This dissertation explores the changing nature of food provisioning in the contemporary Third World city, employing the experience of Accra, Ghana, as a case study. The issue is studied by examining changes that are occurring within urban food markets, and how households are altering their food acquisition patterns in response to structural changes within the city. The investigation provides an in-depth analysis of the policy framework and socio-economic context for the delivery of, and access to, food in Accra, and probes the food situation as a window to investigate broader issues relating to poverty, livelihoods, and coping strategies within a Third World city. Data were collected from three markets and six residential neighbourhoods through focus group discussions and personal interviews. The investigation reveals that the food system has been altered by processes of transformation occurring in the city, with dire implication for access to food by the poor. The activities of traders in maintaining the urban food supply emphasize the dominance of individual initiatives in sustaining the city. The household surveys show that the level of direct engagement between households and the food market is waning, as households increasingly source their food from city’s various food outlets. This does not mean that food markets are losing their significance in the food supply chain. They remain the nexus between the source of supply (farmstead or port) and the urban household consumer. This case study indicates that urban economic restructuring is translated into the lives of residents by altering how people meet their needs. It illustrates how individuals and households adopt new ways of engaging their changing environment and navigating the landscape in order to survive. The coping strategies adopted highlight the resilience of vulnerable groups to this precarious urban landscape. These people are not passive victims to the constraints they face. Their responses to crisis make them active participants in the transformation of the city. The study concludes that understanding how the poor organize themselves to meet their challenges is key to understanding any interventions that are designed to tackle urban poverty or improve access to basic needs in the city. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2009-04-24 10:56:51.709

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Food security in urban environments is becoming an increasingly important issue worldwide; urban expansion and urban infilling means that city populations are rising while the amount of available land for growing food is reducing. Accessibility of food, in regards to potential food growing space and food retail locations at the household level, is a key indicator for determining how resilient households are to food insecurity. This thesis investigates accessibility of food in urban environments, and a methodology has been developed that employs a non location-specific data structure that assigns resilience categories to individual households. User-defined input variables for the amount of food-growing space required per person, and the maximum travel distance allowed, mean that different scenarios can be created. Two case studies of Christchurch and Stockholm are used to demonstrate how different datasets can be incorporated to give insight into the levels of resilience to food insecurity. Examples of potential sources of error caused by the variations in input dataset quality have been uncovered in the case studies, and possible strategies for dealing with these sources of error are discussed. Results of this study showed that greater maximum travel distances play a key role in accessibility of food in the urban environment, and that both cities are reliant on food retailers to supply food to the urban population, even when potential food growing space is taken into account. City planners or decision-makers can use the methodology developed in this thesis to make decisions about where potential growing space needs to be protected or allocated. They can also use it to model the potential effects of different scenarios, such as the addition of new subdivisions or changes in land use for public land.

