Work package 2 / Deliverable D2.2 / National report

The Metropolitan Area of in the north western part of

Lola Domínguez García, Damián Copena Rodríguez, Paul Swagemakers and Xavier Simón Fernández Grupo de Investigación Economía Ecolóxica e Agroecoloxía (GIEEA), Vigo University, Spain

October 2013

2013

SUPURBFOOD National report: Galicia (Spain)

Table of contents

1 Case study report on Galicia, Spain 3 1.1 Governance structure 3 1.2 History of agriculture, land-use structure and ownership patterns 4 1.3 Land planning system 5 1.4 Sketch of the pre-dominant forms of food retailing 6 1.5 Current levels of recycling and resource protection 7

2 Introduction to the Metropolitan Area of Vigo (MAV) 8 2.1 History and conceptualisation of the city-region 8 2.2 Current social and economic situation 9 2.3 Development of food strategies and key actors 10 2.4 Pre-dominant forms of food retailing at the city-region level 11 2.5 Current levels of recycling (nutrients and water) at city-region level 12 2.6 Land-use map 12

3 Dynamics in the city-region 15 3.1 Stakeholder consultation 15 3.1.1 Social media analysis 15 3.1.2 Interview round 16 3.1.3 The first city workshop 17 3.2 Short food supply chains 21 3.3 Multi-functional land-use 23 3.4 Closing the cycles of organic waste, water and nutrients 24 3.5 Towards a regional food strategy 25

4 Conclusions 26 4.1 Blockages 28 4.2 Priorities 28 4.3 Opportunities 29 4.4 People, policy-makers and programs 29 4.5 Remaining knowledge gaps on Vigo’s new food strategy 31

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2013

SUPURBFOOD National report: Galicia (Spain)

1. Case study report

SUPURBFOOD is the acronym for a research project entitled ‘Towards sustainable modes of urban and peri-urban food provisioning’. It is financed by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. The project started in October 2012 and will run for 36 months. The project brings together research teams and SMEs in the food and agriculture domain from 7 European countries (The Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Latvia and Switzerland) and the International Network of Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF), which focuses on food and agriculture issues in urban and peri-urban settings in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The European city-regions involved in the project are: City-region Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Metropolitan Area Rome (Italy), City-region Ghent (Belgium), Metropolitan Area Vigo (Spain), City-region Bristol (United Kingdom), City-region Zürich (Switzerland), Greater Riga Region (Latvia). This report is on the Metropolitan Area Vigo (an informal, not yet existing administrative governance level), in Galicia, Spain.

1.1 Governance structure

Spain is divided in 17 autonomous regions and 52 provinces. The north western region Galicia (Figure 1a) consists of four provinces (A Coruña, , , ) that are divided again in ‘Comarcas’ (Figure 1b): territorial intermediate environments formed by a set of neighbouring municipalities with an internal cohesion among them based on geographical, historical, economic and functional facts (Law 7/1996, 10th June).

Figure 1a. Galicia in north western Spain Figure 1b. Location of Vigo

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Over the past century Vigo (marked red In Figure 1b) grew from 40,000 to nearly 300,000 inhabitants and became the largest city in Galicia. Simultaneously, political, demographic and socio-economic factors contributed to the progressive dismantling of the traditional Galician land-use system and changing land-use patterns.

1.2 History of agriculture, land-use structure and ownership patterns

Galicia has been traditionally a rural region with a strong reliance on the primary sector, its landscape profoundly being shaped by farming and forestry activities (Diaz Maroto and Vila Lameiro 2008). For centuries and until into the second half of the 20th century, farming activities performed environmentally well on the basis of an ‘organic agro- ecosystem’ (Simón Fernández 1995), which combines different land use systems, such as crops, cattle and Monte (areas of forest, scrub and bushes). Soil fertility was a determining factor for the functioning of this traditional land-use system and Monte its cornerstone (Soto 2006).

