Community food security

Relative to food security, community food security added several new concerns and objectives. These include:

• advocating solutions to address systemic hunger problems that rely more on the local food system than on national or global safety nets, including welfare and relief;
• addressing both the availability of and access to food along a continuum from the individual to global levels (with a particular emphasis on the community);
• dealing with where and how food is produced in addition to the more classic question how much is produced (quality of diet, not just quantity); and
• empowering individuals and organizations through community food initiatives. 

Beyond the issue of access to food, community food security emphasizes the viability of the farms where the food is grown, ecological sustainability of its production, and more community control of food production and distribution among others. Community food initiatives can empower residents and community-based organizations and institutions by developing opportunities for them to have greater participation in and control over their food systems  — including production, distribution, access, consumption, and disposition of food  waste. In the long term, this would “promote a truer sense of food security than does reliance on an externally-controlled food supply�. The goal is a food system in which food production, processing, distribution are integrated to enhance local environmental, economic, social, community and nutritional health. Urban agriculture is clearly one of the foundation blocks on which the concept of community food security rests (Smit, Nasr and Ratta, 2001). For more information, please look at the web-page of the Community Food Security Coalition, http://www.foodsecurity.org/index.html).

Sustainable cities
The issue of sustainable cities began to be addressed in Rio de Janeiro with the Agenda 21 Conference (1991) and continued at the 1996 UN City Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. The Habitat Agenda, signed in Istanbul by 180 nations, reaffirmed a world-wide social commitment to improvement of quality of life in human settlements and highlighted the role and importance of local authorities in the struggle to improve human settlements. The Habitat Agenda specifically mentions the role that UA, along with other activities and initiatives can play in contributing to the future sustainability of cities:

• Article 112. “Green spaces and vegetation cover in urban and peri-urban areas are essential for biological and hydrological balance and economic development. Vegetation creates natural habitats and permits better absorption of rainwater by natural means, which implies savings in water management, Green areas and vegetation also play an important part in reducing air pollution and in creating more suitable climatic conditions, thereby improving the living environment in cities. Healthy and environmentally sound agricultural activities and the provision of common land should be integrated into the planning of urban and peri-urban areas.
• Article 113 (h) ‘Develop and support the implementation of improved land management practices that deal comprehensively with competing urban land requirements for housing, industry, commerce, infrastructure, transport, green spaces and forested areas, taking into account the need for spaces for everyday activities – for playgrounds, parks, sports and recreation areas and areas suitable for gardening and urban agriculture. 

Apart from the above mentioned roles that UA can play in creating more green and social cities, while at the same time reducing its ecological footprint, is its potential role in waste- and water-management. Urban agriculture can play a role in reducing the amount of waste by reducing the need for food packaging. It can also re-use part of the (organic) waste and wastewater produced in a city. Generally, in cities in developing countries, organic waste counts for 40-60 % of household waste, and, when composted, it can produce an excellent fertiliser. Food production by livestock eating food remainders is also a tradition in many Asian and African countries, but also in north-western Europe. The direct use of (treated) wastewater for food production can also improve the efficiency of water use, especially important in countries with limited water resources (Deelstra and Girdardet, 2000).