Nourrir les territoires des sociétés urbaines ?Fait alimentaire et fait urbain sont aujourd’hui au cœur d’un faisceau de tensions et de contradictions. Paradoxalement, ils n’étaient plus appréhendés et gérés conjointement. Cette thèse vise à saisir la façon dont l’alimentation peut constituer un prisme au travers duquel le territoire, pris dans le processus de métropolisation, peut être lu mais aussi pensé et géré.Une première partie s’intéresse à l’état des liens entre fait alimentaire et fait urbain dans les territoires et aux potentiels intérêts d’un croisement entre les deux systèmes qui y sont liés à l’heure d’un processus de reterritorialisation du fait alimentaire et de métropolisation du fait urbain. A travers une analyse de la rythmique des croisements successifs entre ces deux systèmes et de leurs évolutions, nous montrons comment le processus de reterritorialisation du fait alimentaire est et peut-être le support d’un monde métropolitain et d’une pensée revisitant conjointement problématiques du système alimentaire et territorial.Une deuxième partie s’attache à l’analyse du traitement des liens entre fait alimentaire et fait urbain à partir du constat d’un défaut d’appréhension du caractère vital et d’approche globale du fait alimentaire. Celui-ci n’est pas saisi comme un champ d’action en soi et est formulé partiellement et de façon éclatée. L’appréhension du fait alimentaire comme problématique publique transversale par les territoires est néanmoins en cours. En France, le prisme dominant d’appréhension est celui de l’action agricole qui évolue vers l’agri-alimentaire. A Lyon, l’arrivée du programme Urbact a permis d’engager les prémices d’une ambition stratégique métropolitaine maillant problématiques alimentaires (accessibilité, qualité, durabilité) et territoriales (gestion de l’agriculture urbaine et périurbaine, logistique territoriale, renouvellement urbain, tissu commercial, action sociale, gestion des espaces publics, développement touristique, développement économique, etc.). Le saisissement et la structuration d’une réflexion ou d’une action territoriale autour de l’alimentation sont caractérisés par une transaction territoriale. Un champ d’action territorial hybride émerge de la constitution d’un fil rouge et de la mise en place d’interactions entre acteurs, thématiques, échelles d’action et espaces autour du fait alimentaire.Ces éléments dégagent des perspectives pour penser la production et l’organisation des régions urbaines en devenir en révélant l’opportunité du fait alimentaire pour une approche transversale des problématiques d’aménagement, de développement, de gouvernance et éventuellement de construction métropolitaine. / Feeding the territories of urban societies?Food and cities are two subjects today at the heart of a bundle relations, tensions and contradictions. Paradoxically, they were not apprehended and managed jointly any longer. This thesis aims to understand how food can be a prism through which the territory as considered in the metropolisation process, can be read but also designed and managed.The first part considers the state of the links between food and the urbanisation process as well as the potential interests of a crossover between the two systems that are related thereto in a time of a reterritorialisation of the food supply and metropolisation of the urban phenomenon. Through an analysis of the rhythm of successive crossovers between these two systems and their evolution, we show how the food in a reterritorialisation process perhaps underpins a thought revisiting jointly the issues of the food and planning system.The second part focuses on the analysis of the treatment of the links between food and the urban system based on the fact that food is not recognised as vital and lacks a comprehensive approach. It is not seen as a field of action in itself. It is formulated partially and in a fragmented manner. The apprehension of food as a public transversal issue by the territories is nevertheless ongoing. In France, the dominant prism of apprehension is that of agricultural action that evolves towards agri-food. In Lyon, the arrival of the Urbact “Sustainable food in urban communities” program helped initiate the beginnings of a metropolitan strategic ambition combining food (accessibility, quality and sustainability) and planning (management of urban agriculture, planning logistics, urban renewal, commercial system, social action, management of public spaces, tourism development, economic development, etc.) issues. The rising awareness and structuring of a reflection or a territorial action around food are characterised by a territorial transaction. A hybrid territorial field of action is emerging from the creation of a red thread and the development of interactions between actors, themes, scales of action and spaces around food.These elements highlight perspectives to consider the production and organisation of urban areas in the making, outlining the importance of the food for a transversal approach to metropolitan planning, governance and possibly construction issues.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Candice A. Shoemaker / Seed saving, whether performed by subsistence farmers, by breeders at land grant universities, or the seed industry, provide the world’s farmers with the needed supply of seeds to produce food crops annually. This thesis considers historical agricultural trends as they relate to the process of seed saving. It utilizes information gathered from primary source materials, historical monographs, and FAO and NGO publications. Chapter two discusses six universal agricultural dichotomies and how they relate to seed saving over time and globally. The dichotomies examined as they relate to seed saving include: subsistence and commercial, commons and commodity, public and private, basic and applied, global north and south, and urban and rural food production. Subsistence and commons oriented agricultural systems have historically traveled towards commercial and commodity forms in developed countries like the United States. As a result, seed saving moved from something farmers did to either public or private institutions that performed basic and applied research for genetic improvement of agricultural crops. As breeding programs looked outward for better breeding materials (germplasm) the importance of the Global North and South and Urban and Rural locales became important. Based on the results of this examination, it is clear that prioritizing subsistence practices and understanding seeds as a commonly held resource play important roles in maintaining agricultural diversity, particularly for more commercialized and commodity oriented agricultures. This shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture in the Global South jeopardizes subsistence agriculture’s ability to maintain agricultural diversity. Chapter three utilized a case study framework and focused on American seed saving within the Corn Belt from 1890 to 1950. The Corn Show, a common annual showcase of corn seed savers in the Midwest, supported both subsistence and commercial agricultural ideals. It also set the stage for the introduction of hybrid corn and suggested an alternative to the commodification of seeds by the industry. These results suggest that seed saving programs today could benefit from a culture that values subsistence practices while still utilizing the benefits of contemporary methods that are common to commodification. The added benefit of community and diversity that are realized by seed saving could develop a culture of seed production that is capable of contributing to rural development goals. This thesis concludes by tying together its discussion of dichotomies, reinforcing the connectedness between different agricultural production systems, and thus, the need for many different types of seed saving.