From the end of the 1940s, the Franco regime encouraged forestation. This particularly affected Monte and entailed significant changes in land use, which led to the enlargement of the forest areas and the diminution of scrub and bushes, which until then had played a central role in providing different inputs and functions to food production. Moreover, forest enlargement was largely achieved by planting non-native varieties which significantly contributed to spreading forest fires. Property (in many case communal) returned to their original owners in the end of the 70’s (Grupo dos Comúns 2006). In any case at that point, both in those areas where Monte had not been expropriated and in those where it had been expropriated socio-demographic and economic conditions had drastically changed and agricultural modernisation followed an agro-industrial trajectory. As a result, Monte became a resource disconnected from food provision practices. Migration patterns that led to a shift from remote rural areas to the coastal areas (Domínguez García et al. 2012) and industrialisation of agriculture (Domínguez García 2007) left Monte, about 60% of Galicia’s territory, abandoned or in use as mono-functional forests.

From 1960 onwards, despite the late start, the Galician farming sector industrialised and transformed food production through a process of homogenisation, specialisation and intensification into mainly dairy and poultry farming, increasingly disconnected from the local resource base.

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1.3 Land planning system

Land planning is regulated by Law 9/2002 of 30th December on urban planning and protection of the rural environment in Galicia and Law 10/1995 of 23rd November on land planning in Galicia in general. Due to traditional patterns of heritage private field parcels remain small sized and situated scattered over the parishes all over Galicia (29,000 km2). However, part of Galicia is managed by ‘comuneiros’, citizens who together own nearby situated Monte and are organised in Comunidades de Montes Veciñais en Man Común (CMVMCs, Neighbourhood Communities for the Common Management of Monte). These are democratic and autonomous governance authorities. At present, 2,800 CMVMCs manage a total of 700,000 hectare of Monte, which is equal to about 25 percent of the total Galician area. Law 7/2012 regulates land-use in these areas with the objective of generating income and employment and to foster the multi-functional use of Monte. Law 13/1989 of 10th October regulates its different uses (cattle and crops) (art. 22) as long as it fits to Law 7/2012 and other Spanish legislation.

The strong population growth and expansion of the Vigo in combination with the many small plots owned by many citizens complicate the policy and planning of infrastructure and public functions in Vigo’s metropolitan area. Since Vigo in fact consists of several conglomerated small former towns and villages also Vigo itself is directly surrounded by Monte. Many of these still belonging to the parish and is either under private (Monte divided in small sized parcels that should be managed individually) or common management regimes (by CMVMCs).

These commonly managed parts can be considered field laboratories for the creation of local employment and income: CMVMCs situated in the south western part of Galicia (Daniel Lopez, , personal communication) started changing dominant mono-functional forestation into multi-functional land use, with impact on their multi- functionality performance such as combining food production (animal breeding, mushroom production etc.), timber, health, well-being and biodiversity.

Although planning policy and management of Monte is formally not part of urban planning many public functions in Vigo (the zoo, the university, football fields) but also private enterprises (in industrial parks where the soil is owned and rented out by the parish) are located in areas owned and managed by CMVMCs.

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Although the regional government treats Comarcas as territorial groups of municipalities that represent a common history and form a practical entity regarding organisation and planning, the Galician government until today fails to include the multi-functional land-use by grassroots initiatives and reintroduction of Monte in daily life (Domínguez García et al. 2012, Swagemakers et al. 2012, Domínguez García and Swagemakers 2013, Swagemakers et al. 2013). This holds true for the more remote rural areas as well as for Galicia’s urban and peri-urban areas.

1.4 Sketch of the pre-dominant forms of food retailing

Nowadays like in many places food retailing is organised in large scale enterprises such as Carrefour (including Día, Mercadona and Eroski) but also Froiz, Gadis, Al Campo et cetera. Further there are the smaller regional enterprises such as fruit stores (e.g. Frutas Katuxa) and poultry selling points (Corén, all over Galicia). In general all shops have a fresh fish, meat and cheese and fruit department. Some of the smaller chains occasionally sell locally produced seasonal products like e.g. chestnuts.

Next to these more conventional supermarkets of large food chains one finds so-called market places in which small food stores sell fresh fish, meat and fruit products. Further fresh food produce reaches consumers through small organic and health shops (e.g. Tabertenda, ABCBio), farmers with home delivery service (e.g. Cesta Fresca, Daiqui), consumer cooperatives (e.g. Árbore) and small traditional groceries. Finally, fresh food produce is also exchanged in informal citizen networks: neighbours and families who exchange surpluses from their kitchen gardens.

