Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2020·Global

Food systems for resilient futures

Helena Kahiluoto

Food Security

Urban Farm DB summary

An essay written during the pandemic argues for food system resilience, proposing that co-designing contrasting future narratives and developing tools to build adaptive capacity strengthens preparedness for shocks. It contends that supplier-buyer diversity matters most in market-led global food chains, while farm and crop diversity matters more in publicly protected regions, in responding to variability in weather, price and policy. During events such as international conflict or a pandemic, diverse food sourcing -- from local producer-consumer cooperatives to community-supported and urban agriculture -- could help secure food for citizens. The piece presents no empirical data or case analysis.