CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 1 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

CITIES AND
CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
FOR FOOD

CITIES
AND
CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
FOR FOOD
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 2 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

ALL IMAGE CREDITS ARE LISTED ON PAGE 65

 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 3 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

CONTENTS
IN SUPPORT OF THE REPORT  4

GLOSSARY6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8

1. THE LINEAR FOOD SYSTEM IS RIPE FOR DISRUPTION 14

2. THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY OFFERS A VISION FOR

A FOOD SYSTEM FIT FOR THE FUTURE 22

3. CITIES CAN TRIGGER A SHIFT TO A BETTER FOOD SYSTEM 24

4. SOURCE FOOD GROWN REGENERATIVELY,

AND LOCALLY WHERE APPROPRIATE 26

5. MAKE THE MOST OF FOOD  35

6. DESIGN AND MARKET HEALTHIER FOOD PRODUCTS  41

7. INVESTIGATING THE BENEFITS OF A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

FOR FOOD IN FOUR FOCUS CITIES 44

8. BENEFITS OF A CIRCULAR MODEL FOR FOOD IN CITIES  51

9. MOBILISING THE TRANSFORMATION AT SCALE DEMANDS

A NEW APPROACH 54

The report aims to highlight the often-underappreciated role urban food

actors can play to drive food system transformation, and to spark a global
public-private effort to build a circular economy for food. Cities and Circular
Economy for Food is an affiliate project of the World Economic Forum’s
Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE). The report has
been produced as part of Project Mainstream, a CEO-led global initiative
created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum,
which helps to scale business driven circular economy innovations.
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 4 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

IN SUPPORT OF
THE REPORT
“This excellent report is well-grounded in good analysis and provides fresh
thinking about how cities will have to play a pivotal role in transforming
the food system, from a model that fundamentally cannot work in the long
term – whether from an environmental or people’s health perspective – to
one that works for people and the planet. Given the strong leadership of
many cities in encouraging healthy lifestyles with positive environmental
impacts, this is a timely report that can catalyse real action.”
PROFESSOR TIM BENTON, DEAN OF STRATEGIC RESEARCH INITIATIVES,
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS AND DISTINGUISHED VISITING FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE

“By 2040, feeding 9 billion people in the world will be one of our greatest
challenges. As noted in this new report, there are solutions to change
the way we produce food, creating a better food system through a better
use of resources. This will require moving towards a circular economy,
especially in cities where 80% of food will be consumed in 2050.
Transforming organic waste into compost, fertiliser, or bioenergy are
concrete circular solutions that can be implemented and scaled-up today.”
ANTOINE FRÉROT, CEO, VEOLIA

“We cannot achieve a healthy planet and healthy population without

a fundamental transformation of our entire food system. This report
describes an approach starting with cities and presents a vision of a future
where the way we produce and consume food contributes to environmental
and health benefits, instead of damaging human health and the
environment. Achieving this is urgent, but no quick fix will get us there.
We do have the knowledge and tools to act – and the circular economy
approach will be a critical component.”
DR. GUNHILD STORDALEN, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIR, EAT

“Cities, where 80% of the world’s food will be consumed by 2050, have
a vital role to play in shaping the future of the food system. ‘Cities and
Circular Economy for Food’ represents a valuable contribution to the
conversation about food’s future.”
MICHAEL POLLAN, AUTHOR, PROFESSOR

“Cities are key to the shift to healthier food systems — food systems
that support ways of producing food that nurture the soil and enhance
agrobiodiversity, that nourish people better, and that contribute to local
economic development.”
OLIVIER DE SCHUTTER, FORMER UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE
RIGHT TO FOOD (2008–2014) AND CO-CHAIR, INTERNATIONAL PANEL
OF EXPERTS ON SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS (IPES-FOOD)

“This report provides an insightful look at how cities can move towards a
food system that is good for both people and the planet. It highlights the
opportunity that businesses, retailers, government and institutions have
to work together to create a system that is healthier and that works for
generations to come. It also ties in with elements of the City of Toronto’s
Long Term Waste Management Strategy, Toronto Food Strategy and
Transform TO Climate Action Strategy.”
COUNCILLOR JAMES PASTERNAK, CHAIR OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE
AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE, CITY OF TORONTO
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 5 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

“This report provides us with a sound analysis, along with insightful

and concrete options for a more regenerative food system. It also
demonstrates that the circular economy is not about the rich or the poor,
the developed or the developing, or the political left or right. It connects
us all, with the same challenges and responsibilities, while at the same
time offering a huge opportunity for large scale innovation and creativity-
building resilience, new distributed business and market competitiveness
for a common good.”
PEDRO TARAK, CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, SISTEMA B INTERNATIONAL

“This report not only educates decision-makers on the role cities can play
in activating a circular economy – it inspires them to act with urgency.
The health of people, economies, and the planet depends on cities shifting
from ‘end consumer’ to part of the solution. Let’s get to work.”
MARK R. TERCEK, CEO OF THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
AND AUTHOR OF NATURE’S FORTUNE

“This report highlights the role of localised urban food systems as

essential elements of wider food and agriculture systems, a topic with
increasing importance for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda”
DAVID NABARRO, STRATEGIC DIRECTOR 4SD SWITZERLAND
PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL HEALTH, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

“Beyond the fact that agriculture is responsible for a quarter of

greenhouse gas emissions globally, the report demonstrates for the first
time that the current linear food system not only will face challenges
feeding a growing population, but is also generating significant health
issues. We call all willing parties to join hands to invent a new circular food
system for our cities that will put human health at the centre.”
JEAN-LOUIS CHAUSSADE, CEO, SUEZ CHAIRMAN, PROJECT MAINSTREAM

