Food System
Food System
Food System
Cities
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cities
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: The outbreak of COVID-19 has underscored the vulnerability of our current food systems. In China, following a
City Region Food Systems series of strategies in guaranteeing food security in the past decades, the pandemic has further highlighted the
High-quality development necessity to strengthen urban-rural linkages and facilitate the sustainable development of local agri-food systems.
Food policy
The study for the first time introduced the City Region Food Systems (CRFS) approach to Chinese cities and
indicator framework
Chengdu Metropolitan Area
attempted to holistically structure, analyze and promote the sustainability of local food systems in China. Taking
Integrated urban-rural development Chengdu as an example, the study first took stock of existing concepts and policies in China and the city, and
defined the high-quality development goals of CRFS for Chengdu. An indicator framework was then developed to
serve as a CRFS assessment tool for identifying existing challenges and potentials of local food systems. Further, a
rapid CRFS scan using the framework was conducted in Chengdu Metropolitan Area, providing concrete evidence
for potential policy interventions and practice improvement in the area. The study has explored new paradigm of
analysis for food related issues in China and provided supporting tools for evidence-based food planning in cities,
which collectively contribute to the food system transformation in a post-pandemic scenario.
* Corresponding authors at: Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China.
E-mail addresses: feishulang@caas.cn (S. Fei), wangnan02@caas.cn (N. Wang).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104212
Received 1 July 2021; Received in revised form 29 November 2022; Accepted 15 January 2023
Available online 20 February 2023
0264-2751/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
system. For instance, production-focused approaches are often used to the causality and driving mechanisms of the system, measures such as
improve crops’ productivity without consideration of supply chain ca causal loop diagrams and mathematical modeling are applied in some
pacities, consumer diet demands or the impacts of the food production studies (Zhang et al., 2018; Posthumus et al., 2021, Allen & Prosperi,
towards the social and natural environment (FAO, 2018). Considering 2016, Nicholson et al., 2020, Béné et al., 2019). As such, through sys
the complex and cross-disciplinary nature of the food system, the system tematic investigation of the structure, evolution and regulation path
thinking has been increasingly adopted in food-related research and ways of the food systems, the systems approaches are increasingly used
governance, which concerns not only individual elements’ status and to explain and respond to food security and nutrition issues in faced with
behaviors but also the interactions among different elements in a system global challenges such as climate change, urbanization, population
and the dynamics of broader environments the food system is embedded growth and depletion of natural resources (FAO, 2018; Si & Scott, 2016).
in Schebesta and Candel (2020). In this context, tools to assist food system analysis, food governance
The concept of “food system” was originally put forward by Marion and policy making have been developed at various scales. For instance,
(1986) to represent the sum total of relationships between the agricul the Food Systems Decision-Support Toolbox sets a five-step protocol
ture sector and the downstream actors along the food chain. Sobal et al. started with defining policy objectives of the given region, followed by
(1998) incorporated the nutrition dimension and expanded the concept the analysis of food system actors, characteristics and behaviors, which
to “food and nutrition system” which includes three subsystems (pro then lead to policy and actionable recommendations (Posthumus et al.,
ducer, consumer and nutrition) and covers nine stages from production 2021). The four-action tool developed by UNEP (2019) follows four
in the field to metabolism in human’s diets. Ericksen (2008) paid more stages in promoting food systems transformation, including food sys
attention to the global climate change situation and conceptualized the tems advocacy and training, food systems assessment of impacts, pol
food system framework by emphasizing the trade-offs among environ icies and actors, multi-stakeholder dialogue and long-term capacity
mental, social and food security outcomes. According to the developed building and governance. The City Region Food System Toolkit devel
food security definition that encompasses food availability, food access oped by FAO, RUAF, and Wilfrid Laurier University (2018) supports
and food utilization, a series of food system drivers, activities, outcomes cities in urban food system mapping and planning by gathering infor
and feedback cycles were identified to illustrate the food system dy mation and establishing multi-stakeholder platforms. Looking into food
namics (Ingram, 2011). In 2014, the High Level Panel of Experts on Food system assessment tools, the Sustainability Assessment of Food and
Security and Nutrition (HLPE) defined the food system as a system that Agriculture Systems Guidelines evaluates the agri-food system sustain
“gathers all the elements (environment, people, inputs, processes, in ability through four dimensions: good governance, environmental
frastructures, institutions, etc.) and activities that relate to the produc integrity, economic resilience and social well-being, by assessing a total
tion, processing, distribution, processing, distribution, preparation and of 17 themes and 58 indicators (FAO, 2014). The Food Sustainability
consumption of food, and the output of these activities, including socio- Index assessed three pillars of the food systems, namely nutrition, sus
economic and environmental outcomes” (HLPE, 2014). The above tainable agriculture, and food loss and waste, to investigate challenges,
evolution in food system concepts provide fundamental theoretical basis solutions and best practices of food systems across the world (The
for the application of systems approaches in food security and nutrition Economist Intelligence Unit, 2018). The Food Systems Dashboard
research and policy making. referred to HLPE’s (2017) conceptual framework and applied more than
Further to this, an increasing number of literature has looked at the 140 indicators to monitor food supply chains, food environments, in
structure, functions and interactions of the food systems to identify dividual factors, consumer behavior, diets and nutrition, environment
potential leverage points of improvement. For example, Nourish (2020) and drivers (Fanzo et al., 2020). The food system assessment framework
developed a food system circle that encompasses farming, economic, developed by the U.S. National Academies consisted of four principles
environmental and social parts and illustrates relations in between the and six steps, which measured food system effects through three do
biological system, economic system, social system, health system and mains including health, environment, and the social and economic do
political system through the lens of food. (Global Panel on Agriculture mains. In each domain, quantity, quality, distribution and resilience
and Food Systems for Nutrition (2016) applied concentric circles to were measured to evaluate the sustainability of the food system (Insti
describe the food systems by locating “diet quality” in the center and tute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015).
