Focusing on urbanization as a key driver of environmental change in the 21st century, researchers at Princeton University have created a framework to understand and compare cities’ food systems and their effects on climate change, water use and land use.
Focusing on urbanization as a key driver of environmental change in the 21st century, researchers at Princeton University have created a framework to understand and compare cities’ food systems and their effects on climate change, water use and land use. The research will allow planners to estimate the impact of a city’s food system and evaluate policy actions.
“Our approach reveals differences between urban food systems both within and across countries,” said co-author Anu Ramaswami, the Sanjay Swani ’87 Professor of India Studies and a professor of civil and environmental engineering. “Despite these differences, we now have a common methodology to identify which policies would result in what levels of environmental mitigation.”
The study analyzed the greenhouse gas emissions, water use and land use of food systems for two metropolitan areas in India, Delhi and Pondicherry; and two in the United States, New York and Minneapolis. The results highlight the impacts of differences in meat consumption between Indian and U.S. cities, as well as differences in food processing. Comparing the two Indian cities shows contrasts in diets, supply chains and local production levels.
Read more at Princeton University
Image by Deborah Breen Whiting from Pixabay