“Today’s food system has an enormous social and environmental footprint,

from climate change to food waste; wellbeing to biodiversity loss; water
availability to inequality. But it can change. This report outlines a pathway
to building a circular approach to food by 2050, and crucially grounds it in
the reality that 80% of the world’s populations will live in cities by then.”
MIKE BARRY, DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS, M&S

“The food system can unlock solutions to climate challenges. Basing these
solutions on circular economy principles results in cascading benefits
not only to the climate, but to food security, water, forest and wetlands,
biodiversity, pollution, and human health.
The rewards are truly incalculable.”
CHAD FRISCHMANN, VICE PRESIDENT & RESEARCH DIRECTOR, DRAWDOWN

“We are in the midst of an important global movement which calls into the
very concept of consumption. The quality, the safety and the origin of our
food should be at the heart of every citizen’s concerns. Carrefour intends
to support this movement in favour of healthier eating for all, and supports
all research and collaborative work that can help bring about the circular
economy for food.”
BERTRAND SWIDERSKI, SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR, CARREFOUR

“Global food production is a major contributor to climate change. This

report highlights some practical steps we can take and the important role
that cities can play. At the London Waste and Recycling Board, we are
already working with the hospitality sector and supporting and financing
innovative start-ups so that we can promote and accelerate an innovative
food economy. I welcome this report and see it as making a significant
contribution to tackling UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.”
DR LIZ GOODWIN OBE, CHAIR, LONDON WASTE AND RECYCLING BOARD
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 6 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

GLOSSARY
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION COMPOSTING
(AD) Microbial (bacteria and fungi) breakdown of organic
matter in the presence of oxygen to produce soil with
Microbial (mainly bacterial) breakdown of organic high organic (humus) content. Composting produces
matter in the absence of oxygen, under managed carbon dioxide, and also methane, though at a lower
conditions at a temperature suitable for naturally rate than landfilling. In commercial composting, the
occurring microbial species to produce biogas (mainly process can be carried out using a variety of methods,
methane) and digestates (also known as ‘biosolids’). including ‘in-vessel’ for post-consumer food waste
and ‘open-windrow’ for non-food ‘green waste’.
ANTIMICROBIAL
RESISTANCE DIGESTATES
The capacity of microorganisms – such as The biosolid output from anaerobic digestion. Digestate
bacteria, viruses, and some parasites – to stop constitution is dependent on the AD feedstock. Human
antimicrobial substances working against them.1 waste-derived digestates are high in P (phosphorus)
and K (potassium), reflected in the characteristics of
human urine and excreta. The nutrients in digestates
BIOECONOMY are much more ‘available’, meaning they can be
The parts of the economy that use renewable easily integrated in crop-nutrient planning, but
biological resources from land and sea – such as care is required as they can also leach or run-off.
crops, forests, fish, animals, and microorganisms

FOOD BY-PRODUCTS
– to produce food, materials, and energy.

Materials arising from the process of converting food

BIOFERTILISERS ingredients into food products, e.g. oil seed cake, brewer
A specific subset of organic fertilisers, which contain spent grains, fish guts; as well as human waste. Also from
living microorganisms that help with nutrient food preparation or consumption that are not edible
cycling, thereby activating the soil to enrich its own under normal circumstances, such as egg shells, tea
fertility. Sometimes also referred to as inoculants. bags, meat bones, coffee grounds or vegetable peelings.

COMPOST FOOD WASTE, EDIBLE

A soil-type matter produced from decomposed Food and drink that, at the point of being thrown
materials, which can contain more than 50% away, was edible. Generat for a number of
organic dry matter. The nutrient constitution reasons, including overproduction, past use-by-
depends on the feedstock and includes date, aesthetic appearance, or mislabelling.
nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon.

1 World Health Organization (WHO), Antimicrobial resistance, https://www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/en/

 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 7 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

FOOD SYSTEM ORGANIC MATTER

Encompasses the full value chain of producing food for A large group of carbon-based compounds found in
human consumption, from agricultural activities and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, known as ‘biomass’.
other means, through handling, transportation, storage,

PARTICULATE MATTER
processing, distribution, and consumption to organic
(including human) waste management and disposal
/ reintroduction into productive use (‘looping’). Microscopic solid or liquid matter, generated by
human or natural activity that are suspended in the
atmosphere and affect human health, climate, and
INDUSTRIAL FOOD precipitation. A subtype is referred to as PM2.5,

PRODUCTION which indicates fine particles with a diameter

of 2.5 μm or less. These smaller particles are a
A wide spectrum of farming models based around particular risk to human health due to their ability
specialised commodity-crop production and to penetrate deep into the lungs or bloodstream.
the use of synthetic inputs. This definition thus
encompasses smaller-scale ‘conventional agriculture’
as well as larger-scale industrialised systems.2 PERI-URBAN
The area located within 20 km of the city boundary.

