Food is at the heart of current and urgent global challenges, particularly the health, social, climate, and ecological emergencies. Food systems can be either a source of problems or a powerful trigger to unlock and advance transformative solutions for societies. The Covid-19 pandemic has had profound effects on our daily life revealing the fragility of our food system and has offered the opportunity for a shared reflection on its interdependent relationship with our Planet. As a matter of fact, the Covid-19 pandemic opened a window of opportunity to accelerate the transformation toward more resilient and sustainable food systems.

Cities are at the forefront in facing current global challenges and they can provide creative solutions to accelerate the urgently needed transition towards more healthy, resilient, just, sustainable food systems that can fulfill everyone’s basic needs as well as those of future generations. More than half of the global population lives in cities where 70% of the food produced worldwide is consumed.

The agri-food system is responsible for 21-37% of global GHG global emissions as well as being a major driver of land degradation, unprecedented biodiversity loss, and water, air, and soil pollution due to the massive use of synthetic fertilizers. The food-climate nexus is evident: in order to tackle the climate emergency, we must urgently transform the dominant way we produce, transport, eat and dispose of food worldwide. In this dynamic, cities are crucial actors as they are major drivers for cultural, social and economic changes and they can design and implement policies quickly affecting millions of people worldwide.

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