28] Therefore, the advent of a new urban food agenda is prompting city level governments to create more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems.

Operationalising the new urban food agenda

Melbourne provides a leading example of how cities can positively shape sustainable food systems through integrated planning and supporting alternative food networks and urban agriculture. The City of Melbourne’s holistic Food Policy highlights its key responsibilities for food systems governance: education and community development, leadership and advocacy, building and strengthening partnerships, regulation and infrastructure management, and research.[22] The recently established Melbourne Food Alliance will play a key role in operationalising this policy, bringing together experts in food production, supply and distribution, diet and nutrition, access, waste, local government, and academia to establish projects and partnerships for food systems reform.[29]

Another key example of integrated food planning in Melbourne was the state government funded ‘Food for All’ project, which ran from 2005 to 2010.[30] Major outcomes of this project included the establishment of home grocery delivery services for vulnerable residents, a community bus that travels weekly to low-income areas and schools to sell fruits and vegetables, and school-based kitchen gardens that integrate knowledge about ‘gardening, composting, healthy eating and cooking’ into the curriculum.[31]

Alongside such local government initiatives, a range of alternative food networks based on the principles of ‘small, slow and shared’ have emerged in Melbourne.[32] For example, the CERES Environment Park runs ‘Fair Food’—an ethical, affordable food delivery service that sources seasonal fruit and vegetables from local farmers. The service aims to pay farmers a fair price, employs asylum seekers, and invests its profits in environmental education.[33]

A further alternative food network that services Melbourne’s urban indigenous population is the Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place. This community organisation hosts a food cooperative that receives donations of surplus fruits and vegetables and distributes them to people in need in exchange for their time volunteering at the organisation. The cooperative has been highly successful as it positions Indigenous people as active members of their community rather than passive recipients of welfare.31 The City of Melbourne connects its citizens to such initiatives through its ‘Community Food Guide’ that lists food-related networks, services, and education providers.[34]

In Melbourne the relationship between food and the city is also being reshaped by urban agriculture (UA). This term encompasses community gardens, city farms, guerrilla gardening, backyard, balcony and rooftop gardens, as well as technologically innovative practices like Building-Integrated Agriculture and Vertical Farming.[10],[35] In Australia, consumer concerns about the health and environmental implications of conventional food systems have led to increased demand for local products, including those produced within the city.[35]

However, reviews of UA’s potential contribution to sustainable food systems are mixed. UA may help to realise synergies between built and natural environments and human activities, a key factor in achieving SDG 11.[36] For example, it has the potential to mitigate the urban heat island effect, make productive use of small, underutilised urban spaces, and improve nutrient cycling through re-using organic and water wastes.[37]–[38] Yet, these benefits are dependent on the specific location and practices used. In terms of public health, participation in UA is linked to greater access to fruits and vegetables, increased physical activity, and stronger social networks.[31]Many UA practitioners are also part of non-market economies whereby food surpluses are exchanged or gifted to other community members, thus reversing the notion of food as a commodity. Those involved in the CERES Urban Orchard Project in Melbourne not only share fresh produce, but also horticultural and culinary knowledge and novel seeds.[32]In this way UA can contribute to the diversity of food in the city, and may help people to reconnect with their cultural food traditions.

Although UA is unlikely to make cities food self-sufficient, it may build overall food system resilience by supplementing food supplies in the event of a major supply chain disruption.[10] Despite its advantages, critics question the social justice credentials of UA, which requires significant time, skills, physical capacity, and land to grow food, potentially prohibiting involvement of disadvantaged demographics.[39]

The City of Melbourne actively supports UA, for example through financial support for community projects and educational workshops on growing food in small spaces.[40] However going forward, key challenges will include UA’s infrastructure requirements, the lack of data on current UA production, and growing competition for land and water in cities. Indeed, Melbourne’s redensification strategy to reduce urban sprawl is likely to raise urban land prices, and may reduce the viability of UA.[41] This underlines the challenge of managing trade-offs in integrated planning, and reconciling the goals of multiple actors.

While Melbourne’s local councils and alternative food networks have taken important actions to improve food system sustainability, the underlying problems of industrialised food systems require state and federal government attention. Nevertheless, by aligning local actions across cities, it may be possible to scale up to a ‘trans-local urban food movement to leverage the power of the public realm to deliver more ambitious reform of the food system’ in future.[42]

Conclusion

Cities have emerged at the vanguard of food systems innovation. This is because the environmental, public health, and social justice impacts of unsustainable food systems are clearly manifested in cities—impacts that are likely to be intensified by climate change and rapid urbanisation. Furthermore, city-level governments control major levers of food systems change such as transport and community development. Consequently, cities like Melbourne have shifted focus to integrated urban policy and planning that fosters more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems. Alongside this change, the rise of alternative food networks and urban agriculture in Melbourne is creating positive city-food interactions outside of traditional market-based perspectives. As each city faces unique challenges, it is important that food policies are context specific, however future opportunities for trans-local food systems governance should be embraced.

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