NUTRIENTS FOR PLANT

NUTRITION REGENERATIVE FOOD
Substances used by plants for healthy growth
and metabolism. The principal macronutrients
PRODUCTION
Food production, in its broadest sense, using
derived from the growth medium are nitrogen, approaches that contribute to the improved
phosphorus, and potassium (NPK), as well as health of the surrounding natural ecosystem.
calcium, sulphur, and magnesium. Micronutrients
are trace minerals required in much smaller
quantities, including iron, zinc, copper, and nickel. SMALLHOLDER FARMS
Over 500 million small (<10ha) normally family-owned

NUTRIENT LOOPING farms that depend on family labour to meet their own
living needs. The sale of surplus ‘cash crops’ provides the
The processes by which discarded organic resources basis for income for non-food needs, such as medicine,
can be turned into an array of valuable products. education, and housing. It is estimated that such farms
From low-tech organic compost to innovative, high- provide food for approximately 70% of the world.
value biomaterials (see Figure 7), nutrient looping
can help regenerate peri-urban farming areas and
create new bioeconomic activity in the city. SYNTHETIC FERTILISERS
Also known as ‘chemical’ or ‘mineral’) fertilisers,

ORGANIC FERTILISERS these are derived from mineral rocks, synthetic

origins or produced industrially. They are added to
Fertilisers derived from natural materials and processes, the soil to enhance the growth of plants and crops.
such as animal, human or insect excreta; decomposing
plant matter; animal or fish waste including bone
meal; marine flora including seaweed or kelp. Organic URBAN FARMS
fertilisers can be added to the soil to improve soil Farms located within a city’s boundary that produce
structure and/or enhance the growth of plants and crops. food primarily for consumption in that city.

2 International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), Breaking Away from Industrial Food and Farming Systems
(2018)
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 8 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Few things are as interwoven with human existence and culture as
food. At the most basic level, we need it to survive. Beyond sustenance,
food can bring joy and takes a central place in cultures around the
world, often as the centrepiece of celebrations and festivities.

The current food system has supported a fast-growing population and fuelled
economic development and urbanisation. Yet, these productivity gains have come
at a cost, and the model is no longer fit to meet longer term needs. Shifting to a
circular economy for food presents an attractive model with huge economic, health,
and environmental benefits across the food value chain and society more broadly.

THE LINEAR FOOD SYSTEM IS These USD 5.7 trillion costs are a direct result of
RIPE FOR DISRUPTION the ‘linear’ nature of modern food production,
There are well-known drawbacks related to which extracts finite resources, is wasteful and
our consumption of food, including the twin polluting, and harms natural systems. Currently,
scourges of malnutrition and obesity. Less well- the agrifood industry is responsible for almost
known is the extent of the negative impacts of a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions globally,
current food production methods. Overall, for degrades the natural resources on which it
every dollar spent on food, society pays two depends, and pollutes air, water, and soil. The
dollars in health, environmental, and economic equivalent of six garbage trucks of edible food
costs. Half these costs – totalling USD 5.7 trillion is lost or wasted every second. In cities, less
each year globally – are due to the way food is than 2% of the valuable biological nutrients in
produced. food by-products and organic waste (excluding
manure) is composted or otherwise valorised.

Perhaps most surprisingly, even when apparently

$1
SPE S UM P T I UCTI
OD N OD O
N making healthy food choices, people’s health is

$1 $1 $
O
PR
O
CO

N
D
F

still being harmed by the way we produce food

and deal with its by-products. By 2050, around
5 million lives a year – twice as many as the
current obesity toll – could be lost as a result of
The extractive, wasteful, and polluting nature current food production processes. Among the
of current food production costs society as harmful impacts of such methods are diseases
much as all costs related to food consumption caused by air pollution and water contamination,
(e.g. from obesity and malnutrition) combined. health consequences of pesticide use, and
increased antimicrobial resistance. Some of
the principal causes are overuse of fertilisers,
excessive reliance on antibiotics in animals, and
untreated human waste.
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 9 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY together aim to shift the food system onto
OFFERS A VISION FOR A FOOD a better trajectory. Work conducted with
SYSTEM FIT FOR THE FUTURE four focus cities (Brussels, Belgium; Guelph,
The report offers a vision for a healthy food Canada; Porto, Portugal; São Paulo, Brazil)
system fit for the 21st century and beyond, during the development of the report suggests
underpinned by the circular economy principles cities have a major opportunity to apply these
of designing out waste and pollution, keeping ambitions, regardless of their unique physical,
products and materials in use, and regenerating demographic, and socio-economic profiles. By
natural systems. In this vision, food production shifting towards a circular economy for food,
improves rather than degrades the environment, cities can help realise the vision and generate
and all people have access to healthy and significant environmental, economic, and health
nutritious food. While far from the current benefits within and beyond their boundaries.
reality, we believe this vision is completely
achievable. After all, food comes from natural
systems in which organisms have thrived for
billions of years and, when they reach the end of
their life, become food for new cycles to begin.

CITIES CAN TRIGGER A SHIFT

TO A BETTER FOOD SYSTEM
Cities have a unique opportunity to spark a DEFINING CITIES
transformation towards a circular economy for
food, given that 80% of all food is expected In the report we define cities as urban
to be consumed in cities by 2050. The report areas and the combination of all
focuses on the ability of urban food actors to businesses, public bodies (e.g. city
catalyse this change by getting more value governments), organisations, institutions
out of their food, and substantially influencing (e.g. schools, hospitals), communities,
which food is produced and how. The ambitions and citizens located within them.
presented are intended to complement the
range of valuable ongoing initiatives that
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 10 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

