80: Food Initiative: how cities can drive the circular economy

One of the major global challenges we are facing is unprecedented urban growth, where over half of the global population is urban and where by 2050 an additional 2.5 billion people are expected to live in urban areas. Urban areas currently consume over 70 % of the global food supply. “So much of the food in the world is produced in a linear way, depleting finite resources and damaging the health of the ecosystem and humans,” says Emma Chow, food initiative lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “We need to fundamentally redesign the system using circular economy principles. And cities are best placed to lead the change." Find out how this will work in practice, and how urban peri-urban food systems will help fuel the circular economy in the future. Emma Chow, Project Lead, Food Initiative, Ellen MacArthur Foundation Emma Chow serves as the project lead on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Food initiative, which brings together major industry players from across the food value chain, along with cities, to take a systemic approach to unlocking the powerful positive potential of the food system. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Emma previously worked in business management consulting, social entrepreneurship and for environmental NGOs About Ellen MacArthur Foundation: The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Since its creation, we have emerged as a global thought leader, establishing the circular economy on the agenda of decision makers across business, government, and academia. Our vision is a new economic system that delivers better outcomes for people and the environment. Business models, products, and materials are designed to increase use and reuse, replicating the balance of the natural world, where nothing becomes waste and everything has value. A circular economy, increasingly built on renewable energy and materials, is distributed, diverse, and inclusive.