subsequently “consumer”, “food environment” and “food supply sys Provided the fact that the performance of food systems are very
tem” oriented away from the center point. Food system wheels devel specific to the local context, and that the disjunction of urban and rural
oped by FAO (2018) and Bhunnoo and Poppy (2020) both recognized areas is a main challenge for food system sustainability, more territorial
the food chain as the core system and concerns its interrelationships food system approaches such as the City Region Food Systems (CRFS)
with the society, environment, economy, health and politics systems. approach are gaining increasing attention, which links urban centers
From a value chain perspective, Hussain and Vause (2018) analyzed the with their surrounding peri-urban and rural hinterlands, and carries out
food system feedback and impacts across four stages of the value chain, food systems analysis and interventions through a City-Region lens
namely agricultural production, manufacturing & processing, distribu (Blay-Palmer et al., 2018; Jennings et al., 2015; Vittuari et al., 2021).
tion, marketing and retail, and household consumption, with the human Since 2015, FAO’s City Region Food Systems Programme undertakes a
capital, social capital, produced capital and natural capital included in multi-sectorial, multi-stakeholder and multi-level approach to: “(a)
the interrelationship analysis. Food system framework developed by assess linkages and resource flows between rural and urban areas, key
Posthumus et al. (2021) divided the food supply system into five sec actors, policies and legislation, sustainability, risks and current and
tions, including agricultural production, food storage, transport & trade, future vulnerabilities; and (b) plan policy actions to build resilience and
food processing & transformation, food retail & provisioning, and food sustainability” (Blay-Palmer et al., 2020). In the pilot cities of the CRFS
consumption, with influential factors such as the enabling environment, Programme, the CRFS approach and tools have positively contributed to
food environment, business services and consumer characteristics local food security and regional sustainable development goals. Partic
considered in food system activity analysis. In latest versions of HLPE ularly during the COVID-19 epidemic, the CRFS methodology has sup
reports, the sustainable food system framework identified food supply ported the pilot cities with positive responses to the crisis and strategic
chains, food environments and consumer behaviors as key elements of food planning for building back better (Blay-Palmer et al., 2020).
food systems, which are influenced by five categories of drivers (bio Similar approaches are also emerging in countries such as the USA, UK
physical and environmental, technology and infrastructure, economic and Canada, with adapted tools developed and applied locally to inform
and market, political and institutional, socio-cultural, demographic) and food policies and promote urban food system resilience and sustain
deliver five categories of outcomes (nutrition, health, economic impacts, ability (Biehl et al., 2018; Food Systems Transformation Group, 2022,
social equity, environment) (HLPE, 2017, 2020). To further investigate Zeuli et al., 2018). Urban agriculture, a key component of the City
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
Region Food Systems, is also gaining increasing attentions in recent metropolitan area were identified to be a typical city-region area and
years and recognized as an important contributor in urban-rural link selected for the case study, due to its rapid increase of urban population,
ages and food system resilience. Urban agriculture is generally defined advanced practices in urban-rural linkages and significance of the agri-
as the production of food and other outputs and related processes that food sector in city development. The case study design followed the
are taking place within cities and surrounding regions (FAO et al., CRFS methodology and consisted of the policy review, food system goal
2022). Practices of urban agriculture vary across countries and cities, definition, development of the food system assessment framework and
some carried out for basic food access on a home scale, while some the pilot assessment through primary and secondary data collection and
taking advantage of the educational and recreational functions of urban analysis. Policy recommendations for Chengdu’s city-region area and
agriculture that serves city dwellers’ social and cultural needs in life. implications for other cities worldwide were provided in the end.
Innovative production systems such as the plant factory are also
emerging worldwide targeting commercialized model which could 2.2. Study area
achieve high-intensity, space-saving and environment-friendly food
production and contribute to food security in mega-cities (Wang et al., Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan province and an important
2021). meg-city in western China. In 2020, the total inhabitants in the city
In Chinese cities, many good practices in local food systems, such as exceeded 20 million, ranking at the fourth place among all cities in
efficient cross-level governance and the application of digital technol China. The Gross Domestic Products of Chengdu was 1771.7 billion yuan
ogies, have been observed and especially reflected during the COVID-19 in 2020, occupying 36.4 % of the total GDP in Sichuan province. In the
responses (Fei & Ni, 2020; Fei et al., 2020). However, further to the past ten years, the city’s residents were increased by 5.8 million, with
supply side improvement which has already been paid great attention by the urbanization rate raised from 65.75 % to 78.77 %. A considerable
academia and policy agenda, two major gaps across the food systems GDP growth by 219.16 % was also witnessed as compared to 2010,
still exist: (1) the lack of linkages between the production and con indicating the impressively rapid growth and strategic potentials of the
sumption ends, leading to the mismatch between consumers’ nutritional city (Statistic Bureau of Chengdu and Leading Group Office of the 7th
dietary demands and the agricultural production supply; (2) barriers of National Population Census of Chengdu, 2021; Statistic Bureau of
effective synergies among different sectors and lack of evidence-based Chengdu & NBS Survey Office in Chengdu, 2020). In 2016, Chengdu was
tradeoffs among sub-systems. Holistic approaches such as the CRFS officially designated as one of the nine national central cities in China,
approach are needed to measure, analyze and improve the performance recognized as a key hub of economy, science and technology, culture,
of cities’ food systems through multiple layers, which could in turn international exchange and transportation junction. In 2020 the guide
support cities in achieving the goals in food and nutrition security and line document for developing the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster were
high quality development. officially endorsed, marking a strong political will to support the coor
This paper for the first time introduces the concept of CRFS to Chi dinated development of the region and strengthen the strategic position
nese cities, attempting to adopt the systems theory and emerging food of the two core cities (Chengdu, Chongqing) as regional growth engines.
systems approaches for assessing the food systems of a given city region The Chengdu Metropolitan Area (CMA), encompassing Chengdu and
in China and supporting the local food planning in a holistic and three smaller cities in the surroundings, is a key area leading the
evidence-based manner. By incorporating the goals in agri-food system development of Sichuan province as well as the Chengdu-Chongqing city
transformation with overarching development strategies such as the cluster. Located in the Chengdu Plain where natural resources are
rural revitalization and high quality development strategies, the study ample, CMA has unique advantages in food production and development
identified the high quality development goals of CRFS tailored for the potentials in many aspects. Population and GDP of CMA constitute a
pilot Chinese city, Chengdu, and developed an adapted assessment large proportion in that of Sichuan province (Section 3.3), suggesting
framework to assist local food system mapping and analysis. The case important roles CMA is playing in regional development. In 2020, a
study in the Chengdu Metropolitan Area provided knowledge of the CMA working team consisted of governmental authorities from the four
local scenario as well as a good basis for further local assessments and cities was established to coordinately steer cross-boundary communi
food planning. Overall, the paper presented an empirical study that cations and cooperations. A three-year development plan of CMA was
explored the application of systems theory in agri-food system gover subsequently released, in which eight pillars of coordinated actions were
nance and verified the effectiveness of the City Region Food Systems identified and translated into a range of implementation programs that
methodology in a Chinese city. In addition, through a closer analysis of also cover the food and agriculture sector.