Vigo as largest fish port in Europe makes the Galician eat a lot of fish and sea fruits. Also meat is very much appreciated when produced in Galicia; Galicia is also a large meat producer (beef and poultry production). Although mostly selling through the conventional food chains some meat producers sell by direct marketing. Examples are organic producers organised in Biocoop (beef production), private landowners organised in Monte Cabalar (horse, goat and beef) and several Comunidades de Monte en Man Comun, e.g. Arbo and Vincios both producers of goat meat.

Although food networks that shorten the food chain hold great potential in terms of valorising Galicia’s natural resource base and objectives related to climate change these initiatives currently lack institutional support and remain marginal.

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1.5 Current levels of recycling and resource protection

The regulatory framework for recycling and resource protection is set by several laws and regulations. Law 10/2008 of 3rd November regulates Galician waste with the main objective to prevent and/or reduce the production of waste, to establish a general juridical regime for production and management of residues (waste), and to reduce, reuse and recycle residues. This law also regulates soil pollution with the aim of protecting the environment and human health. More in concrete, the Galician management plan on urban waste 2010-2020 sets the basis for urban waste management in Galicia ‘creating a new more sustainable scenario and organising waste types according to regulation, stressing the prevention and valorisation of waste’. Its main implementation characteristics are however related to valorisation of waste by means of burning; not necessarily the most valuable means of treating waste and residue management. Organic waste from urban households is gathered in two plants in the province of A Coruña (north western Galicia). In the Comarca A Coruña it is processed anaerobia and turned into biogas for electricity production, and has a waste product with low compost quality. In the Comarca Barbanza it is processed with air, turned into electricity and turned into compost of high quality.

At the Comarcal level of the city of Vigo there is a recycling strategy on paper, glass and plastic that is separated from other household waste (the latter is transported to elsewhere in Galicia where it is burned). Organic waste is not collected separately. The use and recycling of organic waste however is popular among households in the Metropolitan Area of Vigo. Organic waste is either used for small animal husbandry or as compost for the kitchen gardens. The municipality of Mos for example, in the peri- urban area of Vigo, has a small project on organic waste in which they give away small compost containers to its citizens. This is financed with regional funds. CMVMCs in the Comarca Val Miñor built a composting station in which bushes and scrub from Monte in the Comarca can be processed into compost. This project is at the time of writing this report on hold by the municipality of Gondomar.

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2. Introduction to the Metropolitan Area of Vigo

2.1 History and conceptualisation of the city-region

The case study area located in Spain will be the Metropolitan Area of Vigo (MAV), with Vigo as the largest city and economic heart of Galicia. The MAV comprehends 14 municipalities (Figure 2): Baiona, Cangas, , Gondomar, Moaña, Mos, Nigrán, Pazos de Borbén, O Porriño, , , Salvaterra de Miño, and, central in the area, Vigo.

Over the past hundred years Vigo expanded from 40,000 inhabitants in 1900 to almost 300,000 inhabitants nowadays. Its growth especially accelerated from the 1960s when also was started putting down traditional village-type neighbourhoods and replace the houses and ancient fabrics by flats and offices. The largest Citroen car factory in Europe and the largest fishery harbour in Europe and related industries dominate the local economy. Nowadays the MAV has around 500,000 inhabitants out of the in total 2.7 million inhabitants of Galicia.

Figure 2. Metropolitan Area of Vigo (red) within the (blue)

