Citizen-Driven Food System Approaches in Cities

Driven by increased greenhouse gas emissions, climate change causes planetary disruptions such as rising temperatures and sea levels. Our food system contributes to this disruption as it is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, an urgent reorientation of the current food system and production methods towards a more plant-based diet is required to help stabilize climate change and improve human health. Driven by a neoliberal agenda with profit foremost, the food system cannot transform itself alone. No single measure will be enough to temper the environmental impact of food production. Strategic leadership and good governance involving food system actors and stakeholders working together are needed, but what role exists for individual city dwellers? The chapter begins by describing the impact of global food production and ultra-processed foods on sustainability and the importance of eating a plant-based diet. We introduce approaches to food system transformation and the importance of citizen science as a catalyst for change. We summarize why cities are an epicenter for food system transformation and the importance of involving citizens in government-led urban action. We then introduce the concept of ‘Citizenshift’ to understand the shift from the dominant individualistic role of consumer to that of the citizen in fostering societal change. Using the frame of Citizenshift, we explore four examples of foodrelated approaches and engagement in cities to promote the sustainability of the food system. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges inherent in empowering people to participate in food system transformation.