the food systems in Chengdu’s city region, the study also provided
adaptable tools for local food system assessment and systematic infor 2.3. Food policy review
mation to support local food policy and regional high quality develop
ment goals. The outputs of the study have reinforced the theoretical A policy analysis was conducted to gain full understanding of the
development of the food system paradigm at a city scale and would local development goals and priorities. Given that city food policies in
enlighten food governance systems in practice for cities globally espe China are in line with agri-food strategies developed by provincial and
cially those with similar development stage as Chengdu. central governments, the analysis of the present study covers policies
released from cross-level administrations, including Chengdu city,
2. Methodology Chengdu Metropolitan Area, Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster, Sichuan
province and China. A total of 42 documents of strategies, guidelines,
2.1. Research design action plans, policies and laws issued in the past two decades were
gathered and analyzed in detail. The topics of these selected documents
Upon an extensive analysis of existing theories and methodologies, were considered with potential correlations to local CRFS concepts and
the present study hypothesized that the food systems approach can be goals, including the national overall development, urban development,
effective in Chinese cities to systematically analyze local food systems agriculture and food industries, rural areas and rural people, environ
and inform food decision making, aimed to facilitate food system ment protection, nutrition and health. Key milestones were extracted
transformation and contribute to regional development goals. The study and presented in the Result Section. The full list of the documents is
conducted an empirical research by adapting and applying the CRFS provided in Supplementary Table 1.
methodology in a Chinese city according to the local context, which Taking a closer look on the local actions in Chengdu and its sur
leads to in-depth understanding of the local food systems and policy rounding areas, a further analysis was conducted on four main cate
implications for cities of its kind. Specifically, Chengdu and its gories of plans across different administrative scope, including the 14th
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
Five-Year Plans for Chengdu city, Sichuan province and China respec 3. Results
tively, the rural revitalization strategic plans for Chengdu city, Sichuan
province and China respectively, the urban/regional development plans 3.1. Policy analysis
for Chengdu city, Chengdu Metropolitan Area and Chengdu-Chongqing
city cluster respectively, and the agricultural development plans for Given that the food systems of a given city region are important parts
Chengdu city, Chengdu Metropolitan Area, Chengdu-Chongqing city of the overall development of the region encompassing both urban and
cluster and Sichuan province respectively. Word frequency of the rural areas, a review of development strategies, guidelines, action plans,
planning documents was analyzed by category through a word fre policies and laws was conducted first to understand the localized
quency statistics software written with the Python algorithm. Ranking of development priorities and define the food system goals accordingly. In
the words by frequency of presence was then obtained to assist the the present study, Chengdu City and its surrounding areas were taken as
identification of the policy hotspots. the “city region” for piloting the CRFS approach, so the scope of the
present policy analysis covered food system related policies released by
2.4. Development of the CRFS framework different levels of administration that apply to Chengdu and its sur
rounding regions, including the city of Chengdu, the Chengdu Metro
The indicator framework for CRFS assessment was adapted from the politan Area, the Chengdu-Chongqing City Cluster, Sichuan Province
CRFS framework developed by Carey and Dubbeling (2017). A 5 × 5 and China.
matrix of the food flow chain crossing the five identified themes was In the past decades, cities in China have experienced significant
established as the skeleton of the framework. The nodes of the food flow changes in urbanization, industrialization, economic growth and live
chain were adjusted to better suit the local situation. Indicators were lihood improvement. Fig. 1 demonstrated a 30-year timeline of urban
then selected to fill in the matrix frame. A four-step selection process was ization with policies considered to be key driving factors for agri-food
applied: (1) consolidation of existing indicators from food system system transformation highlighted, which suggests the change of
framework in other literature (Carey & Dubbeling, 2017; Fanzo et al., development phases and the adjustment of policy priorities accordingly.
2020; FAO, 2014; FAO et al., 2019; The Economist Intelligence Unit, Based on an analysis of these policies, the main goal of food systems in
2018; The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2020; Vieira et al., 2018); (2) Chengdu’s city region and multidimentional objectives could be
nomination of new indicators according to the identified CRFS objec identified.
