on food security - from an urban labour perspective
The discussion on food security is also very interesting and important. From the point-of-view of urban labour, I see two angles:
. First, the production side: how to combine improvements in food production and urban employment. This links to the discussion on urban agriculture. Food processing would also come into the picture. Proper training of workers and entrepreneurs and improvements in working conditions along the food value chain would add value to food production. And increase in food production creates jobs.
. Second, the consumption side: many urban workers are food insecure themselves. And this is not always or necessarily a case of lack of food availability in the cities where they live. Many cities have enough food supply, and still a number of workers cannot buy it, due to lack of income. This leads to policies to generate employment and/or social protection (cash transfers).
For information on the work of ILO's Sectoral Activities Dept. on food security: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/presentation/wcms_163460.pdf
Bourdon de Pernier, 4 June 2012This is an extremely valid subject, given the level of malnutrition of poor urban workers. Increasing agricultural production ad infinitum will not solve the problem. Many cities already have loads of food on the one side, and hunger in parallel.