Food policy
Vision and goals
Food is one of the core activities conducted across the AMB region. Food is produced, distributed, processed, marketed and eaten there as part of a system in which Barcelona is a prime hub for trade and exchange.
Although the metropolis of Barcelona is not self-sufficient today, forested areas, crops (especially in the Llobregat Delta) and the food industry play a key role in its economic and social development.
Growing awareness of the environment, waste management, food waste and more sustainable food production and consumption prompted the AMB to roll out a project in 2015 to explore the features of the metropolitan food system. The work is ongoing and has gained momentum following the choice of Barcelona as World Sustainable Food Capital 2021.
In October 2020, the AMB signed up to the Metropolitan Region Food Charter (CARM), a strategic action framework for implementing food policies at the local and metropolitan region level involving government, businesses and the production sector, academia and research, the public and their organisations and the media in a quintuple helix framework.
Likewise, the AMB also has in place a Sustainable Food Action Plan 2020-2030 which organises and streamlines the key measures impacting the food system organised into seven main action strands. All this means that the supra-municipal body is committed to:
Metropolitan food system (in Catalan)
World Sustainable Food Capital 2021 (in Catalan)
Metropolitan Region Food Charter (in Catalan)
Sustainable Food Action Plan 2020-2030 (in Catalan)
Although the metropolis of Barcelona is not self-sufficient today, forested areas, crops (especially in the Llobregat Delta) and the food industry play a key role in its economic and social development.
Growing awareness of the environment, waste management, food waste and more sustainable food production and consumption prompted the AMB to roll out a project in 2015 to explore the features of the metropolitan food system. The work is ongoing and has gained momentum following the choice of Barcelona as World Sustainable Food Capital 2021.
In October 2020, the AMB signed up to the Metropolitan Region Food Charter (CARM), a strategic action framework for implementing food policies at the local and metropolitan region level involving government, businesses and the production sector, academia and research, the public and their organisations and the media in a quintuple helix framework.
Likewise, the AMB also has in place a Sustainable Food Action Plan 2020-2030 which organises and streamlines the key measures impacting the food system organised into seven main action strands. All this means that the supra-municipal body is committed to:
- Enabling participation and governance to build an engaged social and institutional grassroots network.
- Advocating a living agricultural environment which fosters local production and its social and ecological value.
- Prioritising social and economic fairness to address the climate crisis and the post-pandemic world.
- Facilitating local, organic and/or short supply chain food distribution and marketing as well as reducing waste and losses.
- Promoting healthy and sustainable diets that are affordable for all.
Metropolitan food system (in Catalan)
World Sustainable Food Capital 2021 (in Catalan)
Metropolitan Region Food Charter (in Catalan)
Sustainable Food Action Plan 2020-2030 (in Catalan)
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Instruments
The AMB has two instruments and agreements to chart the roadmap towards a fair, safe and healthy metropolitan food system. They are the Metropolitan Region Food Charter (CARM) and the Milan Pact.
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CARM
A fair, safe, sustainable and healthy food system anchored in social, ecological and local principles: these are the goals of the Metropolitan Region Food Charter (CARM), a commitment the AMB joined in October 2020. The organisation is thus engaged with and takes ownership of local processes to drive the transition towards a more sovereign, sustainable, fair, ecological and local food model.
The CARM is a strategic coordination instrument to promote local and metropolitan food policy development. It is sponsored by the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMB) and underpinned by over 100 organisations, people and municipalities that for the first time have agreed on a joint strategy between the public sector, businesses and social organisations for fair, clean and healthy food in the metropolitan area.
The goals of this collective approach include:- Enabling participation and governance to build an engaged social and institutional grassroots network.
- Advocating a living agricultural environment which fosters local production and its social and ecological value.
- Prioritising social and economic fairness to address the climate crisis and the post-pandemic world.
Related links
PEMB
CARM (in Catalan) -
Milan Pact
At EXPO 2015, held in Milan in October 2015 under the tagline ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life', over 100 cities from around the world signed the Urban Food Policy Pact, known as the Milan Pact. It is a non-binding agreement on urban food policies ‘designed by cities for cities' and provides a framework for managing the inexorable growth of cities and the inequalities that come with it.
