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Cities2030

How can the food system be regulated more sustainably?

Food systems are crucial in many respects, not least when it comes to public health. And yet, little attention has been paid to transforming them into more sustainable systems. Are you aware of the entire chain of production behind your mashed potato, roast ham or Swiss cheese? Which players have a hand in getting food products into your kitchen? Take the example of cow’s milk: to weigh up the impact of production—the true costs involved—we need to take into account what the cow is fed, where it lives, where it is slaughtered, what energy this requires and more. It is a broad, extensive system with many dependencies. As a result, the Dutch market can be affected by all sorts of factors—even the price of raw materials in Argentina.

Cities2030 is on the hunt for local solutions. The starting point is a desire to work together in co-creation with all partners who play a role in sustainable challenges and food systems. In locally organised labs, visionaries, strategic partners from industry, universities, students, social scientists and big-data analysts are coming together to work on practical policy solutions and ideas. A widely recognised challenge is the lack of regulation and oversight of the food system. Cities2030 aims to trigger large-scale action with a focus on four goals:

  1. ensuring access to healthy and sustainable food
  2. ending food poverty and insecurity
  3. protecting and conserving natural resources
  4. improving local food ties and circularity.

New, local policy solutions can improve vulnerable urban food systems exactly where these solutions have the most impact. Community-driven solutions and greater ownership of the food environment will contribute to healthier local communities. Cities2030 aims to turn citizens from passive recipients into active participants and agents of change. The ultimate goal is to trigger policy developments, innovations within result-focused labs and improvements at a pan-European level.

Cities2030 emerged from the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) concluded in 2014 between more than 100 cities worldwide. The signatories have committed to addressing food-related issues in urban areas, with some 40 actions that cities can take. These actions are divided into six categories: governance, sustainable food and diets, social and economic justice, food production, food supply and distribution, and food waste.

Funding
Cities2030 is funded by the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme of the European Union.

Partners: Cities2030 is related to Food 2030, an EU initiative focused on reforming the European food system.

This project is linked to the following SDG's: 

  • SDG 2: Zero hunger
  • SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing
  • SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
  • SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
  • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.

To illustrate how a lab can work in practice, we spoke with Stephan Kooijman, advisor on sustainable economy for the municipality of Haarlem and the inspired leader of a food lab in Haarlem, and Dr Suzanne van Osch, work-package leader of Cities2030 and lecturer at VU Amsterdam. 

Read the stories of Dr Suzanne van Osch and Stephan Kooijman.

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Contact

Would you like to get in touch with the initiators?

s.van.osch@vu.nl