Cities bring food to the table
The transition to more sustainable food systems can’t happen without cities. Similarly, a climate neutral and just Europe can’t be reached without ambitious food policies. It’s crucial that upcoming food policies at EU and national level keep a high level of ambition, recognise cities’ key role and support them in their food system transformation journey.
Food and agriculture significantly impact our societies and our planet. We are living in a time of successive crises, punctuated by the current war in Ukraine, the energy and cost of living crisis. With disturbance in food supply chains and more cities aiming to become climate neutral, as demonstrated by the results of the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey, food systems cannot be neglected.
The transition to more sustainable food systems can’t happen without cities. Similarly, a climate neutral and just Europe can’t be reached without ambitious food policies. It’s crucial that upcoming food policies at EU and national level keep a high level of ambition, recognise cities’ key role and support them in their food system transformation journey.
Food and agriculture significantly impact our societies and our planet. We are living in a time of successive crises, punctuated by the current war in Ukraine, the energy and cost of living crisis. With disturbance in food supply chains and more cities aiming to become climate neutral, as demonstrated by the results of the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey, food systems cannot be neglected.
The impact of food
Some of the biggest challenges Europe and the world face nowadays are related to food systems. In Europe alone, the current food system is contributing to 30% of the European share of global greenhouse gas emissions, with 24% coming from animal-based-food and 6% from food loss and waste.
The need for arable soil to grow crops for feeding livestock results in a high pressure on land use, biodiversity, and water resources.
Unhealthy diets associated with a high intake of red meat, sugar, and saturated fats are linked with several non-communicable diseases that are contributing to more than 70% of all deaths in Europe.
How did we get here and where are we going?
In the past years, cities have tested new solutions, realising both successes and downfalls. They have worked and exchanged their experiences and insights on food policies. They have learned from each other and brought what they learned to the EU level.
Supported by Eurocities, this advocacy work made EU funded projects like Food Trails and CLEVERFOOD possible, giving cities more resources and opportunities to exchange, test and implement food actions. Today, cities have another opportunity to use the knowledge and expertise they developed to feed into the upcoming EU proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems and other connected legislation.
In March 2023, Eurocities and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact organised the first high-level event gathering cities’ elected representatives and EU decision-makers.
The event opened a new space for dialogue between cities and the EU, and Eurocities will continue to share municipalities’ voices and perspectives with the EU level, notably through its involvement in the Advisory Group on Sustainability of Food Systems, and more broadly. For example, via campaigns showcasing cities’ achievements and visions.
As a local politician, and the first alderman to have the protein transition in his portfolio, I believe we would greatly benefit from clear and consistent policy support by EU policymakers to realise the protein transition.
– Kirsten de Wrede, Alderman in Groningen
The importance of food environments in cities
Food environments are the “physical, economic, political and socio-cultural context in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring,
preparing and consuming food,” reads the Food Policy Coalition report.
By working on supporting healthy food environments, cities can bring positive change to people’s consumption patterns.
The choices we make about food and the impacts they have are shaped by the contexts within which they are made. Food policies can create healthy food environments ensuring that foods, beverages and meals that contribute to sustainable healthy diets are the most available, accessible, affordable, pleasurable and widely promoted.
Operating across working areas and government levels
Many cities across Europe already see the added value of developing integrated food policies, which support them to reach their environmental and climate objectives and link to their social and economic development policies.
One essential learning point for all cities working on food policies is to apply a crosssectoral approach. When developing them, local authorities can’t escape the connected nature of food systems, where activities related to agriculture, the climate, the environment, health, education and social issues are all intertwined. Food policies are not only about food: they can address a wider range of issues and enable many co-benefits.
Today, the main message from Eurocities member cities to the EU is simple: cities are change-makers, but they need cooperation at all levels of governance. For this, they want a clear role in the new European food framework. If some cities have already worked on urban food policies for years and tested different solutions, additional efforts can be limited by a lack of competencies and resources and, for this, they need a clear cooperation framework.
The upcoming EU legislation can provide a frame for multi-level cooperation recognising the key role of cities in the food transition. Cities expect the European Commission to decide on clear and binding provisions for EU member states and regions to consult with local authorities when developing their strategies. Making such consultations optional hasn’t worked well in the past.
Local food policies should be anchored in cooperation with other levels of governance so that cities can operationalise food systems transformation. In turn, cities can implement food policies locally, consulting and involving all local actors and above all residents, making sure no one is left behind.
What cities do
Another power cities use is urban planning. They can promote access to land in and around the city for food production and community growing projects. They support local food markets by making them more accessible by foot or public transport. Cities like Copenhagen, Milan, and Bordeaux Metropole have accumulated experience using these powers strategically and can share evidence and help other cities.
