Food products and the nutrients (including fresh water) they contain have many different uses according to their nature and condition. As the Food Recovery Hierarchy in Figure 5.5 shows, systems and institutions are required to optimize the societal value derived from surplus food on multiple levels, starting with reducing surplus food in the value chain as early as possible. Composting and incineration should only be considered once all other avenues have been pursued.
Although most existing approaches focus on tackling food waste through large suppliers (such as supermarkets), a study carried out in Chicago shows that residents can generate nearly twice as much food waste as businesses on an annual basis (Pai, Ai and Zheng 2019). The study also reveals that there is a spatial mismatch between food waste generators and potential users, and highlights the need to consider both large and small food generators (for example, convenience stores and restaurants) in relation to local users to enhance food reuse and recovery.
Progress towards more inclusive, resilient and environmentally sustainable urban food systems cannot be achieved overnight and requires the long-term commitment of local governments as well as integrated, multilevel,
Figure 5.5: The food recovery hierarchy Most Preferred
Feed hungry people Source reduction
Industrial uses Feed animals
Composting
Landfill / Inciner- ation
Least Preferred Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency 2021 Box 5.3: Case study – Improving access to healthy and nutritious food in Quito, Ecuador
The Participatory Urban Agriculture Project (AGRUPAR) was launched in 2002 by the Municipality of the Metropolitan District of Quito as a strategy to improve access to healthy and nutritious food and to provide livelihood opportunities, especially for female heads of household. Over the years, training programmes supporting more than 21,000 people have operated in more than 3,600 urban gardens in and around the city. AGRUPAR participants produce more than 870,000 kg of food per year (Paredes 2019). In 2015, Quito became one of eight cities throughout the world to test and implement the City Region Food System project, building an agrifood policy for the city region in a participatory manner. Quito’s main objective is to become a city where food is a right for all through a horizontal approach that seeks to improve health, sustainability, resilience, equity, education and economic development (Dueñas 2019).
In promoting and supporting urban food production, AGRUPAR has also helped close nutrient cycles. It is estimated that each participating family composts 12.5 kg of kitchen scraps on average per week, resulting in approximately 1,820 tons of organic waste being recycled each year (FAO 2015). The increased availability of fresh produce in the city also reduces the need for food to be imported from rural areas and other countries, leading to reductions in food costs, fossil fuel usage, air pollution and emissions.
Achieving Urban Transformation: From Visions to Pathways 103
Reduce the volume of surplus food generated Donate extra food to food banks, soup kitchens and shelters Divert food scpraps to animal food
Provide waste oils rendering and fuel conversion and food scraps for digestion to recover energy Create a nutrient-rich soil amendment Last resort to disposal
contextually-appropriate approaches. The Participatory Urban Agriculture Project (AGRUPAR) illustrates the multiple gains that can be achieved over time when citizens participate in the planning of a City Region Food System (Box 5.3).
Seeking transformative change through urban food systems requires moving beyond total food production and total consumption at the national level to the individual, household, community and city levels, since it is at these levels where many living in food deserts go hungry amid stacked supermarket shelves and bustling markets, and where multiple entry points can be pursued to build resilient, equitable and environmentally sustainable systems. Participatory processes that include those disadvantaged by the current food system play an essential role in identifying where support is required.
Geo Cities Ch 5, Fig. 5: Food Recovery Hierarchy
The case studies demonstrate how initial actions and resultant circular economy pathways related to urban metabolism and resource flows can significantly impact how resources flow into cities and how waste flows out of them. These pathways link to the first dimension discussed in chapter 4 (net-zero circular city) and should be combined with the decarbonization pathway (section 5.3) to ensure the dimension’s full achievement and impact.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146