tives in each theme; (3) combination of (1) and (2) and screening process
that took comprehensiveness and applicability into consideration; (4) 3.1.1. Overarching vision of development
internal consultation to verify and decide on the indicators to be The overarching national and regional development goals will pro
included. vide fundamental guidance for identifying food systems goals and
possible actions. In the context of China, along with the long-term efforts
2.5. Data collection for the case study in CMA in building a modern society, the development theories evolved from the
Scientific Outlook on Development put forward in 2003 that promotes
Both secondary data from desk research and primary data from field comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, to the new
surveys were included in the case study in CMA. Secondary data was development philosophy proposed in 2015 with the vision of innovative,
collected from statistic yearbooks, reports and public database. Specif coordinated, green, open and shared development (Liu & Du, 2021). The
ically, the socio-economic data on GDP, population, total land area, Five-sphere Integrated Plan was raised in 2012 that structured the
annual yield and annual consumption quantity was obtained from the overall development into five aspects, including the economic, political,
latest Statistic Yearbooks of Sichuan province and four cities in CMA cultural, social and ecological fields. With the aim to make significant
respectively. Data regarding the agro-tourism industries, namely total progress in all aspects, the Five-sphere Integrated Plan provides a skel
number of rural tourists, total income of rural tourism and estimated eton framework for concrete planning and actions in various regions and
household number involved in rural tourism businesses were based on sectors. In 2017, the concept of high-quality development (HQD) was
Sichuan Yearbook, Sichuan Tourism Yearbook, Sichuan Rural Yearbook, presented for the first time at the 19th National Congress of the
China Tourism Statistical Yearbook and county statistic data extracted Communist Party of China (CPC), indicating the new development
from statistical bureau reports of respective city. paradigm of China’s economy transitioning from rapid growth to high-
Field surveys were carried out to collect primary data on the CRFS quality development aiming to achieve better quality, more efficient,
performance and challenges in all four cities in CMA. A consultation fairer, and more sustainable development. The HQD has become an
meeting was arranged for each city respectively, attended by govern overarching vision ever since, pillared by the implementation of the new
mental officials from relevant departments including the Bureau of development philosophy and the Five-sphere Integrated Plan.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Development and Reform Commis
sion, Bureau of Commerce, Bureau of Resource and Planning, Bureau of 3.1.2. City development strategies
Economic and Information Technology, Bureau of Culture, Broadcast- In line with the overarching development vision, strategies of city
TV and Tourism and related officers from local counties. A total of 59 development are also transforming towards better quality and sustain
open-ended interviews were conducted with food system stakeholders ability in all respects. The New Urbanization Strategy was put forward in
on their practices, challenges and suggestions. The selection of stake 2012, aiming to explore a new path of urbanization suitable for Chinese
holders fully considered the balance between different types of actors, cities. Pillars of the new urbanization include urban-rural integration,
nodes of value chains, agricultural product categories and geological city-industry interaction, economical resource utilization, eco-
distribution. In addition, seventeen consulting interviews were con environment protection and harmonious development. In 2015, the
ducted with experts with rich research background in the agri-food field, National Urban Work Conference claimed that cities should follow the
from which the assessment outputs were discussed and policy recom law of urban development and strengthen coordination in five di
mendations were put forward. Data collected from the consultation mensions, including coordination across the arrangements of space and
meetings, stakeholder interviews and expert interviews was collectively industry, across action steps, across diverse drivers, across strategies of
analyzed to identify the strengths and weaknesses, as well as good different fields and across all types of stakeholders. In the action
practices of the CRFS in CMA. guidelines of the new urbanization released in 2021, six key objectives
of urban development were proposed, including livability, innovation,
intelligence, green, culture and resilience (CPC Central Committee and
State Council, 2014; National Development and Reform Commission
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Fig. 1. An overview of development strategies and food policies issued in the past 30 years in China. The orange bar represents the national urbanization rate (United
Nations, 2018).
(NDRC), 2021). For Chengdu in particular, the goals of building the Park people is the National Rural Revitalization Strategy demonstrated at the
City were raised in 2018 (CPNRB, 2019). The Park City Initiative follows 19th CPC National Congress in 2017, featuring the overall objectives in
a people-centered strategy, by establishing the “people-city-environ thriving businesses, pleasant and eco-friendly environment, social
ment-industry” framework and incorporating the city’s ecological value, etiquette and civility, effective governance, and prosperous population
aesthetic value, humanistic value, low-carbon economic value, healthy in rural areas. Continuing China’s huge achievements of poverty elim
living value and social value in the urban planning and strategies. In ination in 2020, guidelines, laws as well as new administrative bodies in
addition, the city plan of Chengdu recognizes the significance of pro rural revitalization were subsequently developed early in 2021 to
moting agriculture and green spaces by paying efforts to well balance accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas and
spaces for urban built-up areas, ecological areas and agricultural areas. contribute to the national high-quality development (CPC Central
A range of agricultural zones, urban agriculture functional zones and Committee and State Council, 2021; NPC Standing Committee, 2021a,
urban-rural integration zones were identified to foster local food secu 2021b).
rity and regional development (CPNRB, 2021).
3.1.4. Evolution of food policies
3.1.3. Linking urban and rural areas Along with the development phase transitions and change of overall
In face of the fact that the rapid urbanization and industrialization in development priorities, the agri-food sector is also witnessing an evo
cities have led to imbalanced development and gap of wealth between lution process, contributing a crucial portion to the high-quality devel
urban and rural areas, strengthening urban-rural integration has been a opment of urban and rural areas. Targeting the four dimensions of food
policy priority in China since the Scientific Outlook on Development security objectives including food availability, food access, food utili
first included coordinated development of urban and rural areas in the zation and stability, a range of policies have been developed to support
strategies. In 2005, the fifth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central activities across the food chains. The No.1 Central Document in 2005
Committee outlined the overarching goals for new socialist countryside mainly focused on raising the overall agricultural production capacity,
construction, portraying the “new countryside” to feature “advanced suggesting the prioritized demand to guarantee food security in the early
production, well-to-do life, civilized folkways, a neat look, and demo ages. In 2007, the No. 1 Central Document demonstrated the necessity of
cratic management”. As part of the initiative, public financial resources utilizing modern technologies, modern industrial systems and modern
were allocated to support rural development and urban-rural integration operation approaches to improve the capacity, quality and profit of the
programs. Following this, the No.1 Central Document released in 2006, food supply systems. The document for the first time established a
2007 and 2010 continuously stressed the importance of integrating comprehensive framework to guide actions in developing modern
urban and rural development and supporting modern agriculture agriculture in China, including 1) increasing support, investment and
development to facilitate the new socialist countryside construction safeguard mechanisms in agriculture and risk prevention of agricultural
(CPC Central Committee and State Council, 2006, 2007, 2010). In the entities; 2) facilitating agricultural infrastructure construction, facility
New Urbanization Strategy and following action guideline documents in improvement and farming sustainability improvement; 3) promoting
recent years, “integrated urban-rural development” was the official science and technology innovation in agriculture, such as resource-
discourse consisting of actions such as improving the supporting policy saving, mechanization and informatization technologies; 4) devel
systems, promoting bidirectional flow of production factors and oping multiple functions of agriculture and diversifying relevant in
balanced allocation of public resources, and transforming relations be dustries such as health aquaculture, characteristic agriculture and
tween the industry and agriculture sectors (CPC Central Committee and biomass industries; 5) strengthening the market systems with improved
State Council, 2014; National Development and Reform Commission logistics and food quality monitoring and services; 6) educating new
(NDRC), 2019, 2020, 2021). A more recent significant milestone to farmers with professional farming and managing skills; 7) innovating
facilitate the integrated urban-rural development and benefit rural governance mechanisms in rural areas; 8) improving cross-level
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management for better implementation of agriculture modernization network of food retailing, improve food product precooling capacities of
initiatives (CPC Central Committee and State Council, 2005, 2007). The the production sites, strengthen production-consumption matching
modernization of agriculture has since then become a mainstreamed mechanisms and optimize the food distribution network (Office of the
goal in food policies in China, considered to be key for improving food Ministry of Finance and Office of the Ministry of Commerce, 2021). In
availability and access. In face of the increasing challenges of the agri- line with this, Chengdu’s municipal government released the 14th Five-
food supply systems, another key milestone of food policy in China, Year Development Plan for the Construction of Agricultural Product
the supply-side structural reform in agriculture, was introduced during Distribution Systems developed by a total of eight bureaus, providing
the National Rural Work Conference in 2015. The overall objective is to concrete guidelines in improving local food supply systems and
improve the efficiency and quality of the agri-food supply systems, increasing citizens’ food security levels.