Food policies in cities
The EU-funded Food Trails project, in which Eurocities has a leading role, has analysed existing policies by looking into the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact awards – the biggest database of urban food policies to date, with 370+ examples from cities around the world and 159+ from Europe alone.
Therefore, municipalities welcome the intention to set minimum procurement criteria at the EU level, especially since the European Commission recognises the need for a progressive introduction and adaptation to local circumstances and national contexts paired with capacity building and training of officials.
However, which criteria and how to measure them are still under discussion. Here’s where data from experiences such as Copenhagen, Milan, Vienna, Guimaraes, Metropolitan Area and Metropolitan Area can inform decisions.
Such data is also crucial when it comes to food waste, an issue where cities like Milan, Warsaw and Ostend have found ways to combine multiple benefits. For example, they prevent food waste in public canteens, redistribute food surplus to food banks, low-income households, and refugees or turn waste into compost or biogas.
Food aid is also an important component of food policies. Although cities’ competences in this area vary, they act on the ground ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food for all. Milan, Groningen and Birmingham tackle food poverty and deliver access to food aid locally using a variety of tools and instruments to support associations and food banks. Others, like Warsaw, are now looking to make their food aid solutions more cohesive and need support in doing so.
What are cities doing?
Collaborating towards better food systems
An example is local food councils, where cities engage and co-create food policies with all actors in the food journey. Some cities build additional partnerships to reach out to marginalised groups and guarantee access to healthy food for all while respecting everyone’s background. This is the case of Birmingham, which, thanks to its food strategy, sets collaborations with social organisations, and has involved LGBT+ groups, migrant communities, ethnic minorities, neurodiverse people and others.
In the context of a flawed global food system and numerous crises, we established the Warsaw Food Lab – a cooperation and co-creation platform for food system stakeholders.
– Karolina Zdrodowska, Head Director for Entrepreneurship and Public Dialogue in Warsaw
The role of participation in policies
Approaches to participatory policies in cities are very context-specific, as they are influenced by how the administration is structured and by their tradition of inclusion.
Having a more inclusive approach to urban food policies is key to developing more effective policies because both beneficiaries and other stakeholders are involved – which might support changes at a more systemic level.
Food policy councils do seem to be emerging as the most prominent medium for implementing participatory approaches.
If involving all stakeholders is crucial for effective and sustainable food policies, opportunities for cities to exchange challenges and solutions can help them fast-forward their process. Thessaloniki, for example, went from not having food on its radar to creating the first food council in Greece thanks to the discussions and support from other Food Trails project partners and is now ready to lead the way for other Greek cities. Another Food Trails partner, Bordeaux Metropolitan Area, has improved its Food Council, established in 2017, by acquiring the commitment of a larger number of food stakeholders and fostering local governance.
In addition to projects, political initiatives like the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, the Eurocities Working Group on Food, or the Green Cities Initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations also have a valuable role in sharing knowledge and capacity building.
We now support the development of an agroecological production that preserves biodiversity, adapts to climate change, and provides a better income for the territory’s 148 farmers, breeders, and cereal and wine growers.
– Patrick Papadato, Vice-President in charge of Nature, Biodiversity and Food Resilience Strategy in Bordeaux Metropolitan Area
Innovative funding
If cities wish the EU to recognise their clear role in the food transition, they also observe a lack of resources to finance food actions and policies and ensure long-term positive impacts on food systems. In fact, according to the results of the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey, only 3% of mayors think that EU funding is set to make a difference in this area, in which only 23% of mayors anticipate having adequate resources in the coming five years. Through Food Trails, cities are testing the option to use data on the impact of food solutions to attract private investments.
Warsaw’s experience goes in this direction as the city bases its approach on the data it has collected. For example, as part of Food Trails, Warsaw’s ‘Food Lab’ mapped the food flows in the city to identify where there is food waste in the case of restaurateurs, to assess stakeholders’ needs, and to find bottlenecks in food distribution from the food banks.
In Thessaloniki, the private sector is responsible for almost all the food produced, sold and consumed. So, when the city launched its first food policy council, thanks to the Food Trails project, it included associations, NGOs and businesses working actively on sustainable production, consumption and urban agriculture in ways to achieve climate neutrality. Ostend’s collaboration with the private sector resulted in healthier meals for care home residents, by joining food and social issues.
The proposal for an EU Sustainable Food Systems Framework law is scheduled to be published by September 2023 and cities are hoping it will confirm their prominent role and give them more tools to continue their work towards more sustainable, healthier, and more inclusive food systems.