Urbanization alters the natural soil structure of landscapes. This has a negative impact on the environment. This degradation of the soil in the urban environment needs management practices that protect and restore the nutrient value in the soil. Soil is one of the most essential elements of landscapes. High quality soils make a major contribution to cleaning water, acting as a filtration system that purifies the water it absorbs. Soil also sustains microorganisms that promote vegetation growth and consequently food production, one of the most important human activities that allows us to thrive as a society. The poor soil conditions in the urban environment make it very difficult to sustain healthy trees and vegetation. Urban soil is "modified through the regrading, compaction, cutting and filling, and, sometimes, contamination that comes with creating buildings, roads and associated land uses", changing the physical, chemical and biological structure of soil. (Trowbridge and Bassuk 3) In general, urban areas require better waste management methods that could use an abundant resource of food and yard waste to make compost. This thesis focuses on composting organic waste in the McNair neighborhood of Fairfax County in order to produce a resource to improve the soil conditions. This improvement would support the vegetation in this urban environment, and, in addition, sequester carbon and divert materials that otherwise would go to landfills. This thesis demonstrates a sustainable method for composting food and yard waste in a mixed-use community in northern Virginia turning waste material into a resource. / Master of Landscape Architecture / The growth of cities has a negative impact on the native soil and vegetation. The expansion of urban areas weakens the microorganisms that live in the soils through soil compaction for the construction of roads and buildings, runoff pollution and the use of chemicals in lawns and gardens. These urban conditions challenge the growth of trees and vegetation in general. Using sustainable waste management practices in cities we can turn organic waste material and turn it into an organic fertilizer to sustain the microorganisms in the soil and promote the growth of vegetation in urban areas. This thesis focuses in composting food waste and yard waste in the McNair neighborhood in Fairfax in order to turn a waste material into a local resource that benefits the community by sustaining green areas and diverting organic waste from going to landfills.

The access dimensions to the local, urban food environment of adults in the eastern suburbs of the Tshwane metropolitan are explored and described. The study further determined how the food access dimensions contribute to the food choices and food consumption patterns of the study group. South Africa has the highest rate of urbanisation in the world. Moving to and living in urban areas usually result in major shifts in people’s food consumption patterns and lifestyles which are associated with non-communicable diseases. Intervention strategies aimed at changing consumers’ food behaviour often fail to recognise the complexities associated with the local urban food environment and the contribution of the food access dimensions. This study fills the gap on the limited information on the food access dimensions and food choices of white South African urban adults. A mixed methods approach was followed in this cross-sectional study that consisted of two phases. In the first quantitative phase, an electronic survey questionnaire was used to gather information on respondents’ usual food shopping and eating patterns, together with aspects related to the local urban food environment. The questionnaire was completed by a total of 230 white adults residing in regions 3, 4 and 6 of the Tshwane metropolis. The second qualitative data collection phase used Geographic Information System (GIS) measurement to identify, describe and map all the food retail outlets in the eastern suburbs of Tshwane. From the mapped food stores in regions 3, 4 and 6, stores were purposively selected and in-store observations were conducted to gain information and insight into the variety, quality and price of food products on offer in these food retail stores. A food basket was developed to obtain and compare the price of certain food products. Food prices between food stores were compared, as well as with the Consumer Price Index. Results indicated a minimal difference in price and it is concluded that most of the food products seemed to be affordably-priced to adults in Tshwane. Results confirm that urban consumers in Tshwane have easy, adequate access to food stores and purchase most of their food at supermarkets at least once or more times a week. The results also prevailed that a variety of good quality, affordable food products are available and accessible at food stores close to them and that they find the stores accommodating and food products acceptable. Although the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) of 6.20 reflected that the majority of the respondents daily consumed a variety of food, they do not follow all the guidelines of the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for South Africa, which might have an impact on their future health. This research contributes to a better understanding of how the access dimensions in the local urban food environment contribute to urban consumers’ food choices. By exploring the local urban food environment of urban consumers in Tshwane, this study contributed to fill the knowledge gap on this topic in South Africa. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Consumer Science / MConsumer Science / Unrestricted