CITIES CAN WORK diverse range of suppliers (local and global),

and supporting native crop varieties. It offers
TOWARDS THREE city dwellers the opportunity to strengthen their
AMBITIONS FOR A connection with food and the farmers who grow
CIRCULAR ECONOMY it, often increasing the likelihood that people
will demand food grown using regenerative
FOR FOOD practices that benefit the local environment and
their own health. Local sourcing can also reduce
the need for excess packaging and shorten
SOURCE FOOD GROWN
distribution supply chains.
REGENERATIVELY, AND LOCALLY
WHERE APPROPRIATE
Since 80% of food will be consumed in cities MAKE THE MOST OF FOOD
by 2050, cities can significantly influence the Cities can play an important role in sparking a
way food is grown, particularly by interacting shift to a fundamentally different food system
with producers in their peri-urban and rural in which we move beyond simply reducing
surroundings. Regenerative approaches to food avoidable food waste to designing out the
production will ensure the food that enters cities concept of ‘waste’ altogether. As the place
is cultivated in a way that enhances rather than where most food eventually ends up, cities
degrades the environment, as well as creating can ensure inevitable by-products are used
many other systemic benefits. at their highest value, transforming them into
new products ranging from organic fertilisers
In the report, regenerative food production is and biomaterials to medicine and bioenergy.
considered in a broad sense as encompassing Rather than a final destination for food, cities
any production techniques that improve the can become centres where food by-products
overall health of the local ecosystem. Examples are transformed into a broad array of valuable
of regenerative practices include shifting from materials, driving new revenue streams in a
synthetic to organic fertilisers, employing crop thriving bioeconomy.
rotation, and using greater crop variation to
promote biodiversity. Farming types such as
agroecology, rotational grazing, agroforestry, DESIGN AND MARKET HEALTHIER
conservation agriculture, and permaculture FOOD PRODUCTS
all fall under this definition. Regenerative In a circular economy, food products are
practices support the development of healthy designed not only to be healthy from a
soils, which can result in foods with improved nutritional standpoint, but also in the way that
taste and micronutrient content. Cites cannot they are produced. From breakfast cereals to
of course implement these techniques alone. takeaway meals, a significant proportion of
Collaborating with farmers, and rewarding them food eaten today has been designed in some
for adopting these beneficial approaches, will be way by food brands, retailers, restaurants,
essential. In parallel, cities can use circular urban schools, hospitals, and other providers. These
farming systems, such as those that combine organisations have shaped our food preferences
indoor aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable and habits for decades, particularly in cities,
production in local loops. and can now help reorient them to support
regenerative food systems. One example is
The feasibility and benefits of increasing local for food designers to innovate new plant-
sourcing have been the subject of intense based protein options as alternatives to meat
debate. While urban farming can provide cities and dairy, and encourage consumers towards
with some vegetables and fruits, it is currently them. Designers can also develop products
limited in its ability to satisfy people’s broader and recipes that use food by-products as
nutritional needs. However, cities can source ingredients, and that can – for example by
substantial amounts of food from their peri- avoiding certain additives – be safely returned
urban areas (defined in the report as the area to the soil or valorised in the wider bioeconomy.
within 20 km of cities), which already hold 40% In this way food designers can play their part
of the world’s cropland. While local sourcing is in designing out food waste. Marketing can
not a silver bullet, reconnecting cities with their position these delicious and healthy products
local food production supports the development as easy and accessible choices for people on a
of a distributed and regenerative agricultural daily basis.
system. It allows cities to increase the resilience
of their food supply by relying on a more
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 11 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

SOURCE FOOD GROWN

REGENERATIVELY,
AND LOCALLY WHERE DESIGN AND
APPROPRIATE MARKET
FOOD HEALTHIER
INT
O C
IT
FOOD PRODUCTS
IE
S

INFL
UENCE
MAKE THE
MOST OF
B
Y- FOOD M
Y
PR O
OD ON
UCT EC
S INTO BIO
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 12 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

THERE ARE CLEAR BENEFITS OF Achieving these three ambitions would allow
ACHIEVING A REGENERATIVE SYSTEM cities to move from passive consumers to
The three ambitions will have greatest impact active catalysts of change, and generate
if pursued simultaneously. Designing and annual benefits worth USD 2.7 trillion by 2050
marketing food products that appeal to people that can be enjoyed by people
using more locally available and seasonal around the world.
ingredients would increase cities’ connection
These benefits include reducing
with local farmers and could help spark the
annual greenhouse gas
transition to regenerative practices. Using
emissions by 4.3 billion tonnes
more local ingredients would likely increase the
of CO2 equivalent, comparable
traceability of food and therefore potentially
to taking nearly all the 1 billion
its safety. Similarly, making the compost and
cars in the world off the road permanently;
fertilisers derived from food by-products
avoiding the degradation of 15 million hectares
attractive to peri-urban farmers would help drive
of arable land per year; and saving 450 trillion
efforts in cities to collect and make the most of
litres of fresh water. Health benefits
these by-products and other organic materials.
include lowering the health costs
As hubs of innovation and connectivity, cities are
associated with pesticide use by
ideally placed to successfully link up all elements
USD 550 billion, as well as significant
of the food value chain.
reductions of antimicrobial resistance,
air pollution, water contamination,
and foodborne diseases. Cities can
also unlock an economic opportunity upwards
of USD 700 billion by reducing edible food
waste and using nitrogen and phosphorus
from food by-products and organic materials
for new cycles. From producers and brands to
processors and retailers, businesses across the
food value chain can tap into
high-growth sectors such as
biomaterials or delicious plant-
based protein products.
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 13 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

MOBILISING THE TRANSFORMATION AT

SCALE DEMANDS A NEW APPROACH
While the principles of healthier, regenerative
food systems are well understood in broad
terms, and many examples already exist,
the challenge is realising the vision at scale.
Realising the vision at scale will require a
global systems-level change effort that is
cross-value chain, spans public and private
sectors, and complements existing initiatives.
This effort will need to mobilise unprecedented
collaboration between food brands, producers,
retailers, city governments, waste managers,
and other urban food actors. It will entail
an orchestration of multiple efforts to build
mutually reinforcing momentum, including
connecting local flagship demonstration
projects in key cities around the world with
global scaling mechanisms that use the reach
of multinational businesses and collaborative
platforms. The orchestration of supportive policy
frameworks, innovations, financial instruments,
and communications to engage the wider public
will also all be needed to create the enabling
conditions for a systems shift.

