City-to-city cooperation for more democratic and inclusive food systems: what has been achieved and what remains to be done?

It is estimated that 80% of all food will be consumed in urban areas by 2050. As a result, cities are increasingly viewed as key drivers of the transition to sustainable food systems that can ensure food security and livelihoods for all while lowering emissions and safeguarding the environment. Municipal governments are indeed engaging with food policies as part of their broader sustainable development agendas and their efforts to transition to a circular economy and strengthen urban–rural interlinkages. City food networks – led by the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, which celebrated its 7th global forum in Barcelona in October – provide important frameworks for urban food action. However, they alone cannot tackle the unevenness of global urban food geography and the economic and political power structures that shape today’s food systems