14 CITIES COMMIT TO SUSTAINABLE FOOD POLICIES THAT WILL ADDRESS THE GLOBAL CLIMATE EMERGENCY

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Today, 14 global cities committed to the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration, in order to promote and preserve the health of citizens and the health of the planet. Mayors will work with their citizens to achieve a ‘Planetary Health Diet’ for all by 2030, with balanced and nutritious food, reflective of the culture, geography, and demography of their citizens. Mayors will use their procurement powers to change what kind of food cities buy, and introduce policies that make healthy, delicious and low-carbon food affordable and accessible for all. They’ll also reduce food loss and wasted food.

The cities signing the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration are Barcelona, Copenhagen, Guadalajara, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Quezon City, Seoul, Stockholm, Tokyo and Toronto.

Under the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration, cities commit to:

• Align food procurement policies to the Planetary Health Diet ideally sourced from organic agriculture
• Support an overall increase of healthy plant-based food consumption in our cities by shifting away from unsustainable, unhealthy diets.
• Reduce food loss and waste by 50% from 2015 figures; and
• Work with citizens, businesses, public institutions and other organizations to develop a joint strategy for implementing these measures and achieving these goals inclusively and equitably, and incorporating this strategy into the city’s Climate Action Plan.

These 14 signatory cities serve 500 million meals per year – in schools, hospitals, and other public buildings, and are improving availability and affordability of delicious, nutritious and sustainable food for their 64 million citizens. The C40 Good Food Cities Declaration will therefore directly benefit millions of people and provide a clear signal to the market that there is great demand for healthy, delicious and sustainable food.  Cities are leading efforts to change the way food is produced and consumed.

As urbanisation brings more people to the world’s cities, 80% of all food produced globally is expected to be consumed in cities by 2050, and because food insecurity and rising obesity are increasingly urban problems, mayors acknowledge the imperative to act in the best interests of their citizens.