The report has clearly demonstrated that using

the catalytic potential of cities to spark change
can be a powerful addition to the landscape
of efforts needed to transform our relationship
with food.

Now is the time to make it happen.

 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 14 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

1. THE LINEAR FOOD

SYSTEM IS RIPE FOR
DISRUPTION
Few things are as interwoven with human existence, culture, and the
economy as food. At the most basic level, we need food to survive. Beyond
sustenance, food can bring joy and has a central role in cultures around
the world, often as the centrepiece of celebrations and festivities. The
global food industry is also the world’s largest sector, 3 employing over
1 billion people and accounting for around 10% of global GDP. 4

3 Defined as the combination of all activities to produce and distribute food, and manage its waste and by-products
4 Murray, S., The world’s biggest industry, Forbes (15th November 2007), https://www.forbes.com/2007/11/11/growth-agriculture-
business-forbeslife-food07-cx_sm_1113bigfood.html#53190a5d373e
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 15 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

THE WAY FOOD IS thanks to the widespread adoption – accelerated

during the Green Revolution of the 1960s – of
CURRENTLY PRODUCED IS high-yielding crop varieties, synthetic fertilisers
EXTRACTIVE, WASTEFUL, and pesticides, and farm machinery.
AND HARMFUL TO HUMAN Yet, the industrialisation of the food system
HEALTH has had many negative consequences. In the
current food system, for every USD 1 spent on
While the food system has made significant food, USD 2 is incurred in economic, societal,
productivity gains over the past two centuries, it and environmental costs.5 Half of these costs are
is unfit to meet long-term needs. The industrial related to consumption: obesity, malnutrition,
food system has worked wonders in increasing and micronutrient deficiency; and, perhaps
global food production to meet rising demands surprisingly, the other half is associated with the
from the expanding world population. Food way our food is produced (see Figure 1).6
production has enabled population growth

FIGURE 1: FOR EVERY USD 1 SPENT ON FOOD,

USD 2 IS INCURRED IN ECONOMIC, HEALTH, AND
ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS.

FOOD SOCIETAL COSTS RELATED TO

SPEND CONSUMPTION PRODUCTION
ECONO
ION* OBESIT MIC
RIT Y*
UT *
LN
A
M

$1 $1 $1
CY
ENT DEFICIEN

ENVIRONM
HEALTH
TRI

EN
NU

TA
O
CR

L
I
M

*Excluding obesity; **Due to diet

Based on Cities and Circular Economy for Food analysis – for details see Technical Appendix.

The negative societal costs from producing • Extracts finite resources. Vast amounts of
food are USD 5.7 trillion each year, as high as phosphorus, potassium, and other finite
those of obesity, malnutrition, and other food resources are mined and extracted for
consumption issues combined.7 These costs farming. From tractors on the field to food-
are related to what happens to food before processing plants and fleets of distribution
and after it is consumed, and are a result of trucks, most activities in the food system
the ‘linear’ nature of modern food production are powered by fossil fuels. For every calorie
(see Figure 2). This linear model sees food consumed in the US, the equivalent energy
production that: of 13 calories of oil are burned to produce
it.8

5 Cities and Circular Economy for Food analysis – for details see Technical Appendix
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Includes energy used to produce discarded food. Qualman, D., Earning negative returns: energy use in modern food systems (1st
August 2017), https://www.darrinqualman.com/energy-use-in-modern-food-systems/
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 16 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

• Is very wasteful. A third of all edible food derived protein,16 contributing to a dramatic
continues to go uneaten, even though more loss of biodiversity (over 60% in the last 40
than 10% of the global population goes years),17 increased vulnerability to diseases
hungry.9 The equivalent of six garbage and pests, and greater reliance on chemical
trucks of edible food is wasted every inputs.
second.10 Less than 2% of the valuable
nutrients in food by-products and human Out of the USD 5.7 trillion worth of negative
waste generated in cities is valorised safely societal costs from producing food each year,
and productively (see Figure 2).11 Instead, USD 1.6 trillion is the cost of the human health
these nutrients are typically destined for impacts18, nearly as much as the estimated
landfill, incinerators or, worse, languish in global cost of obesity.19 The harmful nature
open dumps or are released untreated, of food production for human health has only
where they pose health hazards to nearby recently become clear. Pesticide exposure;
residents and the environment. antimicrobial resistance, caused by excessive use
of antibiotics in fish and livestock farming and
• Pollutes the environment. Pesticides inadequately treated human waste; air pollution,
and synthetic fertilisers used in caused by excessive use and poor management
conventional farming practices, along of fertilisers and manure; water contamination;
with mismanagement of manure, can and foodborne diseases all significantly damage
exacerbate air pollution, contaminate soils, human health. These impacts are projected to
and leach chemicals into water supplies. be amplified in the future due to increased use
Poor management of food waste and by- of and exposure to these pollutants.
products generated during food processing,
distribution, and packaging further pollutes • Farm worker exposure to pesticides
water, particularly in emerging economies. currently costs USD 0.9 trillion. Long-term
The agrifood industry is the world’s second exposure to low levels of pesticides has
largest emitter of greenhouse gases, been linked to cancer, asthma, depression,20
responsible for approximately 25% of all reduced IQ, and higher rates of attention
human-caused emissions.12 deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) –
the last two alone are costing the EU an
• Degrades natural capital. Poor agricultural estimated USD 150 billion annually.21
practices are a significant contributor
to the 39 million hectares of soil that
are degraded each year globally.13
Approximately 70% of global freshwater
demand is used for agriculture.14 Large-
scale commercial agriculture and local
subsistence agriculture were responsible
for about 73% of deforestation between
2000 and 2010.15 The world relies on just
three crops for more than 50% of its plant-

