Milan was in 2015, on the occasion of the International Exhibition, the first city to be the World Capital of Sustainable Food. Two years later, Valencia took on that role, and now it's Barcelona's turn, which has already kicked off a project that is intended to have an impact throughout the metropolitan area.
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The world capital status aims to project Barcelona to the world as one of the great global hubs for promoting sustainable food policies and access to healthy food. According to the City Council, it is about making a leap in scale to advance citizen awareness of the need to introduce a healthier diet that helps prevent problems such as childhood obesity.
It also aims to ensure that the entire population has access to this type of food and to introduce a change in the food and distribution model to combat climate change. It is estimated that the agri-food production system is responsible for between 21% and 37% of greenhouse gas emissions.
The capital status will also seek to generate new economic opportunities by boosting local trade and local food producers. Thus, purchases in neighborhood shops and municipal markets will be promoted, and the consumption of food from local farmers will be encouraged, with a commitment to organic food and the promotion or return of urban agriculture and the protection of peri-urban agriculture.
The World Capital of Sustainable Food will deploy more than 90 projects and is preparing a program of events that will take place throughout the year. The initiative will culminate with the celebration of the 7th Global Forum of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact in autumn 2021. More than 200 cities around the world are expected to participate in the Barcelona summit with the aim of highlighting the strategic role that cities play in the development of food systems that are more sustainable and allow action against hunger and malnutrition.
Barcelona has many assets to exercise this capital status, as the food sector is one of the most important in Catalonia's economic structure, with significant local and international companies. The Catalan capital is also a benchmark for its network of 39 municipal markets and for being one of the best exponents of the Mediterranean diet, with a powerful gastronomic offer of international recognition. Mercabarna is one of the city's other great assets and a few weeks ago it opened the first wholesale market in Spain focused on the commercialization of organic food.