In this document, the mayors of the signatory cities, which have been steadily increasing in number since its inception, pledge to:- Develop sustainable and resilient food systems which can deliver nutritious and affordable food for all.
- Protect biodiversity
- Fight food waste
The pact lists 37 measures clustered in six categories:- Governance
- Sustainable Diets and Nutrition
- Social and Economic Equity
- Food Production
- Food Supply and Distribution
- Food Waste
- Related links
Milan Pact
Measures of the Pact
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Public policies
Food is a key aspect of people's lives which impacts urban, production and consumption models. The climate crisis has shown how current systems are unsustainable in the medium and long term; therefore, food policies which regulate this scenario are needed to ensure its future viability.
Hence, food is no longer just an individual choice but rather a collective responsibility. It is not just a question of choosing how we feed ourselves but rather of how we live: how and in what environment, because managing territory, resources and waste is pivotal in this shift towards more sustainable models.
This is why various tiers of government have recently added sustainable food to their public policies. The AMB has pledged to do this by signing up to the Metropolitan Region Food Charter (CARM) and pushing for policies which support fair distribution at all levels. Although each of the 36 metropolitan municipalities is free to draw up its own food policies, the baseline is a common agreement which prioritises balance, respect and quality.
Hence, food is no longer just an individual choice but rather a collective responsibility. It is not just a question of choosing how we feed ourselves but rather of how we live: how and in what environment, because managing territory, resources and waste is pivotal in this shift towards more sustainable models.
This is why various tiers of government have recently added sustainable food to their public policies. The AMB has pledged to do this by signing up to the Metropolitan Region Food Charter (CARM) and pushing for policies which support fair distribution at all levels. Although each of the 36 metropolitan municipalities is free to draw up its own food policies, the baseline is a common agreement which prioritises balance, respect and quality.
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Food guarantee
In October 2017, the first Metropolitan Food Guarantee Conference was held, a technical meeting to pool aspects of the metropolitan municipalities in this area. Since then, work has been done to drive actions and projects grounded on municipal intervention, private initiative and metropolitan social support to ensure that vulnerable people have access to basic foodstuffs.
The event's main conclusions are still valid today, including prioritising food quality over quantity, promoting fresh and local produce and providing greater dignity and autonomy to individuals and families.
One of the priority actions in the Municipal Social Policy Support Plan 2020-2023 is ‘access to healthy and wholesome food for all', which is implemented in the food guarantee. Here the AMB offers:- Food aid to vulnerable households.
- Financial support to set up computer systems to enable non-profit specialised social partners to handle information and knowledge about issues in food access.
Related links
Cercador d'accions, centres i serveis sobre garantia alimentària
Pla metropolità de suport a les polítiques socials municipals 2020-2023
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Discussion panels and participation
Between July and November 2021, the AMB has organized discussion panels around agriculture and food system, which allow participation, dialogue and co-production in order to identify needs and opportunities to take part in the food system, with the aim of creating prosperity and social justice, as well as protecting the environment.
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Metodologia
Explicació sobre la metodologia de les taules de debat i participació sobre agricultura i sistema alimentaris.
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Agricultura metropolitana
Aquesta taula, dedicada a l'agricultura metropolitana, té com a punt de partida una anàlisi de l'IERMB del 2017. Consta de quatre sessions en què diversos experts debaten i reflexionen sobre aspectes que han de servir per ordenar i gestionar formes i estructures d'agricultura urbana que aixopluguin una pluralitat d'accions i d'agents del territori amb motivacions, activitats, conflictes i oportunitats diferents, amb l'objectiu comú d'acostar eines i recursos als governs locals.
Presentació
Informe -
Dret a l'alimentació sostenible i governança del sistema alimentari
Aquesta taula, sobre dret a l'alimentació sostenible i governança del sistema alimentari, aprofundeix en el coneixement sobre el sistema alimentari metropolità com a sistema socioecològic; reflexiona sobre les oportunitats de l'AMB per garantir el dret a l'alimentació sostenible i democratitzar el sistema alimentari, i articula una manera pròpia de promoure aquests objectius i activitats.
Presentació
Informe -
Participació
Diàleg amb els participants.
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