Abstract Body

The transformation of food systems and its relationship with cities is a crucial issue for sustainability, where a multiplicity of social, economic and environmental problems converge in a context marked by population growth, social inequality and the accumulated effects of climate change, loss of biodiversity and deterioration of ecosystems. This research addresses this complex subject from the perspective of an action-research project based in a mega city in the global south, Mexico City.

Over the last decades, City governments have promoted public policies that respond in compartmentalized ways to problems surrounding poverty, health (among these those derived from the double burden of malnutrition), the supply of food and the preservation of the “conservation zone”, an area occupied by forests and small-scale agricultural areas that represent about 57% of the city's territory (just over 87,000 hectares). These areas are central to the health and food security of City inhabitants, and fundamental to the provision of essential ecosystem services, such as, stabilization of soils, conservation of hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, carbon capture, retention of suspended particles, recharge of local aquifers and conservation of biodiversity.

This project seeks to contribute to the construction of positive synergies that promote the strengthening of sustainable agricultural practices in the “Conservation zone” and other areas producing ecosystem services and improving access to healthy fresh food staples in the city. Specifically, we seek to analyze through a transdisciplinary approach the processes by which sustainable agricultural practices are appropriated and strengthened by small producers; their collaboration strategies with citizen groups and public universities to strengthen sustainable production, distribution and consumption practices; and the creation of spaces that serve as distribution points for healthy food at affordable prices, promoting reflection regarding nutrition and encouraging the exchange of experiences between participating stakeholders.

It is important to note that this project is financed by the Mexico City government through an open call for projects that seeks to promote proposals for public policies for sustainable food systems for the City.