9 Hunger Notes, How many people are hungry in the world? (2016), https://www.worldhunger.org/hunger-quiz/how-many-people-are-
hungry-in-the-world/
10 Estimate based on 1.8 billion tonnes of food lost or wasted every year (see Technical Appendix), a food density of 500 kg/m3 (WRAP,
Material bulk densities, summary report (2010)) and a volume of 17.5 m3 per truck
11 Cities and Circular Economy for Food analysis – for details see Technical Appendix; World Bank, What a Waste 2.0: a global snapshot
of solid waste management to 2050 (2018); WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme), The United Nations world
water development report 2017: wastewater, the untapped resource (2017). (‘Valorised’ defined here as put to new use safely and
productively; not including manure)
12 Smith, P., et al., Climate change 2014: mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the fifth assessment report of
the intergovernmental panel on climate change (2014)
13 Cities and Circular Economy for Food analysis – for details see Technical Appendix
14 AQUASTAT – FAO’s global water information system (2014)
15 WWF (Grooten, M., Almond, R.E.A.), Living planet report – 2018: aiming higher (2018)
16 Biodiversity International, Mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in sustainable food systems (2017). https://www.bioversityinternational.org/
fileadmin/user_upload/online_library/Mainstreaming_Agrobiodiversity/Mainstreaming_Agrobiodiversity_Sustainable_Food_Systems_
WEB.pdf
17 WWF (Grooten, M., Almond, R.E.A.), Living planet report – 2018: aiming higher (2018)
18 Cities and Circular Economy for Food analysis – for details see Technical Appendix
19 Estimated to amount to USD 2 trillion annually. McKinsey Global Institute, Overcoming obesity: an initial economic analysis (2015)
20 Pesticide Action Network UK, Impacts of pesticides on health (2017) http://www.pan-uk.org/health-effects-of-pesticides/
21 Trasande, L., et al., Burden of disease and costs of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in the European Union: an updated
analysis (2016), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5244983/
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 17 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

FIGURE 2: THE FLOW OF MATERIALS IN THE FOOD

SYSTEM IS OVERWHELMINGLY LINEAR.
In the linear food system, a very high proportion of food flows into cities where it is
processed or consumed, creating organic waste in the form of discarded food, by-
products or sewage. In cities, only a very small proportion (<2%) of the valuable
nutrients in these discarded organic resources gets looped back to productive use.

BILLIONS OF TONNES ANNUALLY

FRESH 2.9 2.4

WATER FOOD EATEN
FOOD DESTINED IN CITIES
4.3
FOR CITIES

FOOD FOR
2.3
HUMAN
0.5

7.1
WASTED IN CITIES 4
CONSUMPTION HUMAN
WASTE

1.4
CHEMICAL IN CITIES 3
INPUTS 1
FOOD DESTINED FOR
OUTSIDE CITIES
PRODUCTION
FOR FOOD
GLOBALLY 2 1.1
2.8
PRODUCTION AND
FOSSIL PROCESSING LOSSES
ENERGY
1.7 ORGANIC WASTE
IN CITIES
ANIMAL FEED
AND OTHER USES

<2%
SOIL
OF VALUABLE
NUTRIENTS
LOOPED BY CITIES

1. Such as fertilisers or pesticides; 2. As per FAOSTAT ‘Production’ definition, i.e. typically reported at the first production stage (farm level
for crops and animal products; live weight for seafood); 3. Human waste includes solid and liquid waste, expressed in wet mass; 4. Food
wasted in cities includes distribution and consumption stages

Source: FAOSTAT, Food Balance Sheets (2013); FAOSTAT, livestock manure (2013); WBA, Global Bioenergy Statistics (2017); The World
Bank, What a Waste (2012); Scialabba, N., et al., Food wastage footprint: impacts on natural resources (2013), United Nations University,
Valuing human waste as an energy resource (2015), Cities and the Circular Economy for Food analysis

• Antimicrobial resistance currently costs crisis, with the societal cost by 2050
USD 0.3 trillion and could have by far the projected to be ranging from USD 2 trillion
largest food production health impact on to 125 trillion dollars,22 with food and
the next generation. Inadequate wastewater agriculture accounting for 5% to 22% of
treatment and misuse of antibiotics in these costs.23
fish and livestock farming contribute to
resistant pathogens and antibiotics leaching • Air pollution from agriculture currently
into waterways and other natural systems, costs USD 0.2 trillion24 and contributes
allowing antimicrobial resistance to grow 20%25 of particulate air pollution, which
and spread. The result is that the efficacy causes 3.3 million premature deaths
of many antibiotics against previously per year. Agriculture is estimated to be
treatable diseases is lost. Antimicrobial responsible for up to 20% of air pollution
resistance is a major looming public health deaths, mainly due to excess fertiliser