which will meet consumers’ needs and increase producers’ incomes
(Chen, 2017). On the consumption side, the Health China Initiative 3.1.5. Identification of policy hotspot
announced in 2016 supports activities in promoting food education, A word frequency analysis was carried out on various scales of
improving citizen’s dietary habits while strengthening food safety su development plans to assist the identification of policy hotspot in the
pervision, which facilitates the food utilization of citizens and consti next period of time, either political objectives or levers of actions, to be
tutes a crucial part of sustainable local food systems (CPC Central taken into consideration when defining the CRFS prioritized objectives.
Committee and State Council, 2016; Health China Initiative Promotion Four main categories of plans that are directly or indirectly related to the
Committee, 2019). The National Nutrition Plan (2017–2030) released CRFS development were included in the analysis, including the agri
by the State Council in 2017 targeted to substantially reduce nutrition- cultural development plans, the rural revitalization plans, the economic
related diseases through actions such as improving nutrition legislation, and social development plans and city and/or region development plans.
promoting scientific research in food nutrition, facilitating nutrition and As shown in Fig. 2, words with top frequency of presence in all four
food safety evaluation systems, and raising public awareness in nutrition categories include industry, innovation, system/mechanism, moderni
and health (General Office of the State Council, 2017). More recently, zation and service, indicating the crucial roles these elements will be
the issuing of the anti-food waste laws has suggested the increasing leading in the development of all these four aspects and potentially, in
political intentions to improve food system sustainability from multiple the development and transformation of the CRFS. Besides, attention are
dimensions in a more systemic way (NPC Standing Committee, 2021a, also to be paid to several key words with high frequency of presence in
2021b). Further, a national policy to strengthen agri-food supply chain more than one policy category, including economy, culture, society,
systems was released in 2021, which aims to increase public agricultural ecology, governance, infrastructure, characteristics, platform/hub, co
markets in cities, support cold chain infrastructure construction, expand ordination/collaboration and integration.
Fig. 2. Word frequency analysis of the plans for agricultural development, rural revitalization, economic and social development and city/region development. The
top ten words with the highest frequency of presence in each category were presented in the descending order. Words in red are the five most frequent words present
in all four categories.
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3.2. Defining the CRFS framework for the HQD of CRFS was developed to demonstrate how the main HQD
goals of CRFS were identified and what the prioritized areas are ac
3.2.1. Conceptual framework cording to the context of Chinese cities (Fig. 3). The HQD goals of CRFS
Building on the analysis in Section 3.1 over the strategies and pol were developed under the overall umbrella of the HQD vision, following
icies that are directly and indirectly related to the City Region Food the principles of the new development philosophy and the Five-sphere
Systems, three key points were made to guide the formulation of the Integrated Plan and closely targeting the five objectives of rural revi
CRFS conceptual framework adaptable for Chengdu and potentially talization and six objectives of urban development. To consistently
other Chinese cities. (1) China is experiencing a crucial transition phase support the high-quality development goals in a five-sphere perspective,
from rapid growth to high quality development, when the HQD strate the prioritized areas of objectives and actions in CRFS, consolidated
gies set overarching development framework for all sectors in China. from the policy analysis (Section 3.1), were structured into five main
Thus, the national HQD vision, together with the new development themes covering the governance, economic, environmental, cultural and
philosophy and the Five-sphere Integrated Plan, should be the structural social aspects. Specifically, in the theme of “good governance”, reforms
basis for conceptualizing the HQD of CRFS and defining corresponding and innovations in systems and mechanisms are frequently recom
goals in Chinese cities. (2) Rural revitalization, urban development, as mended in many respects as suggested in Fig. 2, a main part of which is
well as the integrated development between urban and rural areas, are to facilitate coordination in different dimensions such as between urban
top priorities to achieve the HQD goals at the current stage in China. and rural areas, within metropolitan areas and between domestic and
Since CRFS is a pivotal component in both rural and urban development international partners. Laws, regulations and policies in regards to the
and plays crucial roles in urban-rural linkages, the objectives and stra food chains are also to be improved accordingly. In the economic aspect,
tegies in rural revitalization, new urbanization and integrated urban- it is a major objective to achieve modernization of agriculture and rural
rural development should serve as fundamental references for identi areas. Systems of production, operation and the industries are to be
fying the CRFS priorities. (3) From a more microscopic perspective, the transformed to better serve the food availability dimension of local food
hot words identified in Fig. 2 indicated the policy priorities in the security objectives and contribute to the high-quality development of
following years, thus should be taken into consideration during the the agri-food sector. Innovations are required in both supply side that
identification of HQD goals for CRFS. aligns to the supply-side structural reform in agriculture and consump
Based on the three points illustrated above, a conceptual framework tion side that improves consumption scenarios and healthy food access.
Fig. 3. A conceptual framework illustrating the HQD goals and prioritized areas for CRFS in Chengdu and potentially in other Chinese cities.
