Urban Food Systems Strategies in Latin America – A Tool for Local Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals?

Abstract: This study aims to examine how local governments originated from the global South, through Urban Food System Strategies (UFSS), are realizing global sustainability priorities as outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study is based on the policy analysis of three Latin American UFSS, with the aim to detect synergies and connections between the UFSS and the SDGs. The primary contribution of this study is the comprehensive overview of the synergies and connections between UFSS developed by the Latin American cities and the SDGs. The secondary contribution is the positioning of the findings from UFSS created by cities in Latin America, in relation findings on UFSS from cities in North America. The study concludes that although clear synergies and connections with the SDG exist, they are less wide and deep in Latin American UFSS than in North American UFSS. However, the study argues that the level of convergence with SDGs does not determine the quality of the UFSS, and problematizes the application of northern innovation such as UFSS as one-size-fits-all solutions to Southern contexts. Future research avenues can be concerned with further determining the multi-level governance components of UFSS synergies with global goals, as well as evaluating the practical enactment of the same.