22 The Wellcome Trust (Taylor, J., et al.), Estimating the economic costs of antimicrobial resistance: model and results (2014)
23 The Global Alliance for the Future of Food and IPES-Food, Unravelling the food–health nexus: addressing practices, political economy,
and power relations to build healthier food systems (2017)
24 Cities and the Circular Economy for Food analysis – for details see Technical Appendix calculations based on costs: McKinsey Global
Institute, 2012 [obesity]; share due to agriculture: The Global Alliance for the Future of Food and IPES-Food, Unravelling the food–
health nexus: addressing practices, political economy, and power relations to build healthier food systems (2017)
25 Max Planck Institute (Pozzer, A., et al.), Impact of agricultural emission reductions on fine-particulate matter and public health in
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2017), 17, 12813–12826
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 18 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

and manure releasing ammonia into the • Negative environmental impacts from the
atmosphere.26 Ammonia is a powerful food system could increase by 50% to 90%
pollutant because of its capacity to due to growing populations and greater
combine with other gases to form PM2.5 food consumption as incomes rise.31
fine particles that are particularly harmful
to human health.

• Water contamination and foodborne

NOW IS THE TIME
diseases currently cost USD 0.2 trillion. TO SHIFT TOWARDS
Poor wastewater management and unsafe A FUNDAMENTALLY
irrigation using untreated human waste
take a heavy toll on human health through
BETTER FOOD SYSTEM
contaminated drinking water and foodborne It does not have to be this way. If there is any
diseases. According to a 2017 UN report, sector in the global economy with the intrinsic
80% of human waste goes untreated potential to build rather than deplete natural
globally,27 contributing heavily to diarrhetic capital and to support the long-term wellbeing
diseases, which are a leading cause of child and development of the economy, society,
mortality in some regions of the world. and natural systems, it is arguably the food
system. After all, food is part of nature, which
Given current trends, the food system will have
is inherently regenerative. For billions of years,
catastrophic impacts by 2050:
organisms in living systems have grown, thrived,
• Air pollution and water contamination and, at the end of their cycle, become food for a
(caused by excessive use of fertilisers, new cycle to begin.
animal farming, and untreated human
Multiple trends suggest now is the time to shift
wastewater); alongside antimicrobial
to a new model for food:
resistance facilitated by excessive use
of antibiotics in animal farming and • Customer preferences are evolving. There
inadequately treated wastewaters, could is evidence of a growing shift among more
contribute to the loss of around 5 million affluent, health-conscious consumers
lives a year by 2050, twice as many as the towards eating an increase in plant-based
current obesity toll.28 protein and more regeneratively grown
food, which may be indicative of long-term
• The food system alone will have used up
global trends:
two-thirds of the remaining global carbon
budget, which has been agreed to have ◦◦ People are changing their diets. People
a reasonable chance of limiting global in OECD countries are eating less meat
warming to 1.5°C or less compared to pre- and shifting towards more plant-based
industrial levels.29 protein sources. In the US, the demand
for non-dairy beverages has grown by
• Particularly in industrialised areas,
61% over the past five years,32 and beef
agriculture will be responsible for more
demand declined by 16% between 2005
harmful air pollution than all other human
and 2014.33 While this trend seems to
activities combined, due to ammonia
be prevalent across wealthier nations, in
emissions from animal farming and fertiliser
developing economies meat consumption
use.30

26 Ibid.
27 WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme), The United Nations world water development report 2017: wastewater,
the untapped resource (2017)
28 EASO (European Association for the Study of Obesity), Obesity Facts and Figures (2018), http://easo.org/education-portal/obesity-
facts-figures/
29 Cities and Circular Economy for Food analysis – for details see Technical Appendix; IPCC (Masson-Delmotte, et al.), Summary for
policymakers. In: Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate
change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty (2018)
30 Bauer, S.E., et al., Significant atmospheric aerosol pollution caused by world food cultivation, Geophysical Research Letter (2016), Vol.
43, 5394–5400, https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016GL068354
31 Springmann, M., et al., Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits, Nature (2018), Volume 562, pp.519–525
32 Mintel, US non-dairy milk sales grows 61% over the last five years (4th January 2018), http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-
drink/us-non-dairy-milk-sales-grow-61-over-the-last-five-years
33 World Resources Institute, 2018 will see high meat consumption in the U.S., but the American diet is shifting (24th January 2018),
https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/01/2018-will-see-high-meat-consumption-us-american-diet-shifting
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 19 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