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
Urban agriculture is also a highlighted topic especially in development years, which will improve the food utilization dimension of local food
plans of Chengdu and the wider surrounding areas, suggesting its great security goals (CPC Central Committee and State Council, 2016).
values in city and region’s development as well as in achieving the HQD Additionally, actions to increase farmers’ incomes, support the vulner
goals of CRFS. In terms of “environmental integrity” which is a main able areas, provide capacity building activities and foster food system
target in the national HQD goals, the city region food system’s contri actors’ associations and fair profit distribution are also in great need to
butions may include but not limit to the reduction of food losses and improve people’s livelihood.
waste, increase of ecological services, reduction of the air and water
pollution, promotion of green agriculture and product systems, devel 3.2.2. Assessment indicator framework
opment of resource circulation systems and establishment of agricul In alignment with the identified concepts and targets, comprehensive
tural parks in cities for better park city scenes. For cultural preservation, assessments of the food system performance and impacts are necessary
it is planned to promote characteristic agriculture and food chains to identify gaps, challenges and opportunities for the high-quality
featuring rich culture of local agriculture and food. More agricultural development of CRFS, which could provide concrete evidence for bet
products with Geographical Indication and regional public brands are ter decision making in food planning. By taking stock of the food system
expected in near future. For Chengdu in particular, plans to build the analysis frameworks in literature while targeting the local HQD objec
‘City of Gastronomy’ include actions in promoting local agri-food cul tives of CRFS, an indicator framework to monitor CRFS in Chinese cities
ture, innovating food consumption scenarios and improving quality was developed as illustrated in Fig. 4 (Carey & Dubbeling, 2017; Fanzo
local food supply chains and services, which could be an important lever et al., 2020; FAO, 2014; FAO et al., 2019; The Economist Intelligence
to protect and disseminate the characteristic culture of Chengdu city and Unit, 2018; The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2020). The framework
Sichuan province. The social wellbeing, to which CRFS is closely linked, follows the five themes identified in Section 3.2.1 and sets indicators
has a main priority to promote people’s health through balanced diets as along the agri-food chains from production to consumption, taking into
demonstrated in the Health China Initiative planned for the next ten account all actors, activities and relations involved in the system. In
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
particular, the economic theme concerns the main food flow chain, in development in many aspects. Taken as a whole, CMA is recognized as
which the food system’s interactions with local economy, the capacities important centers of economy, transportation, trade, manufacturing,
of high-quality food supply and food access are evaluated to understand innovative technology and agriculture in Sichuan province. The Gross
the economic contribution and food security status. The governance Domestic Product of CMA was 2230 billion yuan in 2020, approximately
theme assesses existing CRFS related policies, implementation systems 45.9 % of the total amount in Sichuan province. The total area of CMA is
and mechanisms as well as stakeholder perception on these two aspects, 3.31 million hectares, with 31.34 million residents living in the area
in order to evaluate to what extent the current governance provides (37.42 % of total residents in Sichuan province) to be fed by either the
enabling environment and sufficient support for HQD of CRFS. The local food production or imported food products. Resources in CMA for
theme of environment is concerned with the food system’s ecosystem agricultural production are relatively ample as compared to many other
services and negative ecological impacts, quantity and interventions of regions in China, given its advantageous location at the hinterland of
food loss and waste and the degree of resource circulation within the Chengdu Plain and next to the Dujiangyan Irrigation System that ben
food systems. In the social theme, three aspects of assessments are efits agricultural irrigation of the entire province. The province has
included to evaluate if healthy food is sufficiently supplied and properly released the Three-Year Action Plan for the Development of Chengdu
consumed, if the rights and interests of all actors are well protected and Metropolitan Area (2020–2022) in 2020, indicating the strong political
continuously improved, and if educational activities such as capacity will in facilitating synergies within the area, as well as good opportu
building training and food education courses are frequently provided. nities to promote the CRFS high-quality development in CMA.
Further, the culture theme of CRFS can be an important contributor to
the cultural progress goals included in the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan, 3.3.1. Economic resilience
in which the protection, transformation and export of local agriculture From an economic and food security perspective, the staple food
and food culture are monitored and intervened as required. Collectively, produced within CMA could sufficiently meet the consumption demands
it is expected that the performance and progress of the five themes are of the region according to the yield and population data in 2019 (Gen
regularly monitored to guide planning and practices towards the high- eral Office of the State Council, 2014). The production of vegetables,
quality development of CRFS in China. meat and eggs is also either completely or almost sufficient to cover the
local needs. However, a gap of self-provision was observed in the total
3.3. Case study: a snapshot of CRFS in the Chengdu Metropolitan Area grain production, suggesting the high dependence of imported grain to
cover grain use of all purposes locally (Fig. 6). Main agricultural prod
Based on the identified local priorities and assessment framework, a ucts in CMA include grain, vegetables, pigs, tea, fruits, bamboo and
closer look was taken on the Chengdu Metropolitan Area (CMA) to have Chinese medicinal herbs, contributing a significant portion of total yield
a preliminary CRFS profile and form a basis for following in-depth as in Sichuan province. Advantages in producing various agricultural
sessments and improving actions in the region. Interviews were con products were observed among the four cities in CMA, based on which
ducted with stakeholders from CMA’s four cities to understand the planning of relevant agri-food industries can be conducted for better
current status, existing challenges and potential opportunities. Good resource allocation, spatial arrangement and synergistic development
practices that contribute to HQD goals of CRFS were collected as ref (Fig. 7). Generally, small-scale food production and processing systems
erences to enlighten future planning and practices. with a low level of standardization, mechanization and digitalization are
CMA encompasses Chengdu and three surrounding cities including still common in the local food supply, which limits the overall supply
Deyang, Meishan and Ziyang (Fig. 5). Chengdu is the capital city of capacities of CRFS in CMA. Additionally, it was pointed out that ho
Sichuan province and the most developed city occupying the largest mogeneous competition among similar agri-food industries is a frequent
area, thus serves as the core city of CMA leading the regional issue within CMA. Better regional planning to guide differentiated
Fig. 5. The map for Sichuan province. The Chengdu Metropolitan Area is indicated with the grey color, in which Chengdu city is highlighted with the orange color.
For reference, Chongqing Municipality is on the right of the city of Ziyang. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to
the web version of this article.)
