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Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change - weADAPT

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5. CONCLUSIONSThere is growing concern about the vulnerability of our cities to a number of factors,including peak oil, global economic crises <strong>and</strong> <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong>. Each of these is likely tohave profound effects on the <strong>security</strong> of <strong>urban</strong> <strong>food</strong> supplies. Recent disasters,especially floods, have highlighted the fragility of <strong>food</strong> supply lines to Australian cities.Experience in the rapidly growing cities of the global south provides vivid illustrations ofthe damaging consequences for social order <strong>and</strong> civility if <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> is seriouslycompromised in anything but the very short term.Most theoretical <strong>and</strong> conceptual work on <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> derives from <strong>and</strong> in manyrespects is most applicable to developing countries <strong>and</strong> to cities in developingcountries. As Australia is not a developing country, the question is: do concepts of <strong>food</strong><strong>security</strong> from developing countries apply to Australia? And if these concepts areapplicable, can they be modified to take account of the particular circumstances of adeveloped country like Australia?This section summarises our findings <strong>and</strong> conclusions under three broad headings:meanings <strong>and</strong> conceptualisations of <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong>; the anticipated impacts of <strong>climate</strong><strong>change</strong> on <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong>; <strong>and</strong> the contribution of <strong>urban</strong> agriculture to building <strong>urban</strong><strong>resilience</strong>, before closing with a brief discussion of future possibilities.5.1 The concept of <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong>Most theoretical <strong>and</strong> conceptual work on <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> derives from <strong>and</strong> in manyrespects is most applicable to developing countries <strong>and</strong> to cities in developingcountries. As Australia is not a developing country, the question is: do these generalconcepts of <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> from developing countries apply readily to Australia? If theseconcepts are applicable, can they be modified to take account of the particularcircumstances of a developed country like Australia?There is growing global concern about the vulnerability of cities to a number ofexistential threats, including peak oil, global economic crises <strong>and</strong> <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong>. Eachof these is likely to have profound effects on <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> in general <strong>and</strong> on the<strong>security</strong> of <strong>food</strong> supplies to cities in particular. Recent disasters, especially floods <strong>and</strong>storms, have highlighted the fragility of <strong>food</strong> supply lines to Australian cities while therapidly growing cities of the global south provide vivid illustrations of the damagingconsequences for social order <strong>and</strong> civility if <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> is seriously compromised inanything but the very short term.Food <strong>security</strong> is typically defined in terms of access to <strong>food</strong> as well as its affordability<strong>and</strong> availability while some also refer to the cultural acceptability of <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong> to theagency of institutions promoting greater <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> (FAO, 2006; Ryerson Centre forStudies in Food Security, 2013). But other related concepts are also used increasinglyin policy <strong>and</strong> other debates as a result of criticism of the limited <strong>and</strong> absolutistconception of the FAO approach. Food sovereignty, for example, was introduced bythe International Peasant Farmers’ organisation La Via Campesina in 1996 as anecessary precursor for <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong> (Patel 2009) <strong>and</strong> while there is a diversity ofunderst<strong>and</strong>ings of <strong>food</strong> sovereignty, at the heart of most is a rights-based approach<strong>Urban</strong> <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong>, <strong>urban</strong> <strong>resilience</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong> 57

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