The Sustainability of Urban Food Systems: The Case of Mozzarella Production in the City of Milan

Marta Castrica, Vera Ventura, Sara Panseri, Giovanni Ferrazzi, Doriana Tedesco and Claudia Maria Balzaretti
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Marta Castrica: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy
Vera Ventura: Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy
Sara Panseri: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy
Giovanni Ferrazzi: Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy
Doriana Tedesco: Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy
Claudia Maria Balzaretti: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Background: Urban food production in the developed world has recently been facing the challenge of feeding the world’s cities adequately and on a sustainable basis, and innovative models of food production can help this transition. Nevertheless, this field of research largely focuses on primary food production—so-called urban farming—while the subsequent steps of the food chain have scarcely been investigated. In this context, this study aimed to provide a preliminary evaluation of urban food processing, taking mozzarella cheese production in the city of Milan as a case study. Methods: Five urban farmers participated in a direct survey aiming at identifying how sustainable this specific production chain can be considered. Results: Results demonstrated that the concept of urban food production is really valorized through measures able to enhance the global sustainability of the food production process only in some of the dairy micro- enterprises and that the economic dimension must be considered the variable most critically involved in hampering the global sustainability of this specific food chain. Conclusions: This research suggests the need to disseminate a global governance of urban supply chains and to support local activities, which represent a sensitive and strategic sector.

Keywords: urban food production; short chain; sustainable production; micro dairies; mozzarella (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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