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
Fig. 7. Yield proportion of main agricultural products in CMA cities respectively in 2018. The pie charts in light grey and dark grey illustrate the proportion of the
production in CMA as compared to the total production in Sichuan province. The column charts in orange illustrate the proportion of the production in respective
cities as compared to the total production in CMA. Data of individual cities for bamboo and pickled vegetable was missing. (For interpretation of the references to
color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
industry development that serves HQD goals is necessary for CMA’s ecosystem serving, carbon neutral, resource recycling and fine views of
CRFS. For the food supply chains and consumption, distribution and food production areas that better entertains city consumers. A trend
market systems comprising three levels of wholesale markets and three from traditional agriculture to ecological agriculture has been observed
main retailing outlet types have been developed and improved through in many production and processing spots of CMA. The Qianfeng Tea
development plans in past decades. Specifically, the wholesale markets Theme Demonstration Park in Meishan is a typical example of organic
include regional integrated markets, district- or county-level markets production and resource cycling (Fig. 8A). The park has a pig farm of 53
and specialized local food markets, and the retailing outlets include mu in intelligently controlled environment and a tea farm embedded
farmer markets, food supermarkets and neighborhood grocery stores. with experiencing and educational elements for consumers. The manure
The Mengyang wholesale market located in Chengdu serves as a regional from the pig farm is collected, treated and supplied to the tea farm as
food distribution hub in Sichuan Province, with 6.8 million tonnes of organic fertilizers through a network of irrigation pipes. The tea farm
food products distributed in 2020, playing pivotal roles in consumers’ strictly follows the standard in zero use of chemical fertilizers and pes
food access. A trend of increasing online food purchase has been ticides. The park holds multiple organic certificates and mainly supplies
observed among consumers, which provides more possibility on food to the healthy food industry. In Deyang, the demonstration base of in
diversity and affordability. A metropolitan emergency food supply sys tegrated rice-shrimp farming also applies ecological approaches for
tem is also under development based on collaboration of four large-scale healthy and green food supply (Fig. 8B). Of a year, the farm usually
wholesale markets located in the four cities of CMA respectively, ex grows one season of rice, raises two seasons of shrimp and leaves one
pected to greatly contribute to the food system resilience in CMA season for fallow. Green cultivation technologies are utilized along the
especially under shocks and stresses. whole cycle. The total annual incomes of shrimp seeds, shrimps and rice
could reach 10,000 yuan per mu. There are a variety of similar cases in
3.3.2. Good governance CMA, while information regarding food loss and waste and greenhouse
With respect to governance, in addition to the provincial strategies in gas emission still remains further investigations.
improving coordination mechanisms among the four cities of CMA, a
number of counties and cities in CMA are designated by the national 3.3.4. Social wellbeing
government as pilot and demonstration areas for institutional in For improving rural livelihood and strengthening urban-rural link
novations in integrated urban-rural development, urban-rural coordi ages, increasing local practices and governmental support for inte
nation support, rural collective property rights, rural collective assets grating the agriculture industry with the secondary and tertiary
and share, and reforms of rural areas. In Chengdu, Urban Agriculture industries have been observed in CMA. Being the origin area of agri
Functional Zones was an innovative invention, where factors of pro tourism in China, CMA has good foundation in leisure agriculture and
duction for specific industries are gathered in the designated zones to rural tourism. In 2019, the total number of rural tourists was 187.53
maximize the synergies among sectors and stakeholders and lead to million in CMA versus 369 million in Sichuan province. The total income
differentiated high-quality development effectively (Wang et al., 2021). of rural tourism was 118.9 billion yuan in CMA versus 296.7 billion yuan
Overall, progresses are continuously observed upon the newly emerging in Sichuan province. An estimated total of 82,400 households in CMA
governance systems, although proved approaches to better coordinate were involved in rural tourism businesses to diversify their income
and achieve win-win outcomes across CMA are still under exploration to sources. Another typical practice to improve incomes is the organization
be widely implemented. of cooperatives that collectively manage production, processing, mar
keting and capacity building activities taking advantages of the scale
3.3.3. Environmental integrity merit. A representative case is the Hao Wei Dao Specialized Rice
The new urban development paradigm that emphasizes the “people- Cooperative possessing 355 members and a total of more than 41,000
city-environment-industry” integration has presented both higher re mu of transferred land (Fig. 8C). On the production side, the cooperative
quirements and more opportunities for CRFS transformation towards conducts recycling agriculture and collaborates with local research
Fig. 8. Photos taken during the field survey in CMA to illustrate the case of the Qianfeng Tea Theme Demonstration Park (A), the integrated rice-shrimp farming
demonstration base (B), the Hao Wei Dao Specialized Rice Cooperative (C) and the China Paocai museum (D).
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
institutions to improve rice yield and quality. It also provides agricul continuous adjustments along the piloting of the assessment exercise.
tural input supply and mechanization services for more than ten thou Sub-indicators to be selected for in-depth measurements of the CRFS
sands of households in the neighborhood, reaching hundred thousands performance and impacts should follow the following criteria: (1) close
of people. For marketing of the rice products, the cooperative employs relevance to the section themes and indicators; (2) data availability and
sales teams and sells through both online and offline channels. The sales accessibility; (3) data comparability.
profit is then divided to cooperative members. Under the framework, the rapid CRFS scan in the Chengdu Metro
politan Area has enabled preliminary understanding of the CRFS status,
3.3.5. Cultural preservation based on which information gaps, potential challenges and opportu
There are a number of industries in CMA featuring characteristic nities in high-quality development of CRFS in CMA were identified. By
agri-food culture with high value to be explored and disseminated, such obtaining the local data mainly from statistic yearbooks, interviews of
as sericulture, bamboo, pickled vegetables, rattan pepper, Chinese me key informants and on-site observations in the field, a lack of informa
dicinal herbs etc. So far there are 36 agricultural product Geographical tion on the consumption side was reflected, suggesting the limited
Indications in CMA out of 191 in Sichuan province (n.d., 2021). Prac attention in food environment research and development in general. In-
tices to upgrade and develop these industries have been observed to depth surveys to a wider respondents are required to obtain first-hand
disseminate local culture and increase the wider influence of the local data on consumers’ food access, diets, and consumption behaviors.
food products. For example, building on the rich culture of the Silk Road Data on other indicators such as the food loss and waste was also found
and good basis Ziyang has in the sericulture industry, the city’s plan to scarce, indicating the needs for more research and collaborations across
establish “City of Mulberry” is expected to further upgrade the entire sectors and stakeholders. In addition to the good practices observed in
industry and increase the international influence of local brands. The CMA that demonstrated potential options for CRFS improvement
pickled vegetable processing is also a traditional industry in Sichuan (Fig. 6), the systemic analysis of the local food systems of CMA has
province. Out of the 4 million tons of pickled vegetables and Sichuan- suggested innovative attempts in seeking food system synergies at the
specific fermented food produced in Sichuan province, CMA’s produc scale of the metropolitan area to facilitate regional high-quality devel
tion occupied 64.2 % of the total amount (Fig. 7). In Meishan, the China opment in a shared, coordinated, open, innovative and green manner.