Urbanization alters the natural soil structure of landscapes. This has a negative impact on the environment. This degradation of the soil in the urban environment needs management practices that protect and restore the nutrient value in the soil. Soil is one of the most essential elements of landscapes. High quality soils make a major contribution to cleaning water, acting as a filtration system that purifies the water it absorbs. Soil also sustains microorganisms that promote vegetation growth and consequently food production, one of the most important human activities that allows us to thrive as a society. The poor soil conditions in the urban environment make it very difficult to sustain healthy trees and vegetation. Urban soil is "modified through the regrading, compaction, cutting and filling, and, sometimes, contamination that comes with creating buildings, roads and associated land uses", changing the physical, chemical and biological structure of soil. (Trowbridge and Bassuk 3) In general, urban areas require better waste management methods that could use an abundant resource of food and yard waste to make compost. This thesis focuses on composting organic waste in the McNair neighborhood of Fairfax County in order to produce a resource to improve the soil conditions. This improvement would support the vegetation in this urban environment, and, in addition, sequester carbon and divert materials that otherwise would go to landfills. This thesis demonstrates a sustainable method for composting food and yard waste in a mixed-use community in northern Virginia turning waste material into a resource. / Master of Landscape Architecture / The growth of cities has a negative impact on the native soil and vegetation. The expansion of urban areas weakens the microorganisms that live in the soils through soil compaction for the construction of roads and buildings, runoff pollution and the use of chemicals in lawns and gardens. These urban conditions challenge the growth of trees and vegetation in general. Using sustainable waste management practices in cities we can turn organic waste material and turn it into an organic fertilizer to sustain the microorganisms in the soil and promote the growth of vegetation in urban areas. This thesis focuses in composting food waste and yard waste in the McNair neighborhood in Fairfax in order to turn a waste material into a local resource that benefits the community by sustaining green areas and diverting organic waste from going to landfills.

Ohio is one of the largest agricultural producers in the United States and yet Ohioans experience food insecurity at a rate two percent higher than the national average. An analysis of Ohio's agricultural sector in relation to the current global food system suggests that the neoliberal imaginary orders social and ecological relations at both the international and domestic levels. This ordering perpetuates and justifies the continued exploitation of both labor and land and is based on ontological separation of human and ecological systems. This imaginary has given rise to the framework of food security, which has become the singular framework under which solutions to food and climate challenges are outlined by both local policy makers and major development and agricultural organizations. This effectively limits the possible solutions to only those solutions that fit within this imaginary. In considering the continued prevalence of food insecurity in both national and international contexts, it is necessary to explore other avenues for proposing solutions to the current food challenges, which will only grow as the impacts of climate change worsen. Food sovereignty, more specifically urban food sovereignty, offers an alternative ontological framework that expands the realm of possible solutions to food insecurity as a feature of the food sovereignty movement's recognition of multiple ways of being. / Master of Arts / Ohio is one of the largest agricultural producers in the United States and yet, Ohioans experience food insecurity at a rate two percent higher than the national average. An analysis of Ohio's agricultural development in relation to the rise of the current global food system illustrates the ideological connections between the two systems, and the dependencies of these systems on the continued exploitation of both land and labor. Thus, these systems and the food security framework that has arisen from the same ideology or imaginary, can only provide limited solutions to food insecurity at the national or international level. The solutions that have been proposed and implemented under the security framework maintain dependency and vulnerability of insecure populations. As the impacts from climate change worsen and threaten to disrupt food systems, there is the need to move away from the food security framework towards a framework of food sovereignty and the incorporation of urban spaces into the solutions proposed.

To address the negative environmental, political, and social consequences of the dominant, industrialized global food system, communities around the world have developed goals and values underlying a sustainable food system. Conceptualizing food production, distribution, and consumption as systems helps clarify the ways food affects social and natural environments, with the distribution element as the critical juncture where the product reaches the consumer. Urban food systems are a particularly important environment in which to study movements toward sustainability. This paper focuses on the movement for a sustainable food system in Portland, Oregon, with particular focus on the city’s markets for food acquisition – food retail, farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture endeavors, restaurants, food service and distribution companies, institutional purchasing programs, and community gardens, as well as the organizations that support the work of these businesses and programs. Leaders in the field of sustainable food systems are now beginning to operate with a strategy for change that emphasizes incorporating sustainable food products and sustainable food system values into mainstream food markets instead of remaining in niche, alternative markets as has occurred in the past. This notion is supported by economic and social theories including the consumer information model, stakeholder theory, social movement theories of change, and network theories. This paper explores the extent to which Portland food distribution businesses, programs, and organizations attempt to fulfill the goals of a sustainable food system movement with moving from niche to mainstream in mind. The fact that the movement is in fact acting according to new strategies for change emphasizing the mainstream is indicated by the movement’s extensive consumer education and creative use of marketing, strong social and business networks, and organized local policy influences.