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By sourcing healthy local food , income and employment were generated for the local community . There are also examples of numerous civil led initiatives that have helped us overcome moments of crisis , such as when the Covid pandemic hit .
“ Cities are also positioning themselves at the forefront of the sustainability challenge . The London Food Board ( LFB ), for example , has launched integrated food strategies to try and help citizens access healthy food . LFB consists of 13 individuals who advise the Mayor of London and the GLA on food matters that affect Londoners . It ’ s one of the earliest governance mechanisms created to achieve food policy integration . We need to build on these examples of good practice and create synergies between them , because this is what food system transformation is all about .
“ In my opinion , businesses have often been primarily responsible for a lot of the existing problems , and in particular , the creation of food environments in our cities that do not enable healthy eating practices . That said , the private sector will tend to go wherever demand goes . The most sustainable food system I ’ ve witnessed was the school food system created in the city of Rome many years ago . I suggested steps that could be taken to improve it and proposed the guaranteed freshness award criterion to enable local food sourcing . Interestingly , Sodexo won the contract , so this is a perfect example of the fact that the private sector is ready , willing and able to collaborate . There is obviously something in it for a private company in terms of profit and visibility , but many organizations are genuinely becoming more committed to the challenge of sustainable development . When I started my research 20 years ago , we talked about alternative food networks ;
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