Paocai (pickled vegetables) City, a museum of Paocai was started in To achieve these goals, thorough analysis of strengths and weakness of
2012 to elaborate and disseminate the culture and industry of Paocai, different cities and counties in CMA should be carried out, which then
receiving 1 billion person-time visits per year (Fig. 8D). The Pickle Food will guide effective resource distribution and aggregation at the
International Expo has been held for eleven years continuously in metropolitan level, so that the cities could better develop by maximizing
Meishan, gaining a worldwide reputation for the city’s culture of food. the existing advantages and complementing the weaknesses. Practical
Meishan has offered a representative example in which the agri-food coordination mechanisms should be in place to facilitate information
industry’s culture is well preserved while scale-up of the industry and sharing and resource flow among the four cities for a win-win situation.
local brands are also achieved by taking advantage of the cultural Large-scale demonstration bases should be established for each industry
values. to lead good practices in CMA towards better performances in stan
dardization, mechanization and digitization of the food supply systems.
4. Discussion and conclusion It would be challenging for cities to make cross-boundary investments
by themselves. Strategic food planning and effective systems of coordi
4.1. Findings and reflections nation and collaboration at the CMA level are essential to make the
expected metropolitan synergies real.
The study has presented the first attempt in China that applied the
City Region Food System approach to evaluate the city’s food related 4.2. Policy recommendations
activities, actors and impacts from a holistic view. A key principle to
ensure practical implementation of the food systems approach is to Based on the analysis above, key implications can be obtained and
precisely map the local needs so that the support for local planning and entry points of actions were identified to facilitate high-quality devel
practices will be conducted accordingly. Hence, three actions were opment of CRFS. Policy recommendations were proposed for consider
taken in the present study to set robust foundation for the next-step in- ation of further research and interventions for both local and
depth assessments and evidence-based food planning. international practices:
The multi-level policy analysis was conducted first to understand the
overall development direction and prioritized needs in the pilot area in (1) The digitalization of the food supply systems could bring huge
China (Figs. 1–2). It was found that under the overarching framework of values in improving the supply capacity and food system resil
high-quality development, the rural revitalization, new urbanization ience (Nikola et al., 2019). Actions in this area may include the
development and integrated urban-rural development are main pillars application of digital agriculture for food production, the sys
of top priorities for the current stage. The CRFS, a pivotal component for temization of the food flow data for supply chain management,
above, was conceptualized under the HQD framework into five main the use of e-commerce platforms for food product consumption
sections including governance, economy, environment, culture and so and ideally, the establishment of a consolidated local food system
ciety, with prioritized objectives in each section identified according to shared database for connecting all the food system stakeholders
plans and policies across multiple administrative levels (Fig. 3). Tar to support evidence-based decision making for all. The COVID-19
geting the CRFS goals specific to Chengdu and its surrounding areas, an pandemic has indeed accelerated the food system digitalization
adaptable indicator framework for in-depth CRFS assessment was which considerably supported producers with fresh food sales
developed, covering the five CRFS sections and sorted along the agri- and guaranteed the city food supply during the lockdown situa
food chain (Fig. 4). A range of existing food system frameworks pilo tion (Fei & Ni, 2020). In a post pandemic scenario, more attention
ted elsewhere globally were consulted, which verified the rationality and investment are expected in this field to facilitate the
and inclusion of the indicator framework. However, given that the modernization development and food system transformation.
framework developed in the present study is the first-ever attempt for (2) Urban agriculture in inner city areas can be a lever for
CRFS assessment in Chinese cities and that China is unique as compared improving citizens’ diets and knowledge in agriculture and food
to other countries in many aspects such as its large food security needs, culture (Palmer et al., 2016; Veenhuizen & Danso, 2007; Fei
transitioning development stage and governing patterns, it is necessary et al., 2020), which is currently a weakness of the CRFS in most
to monitor the suitability and feasibility of the framework and make Chinese cities (Chinese Nutrition Society, 2021). School gardens
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S. Fei et al. Cities 135 (2023) 104212
and community gardens are typical urban agriculture typologies Guido Santini: Resources, Writing – review & editing. Jia Ni: Re
where food production activities, food education and social sources, Writing – review & editing. Yuanhao Bing: Investigation. Li
events will be happening. Monitoring of participants’ food con Zhu: Investigation. Jindong Fu: Writing – review & editing. Zhuobei
sumption habits and diet-related health status can be conducted Li: Writing – review & editing. Nan Wang: Funding acquisition, Writing
to gain in-depth understanding of the food environment in cities. – review & editing.
(3) Food loss and waste (FLW) is receiving great attention more
recently, recognized as key factor in resource depletion and food Declaration of competing interest
security. Quantitative data of FLW is still limited in China (Cheng
et al., 2017) and many areas globally. Research in measuring FLW None.
quantity in different scenarios and evaluating intervention effects
is needed to guide targeted measures in effective FLW reduction. Data availability
(4) Industry integration has been increasingly practiced and proved
to be helpful measures to drive the up-scaling and transformation No data was used for the research described in the article.
of traditional agri-food industries, dissemination of the farming
culture and income improvement in rural areas. Combination of Acknowledgement
agriculture with the secondary and tertiary industries, such as the
tourism industry and the cultural and creative industry, could Zhuang Qian is grateful for the financial support from the program of
add new income sources for the rural population while facili China Scholarship Council (No. 201908320418) during his PhD study.
tating connections and understandings between producers and
consumers. Multiple values of agriculture should be studied and References
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