More efficient urban food chains
Through the analysis of current food chains in urbanised areas, the FOODMETRES (Food planning and innovation for sustainable metropolitan regions) project identified opportunities to increase and diversify agriculture and food supply but also shorten food chains in metropolitan regions, including their urban, peri-urban and rural areas. This came as a response to increasing urban demand for sustainable, safe and healthy food on the basis of evidence-based decision-making. The questions discussed in the context of this project covered subjects such as food production, processing and logistics, offering socially and economically conscious solutions that are also sustainable and resource efficient. Project researchers collaborated with the relevant industry stakeholders after having gained technical and institutional insight by studying six metropolitan regions in Africa and Europe. The development of a set of complementary tools was capital to FOODMETRES' approach. Three metropolitan footprint tools based on state-of-the-art European datasets were designed to frame, communicate and manage the impacts of urban food consumption on metropolitan regions. Two of these tools – the Metropolitan Foodscape Planner (MFP) and the Metropolitan Areas Profiles and Scenario (MAPS) tool allow the provision of detailed insights on the ecological footprint of urban food consumption as well as indications of optimal food sheds for higher food security. Additional output included, references such as innovation storylines linking food chain characteristics to innovation domains and performance indicators, as well as a typology for short food supply chains as input to knowledge brokerage (KB) workshops. Through these tools for bottom-up processes on the basis of innovation storylines and European data-driven top-down tools like the food demand-supply scenarios, FOODMETRES sought to bridge the gap in the international dimensions of food policy, between trade and consumption on one hand and regional reality and local actors and consumers on the other. Researchers applied their assessment tools to different food chains ranging from community-backed agriculture in London, Ljubljana and Berlin, to subsistence farming methods in Nairobi and large-scale greenhouse glass production in Rotterdam-Westland. These tools serve other city regions and will continue to ensure the dissemination and implementation of research results being offered on KB platforms. The project's new technology for assessing food chains and their sustainability impact will hopefully translate great advancements in the sustainability of urban food production.
Keywords
Food chains, urban areas, FOODMETRES, metropolitan region, agriculture