2 Reassessment of Urban Sustainability …
43
food have been largely ignored—the availability of healthy, bioactive ingredients of
food which are much needed to strengthen the immunity system,ensuring food safety
and taking stringent measures to avoid virus spread among the stakeholders of food
supply chain, taking care of food sustainability in the long run.
With the increasing level of poverty in the cities, food insecurity has also been on
the rise. The cost of food has gone up much higher in major cities of Latin American,
West African and East Asian countries and is often beyond the means of urban poor
due to insufficient and unreliable food supplies from rural and foreign sources, urban
food production has expanded enormously since the 1970s. It is needless to say that
worldwide the urban demand of food will continue to rise and thus, eventually the
large cities have to take initiatives for agricultural production within urban areas or
in the urban fringe to reduce the large-scale import.
The concept of food system resilience concerning financial capital (production
infrastructure), social capital (connections) and human capital (knowledge) covers
the issues like food—security, availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability [20]
and these can be easily attained by the urban community if there is the reach to the
affordable local food systems. As per Drakakis-Smith [16], the urban food system
has three main components: food-producing areas (domestic rural and urban along
with foreign), marketing networks and urban consumption centres. For achieving
security and resilience the risk management strategies have to involve—diversification of produce, substitution of items, entrepreneurship of the locals, cooperation
among the regional players, healthy competition, inclusiveness and connectivity
among several other factors. HLPE [27] did provide a detailed definition of food
system, relating elements, activities and outputs. Only lip service about ‘farm to
plate’ will not help, the dynamic interaction among the factors have to be dealt in
a holistic way, then only the local food systems serving the urban areas within or
nearby the cities can flourish.
2.5.2 Globalisation and Urbanisation
Simai [48] defined globalisation as ‘the entirety of such universal processes as technological transformation; interdependence caused by mass communications; trade
and capital flows; homogenization and standardization of production and consumption; the predominance of the world market in trade, investment and other corporate
transactions; special and institutional integration of markets; and growing identity
or similarity of economic regulations, institutions, and policies’. Globalisation has
facilitated massive exchange of information and ideas through modern technological advances. This has led to widespread assimilation of cultures and tolerance to
diversity.
But there are certain negative aspects involved too. The autonomy of local communities is often compromised and unnecessary excessive dependence on foreign
commodity develops. The emergence and prominence of Multi-National Companies (MNCs), having little understanding about socio-economic fabric of the local
43
food have been largely ignored—the availability of healthy, bioactive ingredients of
food which are much needed to strengthen the immunity system,ensuring food safety
and taking stringent measures to avoid virus spread among the stakeholders of food
supply chain, taking care of food sustainability in the long run.
With the increasing level of poverty in the cities, food insecurity has also been on
the rise. The cost of food has gone up much higher in major cities of Latin American,
West African and East Asian countries and is often beyond the means of urban poor
due to insufficient and unreliable food supplies from rural and foreign sources, urban
food production has expanded enormously since the 1970s. It is needless to say that
worldwide the urban demand of food will continue to rise and thus, eventually the
large cities have to take initiatives for agricultural production within urban areas or
in the urban fringe to reduce the large-scale import.
The concept of food system resilience concerning financial capital (production
infrastructure), social capital (connections) and human capital (knowledge) covers
the issues like food—security, availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability [20]
and these can be easily attained by the urban community if there is the reach to the
affordable local food systems. As per Drakakis-Smith [16], the urban food system
has three main components: food-producing areas (domestic rural and urban along
with foreign), marketing networks and urban consumption centres. For achieving
security and resilience the risk management strategies have to involve—diversification of produce, substitution of items, entrepreneurship of the locals, cooperation
among the regional players, healthy competition, inclusiveness and connectivity
among several other factors. HLPE [27] did provide a detailed definition of food
system, relating elements, activities and outputs. Only lip service about ‘farm to
plate’ will not help, the dynamic interaction among the factors have to be dealt in
a holistic way, then only the local food systems serving the urban areas within or
nearby the cities can flourish.
2.5.2 Globalisation and Urbanisation
Simai [48] defined globalisation as ‘the entirety of such universal processes as technological transformation; interdependence caused by mass communications; trade
and capital flows; homogenization and standardization of production and consumption; the predominance of the world market in trade, investment and other corporate
transactions; special and institutional integration of markets; and growing identity
or similarity of economic regulations, institutions, and policies’. Globalisation has
facilitated massive exchange of information and ideas through modern technological advances. This has led to widespread assimilation of cultures and tolerance to
diversity.
But there are certain negative aspects involved too. The autonomy of local communities is often compromised and unnecessary excessive dependence on foreign
commodity develops. The emergence and prominence of Multi-National Companies (MNCs), having little understanding about socio-economic fabric of the local