is, by contrast, predicted to increase by ◦◦ New technological innovations are

70% by 205034 due to rising incomes. emerging. From solutions such as IBM’s
Providing more accessible delicious Food Trust blockchain technology, which
plant-based products to the market provides transparency for retail supply
can support existing trends towards chains42 to SiembraViva’s e-commerce
increasingly diverse protein sources in platform connecting rural organic
some regions, as well as reverse rising smallholder farmers in Colombia with
meat consumption trends in others. growing urban consumer markets,43
digital technologies provide new
◦◦ People are reconnecting with how and capabilities that could not exist even a
where their food is grown. Organic food decade ago. Artificial intelligence (AI)
sales represented a USD 90 billion market technology can support the food system
in 2016, with double-digit growth in many revolution through a range of potential
regions, including India, Europe, and Latin solutions.44 AI can be applied in ways
America.35, 36, 37 The number of farmers’ that accelerate the transition to a circular
markets multiplied in the US by nearly five economy for food at-scale, by providing
times from 1994 to 2017, totalling 8,600 farmers with rich information about
farmers’ markets across the US selling what is actually going on in their fields;
local products.38 automating food sorting during transport
and distribution; and creating platforms
• Technology and innovation are opening up
that rapidly generate recipes to replace
new possibilities:
animal proteins with plant proteins.
◦◦ New plant-based proteins are coming to
◦◦ Innovative technologies offer tools
market. New technologies are making it
for cities in emerging economies to
possible to create delicious meat, dairy,
‘leapfrog’ over linear industrial models.
and fish alternatives, as demonstrated
By leveraging available digital tools, cities
by innovators such as Impossible Foods,
in emerging economies can not only avoid
Beyond Meat, Terramino Foods, Protix,
the mistakes and damaging industrialised
and Entocycle.
food systems of the past, but also reorient
◦◦ Investment in food and agriculture onto a trajectory for healthy, regenerative
research is reaching new highs. Global food systems.
investment in food and agriculture
• Regulations and standards are enabling a
businesses tripled from 2004 to 2013,
better food system to emerge.
totalling more than USD 100 billion.39
Institutions are investing in cutting-edge ◦◦ The European Bioeconomy Strategy,
research across food production (e.g. the updated in October 2018, supports
University of California’s Alternative Meat circular economic activities related to
Lab)40 and by-product transformation nutrient looping, industrial strategy, and
(e.g. the University of Guelph’s climate policy.45
Bioproducts Discovery and Development
Centre), leading to technological ◦◦ City governments are adopting new
breakthroughs.41 policies to address all areas of the food

34 World Resources Institute, How to sustainably feed 10 billion people by 2050, in 21 charts (5th December 2018), https://www.wri.org/
blog/2018/12/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts
35 Ernst & Young and Assocham, The Indian organic market – a new paradigm in agriculture (2018)
36 Fresh Plaza, Organic food consumption continues to increase in Europe (26th February 2018), https://www.freshplaza.com/
article/2189746/organic-food-consumption-continues-to-increase-in-europe/
37 Organics News Brasil, ORGANIS divulga primeira pesquisa nacional com consumidores de orgânicos (7th June 2017), https://
organicsnewsbrasil.com.br/consumidor/organis-divulga-primeira-pesquisa-nacional-com-consumidores-de-organicos/; Agrimundo,
Latinoamérica: mercado de alimentos orgánicos crece significativamente (12th August 2016)
38 USDA Local Food Directories: National Farmers Market Directory (2018), https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/
farmersmarkets
39 McKinsey & Company Chemicals, Pursuing the global opportunity in food and agribusiness (July 2015), https://www.mckinsey.com/
industries/chemicals/our-insights/pursuing-the-global-opportunity-in-food-and-agribusiness
40 Alternative Meats Lab, UC Berkeley, https://scet.berkeley.edu/alternative-meats-lab/
41 Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, University of Guelph, https://www.bioproductscentre.com/
42 IBM Food Trust: Trust and transparency in our food, https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/solutions/food-trust
43 SiembraViva, https://siembraviva.com/home/
44 Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Artificial intelligence and the circular economy: AI as a tool to accelerate the transition (2019)
45 European Commission (DG Research & Innovation), A sustainable bioeconomy for Europe: strengthening the connection between
economy, society and the environment, Updated Bioeconomy Strategy (October 2018)
 CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 20 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

value chain: 63% of cities surveyed in a

2017 EU report have at least some food-
related programmes.46

◦◦ A regenerative organic certification pilot

programme was launched in 2018 in the
United States.47

◦◦ Since 2003, strong political commitment

in the Indian state of Sikkim led to the
state becoming 100% organic by 2015 and
winning a UN Future Policy Gold Award
in 2018.48 The ambitious programme, still
in its infancy, involves 66,000 farmers
and is proving to be a good test bed for
consumer buying habits and behaviour.

◦◦ In 2012, Brazil launched the first country-

level policy in the world with a focus
on agroecology and organic food
production in response to the high rates
of agrochemical use and simplification
of biodiversity in a model dominated
by monoculture; it also favours a more
labour-intensive agriculture model.49

Given the complexity of the food system,

a multifaceted approach is required to
successfully tackle its greatest challenges. As
a recent study produced by the EAT-Lancet
Commission and published in Nature stated:
“No single solution is enough to avoid crossing
planetary boundaries. But when the solutions
are implemented together, our research
indicates that it may be possible to feed the
growing population sustainably.”50 This report
agrees that to be effective change needs to
be at the system level. It makes the case that a
food system based on the principles of a circular
economy is one that is healthy for people and
natural systems.

46 European Commission, Food in cities: study on innovation for a sustainable and healthy production, delivery, and consumption of food
in cities (July 2017)
47 Regenerative Organic Certified, ROC Pilot Program and Participants, https://regenorganic.org/pilot/
48 India Today, Sikkim becomes world’s first organic state, wins Oscar for best policies by UN (16th October 2018), https://www.
indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/sikkim-becomes-world-s-first-organic-state-wins-oscar-for-best-policies-by-
un-1369158-2018-10-16
49 Brasil agroecológico, https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/sikkim-becomes-world-s-first-organic-state-
wins-oscar-for-best-policies-by-un-1369158-2018-10-16
50 Springmann, M., et al., Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits, Nature (2018), Volume 562, pp.519–525
CITIES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR FOOD • 21 • ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION