Get started

The food system is a useful entry point for local-level policies and programmes

Themes of the food system

By shaping the food system through policies, programmes, regulatory instruments and other processes and mechanisms.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the food system

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a ‘blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all’ in a world in which no one is left behind.  

 The SDGs were adopted in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by 2030. They are included in a UN Resolution called the 2030 Agendaalso known as Agenda 2030. 

‘Cities are where the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost…cities are the world’s engines for business and innovation. (…) With good management they can provide jobs, hope and growth, while building sustainability.’ (The Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 2013.) 

The SDGs, urban food systems and nutrition are interlinked. Not only can sustainable food systems help to improve nutrition for urban residents, they can also support achieving targets for all 17 SDGs. The case studies highlighted on this platform note those SDGs to which the actions are the most strongly linked.