Food for the Cities
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> FCIT > Food security, nutrition and livelihoods
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As people move to towns in search of better opportunities, accelerating urbanization brings new challenges. More people in urban areas mean that more food, more goods, more services and more employment opportunities must be provided.
While there are certainly more foods available year round, and more jobs and social services in urban areas, not everyone is able to benefit equally. A growing number of urban poor face a daily struggle to feed their families adequately. People who move to cities must adopt new methods of acquiring, preparing and eating food. Poor shelter, lack of sanitation and hygiene and insufficient social services in slum areas further compound the problems of the poor.
Excessive intake of energy, coupled with limited physical activity, lead to rising problems of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases in most cities. These problems are increasingly found among the poorer sectors of society, where it is not uncommon to find overweight and obese adults living with underweight children, amid widespread micronutrient deficiencies.
Focusing on food security, nutrition and livelihoods in urban and peri-urban areas is a pre-requisite for helping poor city-dwellers attain a healthier life, and enable city authorities and local governments to broaden their strategy towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Selected documents- FAO publications on Urban Nutrition
- UNDESA, expert paper on "Nutrition, lifestyle, obesity", 2011
- IIED and UNFPA, The food price crisis and urban food (in)security, 2009
- FAO, Fighting Hunger and Obesity, 2006
- FAO paper. Urban and Periurban Agriculture, Household Food Security and Nutrition, FAO-ETC/RUAF electronic conference, 2000
- City level assessment and consultation on food and nutrition security in seven slum areas in Bhuj, India Project report
- Urban Agriculture Magazine "Food Policies are essential for Healthy Cities", special edition for the World Food Summit, 2001
- Urban Agriculture, Household Food Security and Nutrition in Southern Africa, 2001
- Guides référentiels sur l'alimentation et l'agriculture à Madagascar (GRAAM) (in French) (interactive document and edited document), 2001
- FAO, Food, Nutrition and Agriculture 1 - Food for the Future (multi-language), 1991
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