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Since the 1930s the city has an airport with nowadays mainly flight connections to Madrid (50 minutes) and elsewhere in Spain as well as several flights a day to Paris. Some 15 years ago a motorway has finished that connects Vigo directly to Madrid (5 hours). Also a daily train connects Vigo to Madrid (6.5 hours). Currently a high speed train trajectory is being constructed that will reach Madrid in 3 hours. Galician’s capital, de Compostela (80 kilometres from Vigo) can be reached by highway (40 minutes) or every hour by train (1.5 hour). The MAV Law 4/2012 April 12th defines metropolitan areas as scenarios where similar social, cultural and political dynamics may show up, attracting people and activity by being able to promote knowledge economy and social networks. In 2004 the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) highlighted that the socio-economic repercussion of metropolitan areas was underestimated and defended the need of considering the development of such areas within the European Agenda. In 2007 the EESC defined those areas as laboratories of the world economy, and as driving forces of the economy, creativity and innovation. Specifically for the MAV, the law 4/2012 of 12 April says that ‘on the basis of the Directives of Galician land planning the MAV will develop an integrated territorial metropolitan plan’ (art. 28). This plan will have as a goal a specific planning of the metropolitan territory, considering the specific and homogeneous features of the area, looking for an integrative planning of infrastructures in order to achieve a sustainable and balanced development for every of the municipalities. The plan will be determined by the 13rd article of Law 10/1995 and must consider the different territorial integrated plan that affects totally or partially the territory of the MAV.

2.2 Current social and economic situation

Vigo is located at the coast. Its many white sandy beaches provide an attractive climate for working and living. With 639 inhabitants per km2 (Table 1) the MAV is densely populated: three times as compared to the average of 214 inhabitants per km2 for the province of Pontevedra as the most densely populated province of Galicia. The MAV is one of the main economic hubs in Galicia. Over the last five decades, in the municipalities of Vigo and O Porriño important industrial areas have been developed. Nowadays, the MAV’s central position in the Galicia-North Euroregion reinforces this tendency. Table 1 (INE 2010) shows an overview of population, surface and density in 2010 in every one of the MAV municipalities. In terms of population the area is mainly urban, and only two of the municipalities revealed to be more rural in this respect (Fornelos de Montes and Pazos de Borbén).

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Population Km2 Inh/km2

Baiona 12,154 34.47 352.6 Cangas 25,913 38.08 680.49 Fornelos de Montes 1,966 83.1 23.66 Gondomar 13,890 74.51 186.42 Moaña 19,231 35.06 548.52 Mos 14,818 53.21 278.48 Nigrán 17,909 34.77 515.07 Pazos de Borbén 3,159 49.99 63.19 Porriño (O) 17,977 61.22 293.65 Redondela 30,067 52.08 577.32 Salceda de Caselas 8,448 35.92 235.19 Salvaterra de Miño 9,456 62.54 151.2 Soutomaior 7,144 24.99 285.87 Vigo 297,124 109.06 2724.41 Total 479,256 749 km2 639.86

Table 1. Population density (inhabitants/km2) in Metropolitan Area Vigo.

A dominant feature in the domain of planning all over the city-region is urbanisation. Despite the urban character that also population statistics reveal the area represents a quite rural landscape with its many scattered parcels and plots. This character is even represented in the city of Vigo with its many vegetable gardens and animal husbandry activities.

2.3 Development of food strategies and key actors

Many small plots in and around the urbanisation in the MAV are in use as pastures or horticulture. Here vegetables and fruits are produced for household use, and, as a new phenomenon, increasingly sold to consumers in and around the MAV. Recently the city of Vigo, which has not such a thing as food strategy, has initiated urban gardens. Rather than representing an instrument with which a city takes a holistic view on food, which the city produces, stores, delivers, sells, consumes and wastes (Reynolds 2009) the municipal gardens in Vigo aim at the provision of social services to elderly urban citizens. In the surrounding municipalities (e.g. Salceda de Caselas and , a neighbouring municipality of Cangas but formerly out of the MAV) and CMVMCs in and around Vigo however grassroots initiatives and governmental support to a food strategy starts becoming more important (often at small urban plots or in Monte areas).

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These innovative grassroots initiatives fit into the typology of Simón Fernández et al. (2010), who identified over 180 Spanish initiatives. These are just the top of the iceberg of alternative food networks in Spain (estimated at over 560 initiatives) and mostly initiated by citizens or small-scaled organic producers. Cooperation, solidarity and food sovereignty are keywords among the actor’s vocabulary.

The characteristics of producer-consumer relationships are recorded in the BICERA (Base de Iniciativas de Consumo Ecológico y Responsable de Alimentos: Database of Initiatives for Ecological and Responsible Food Consumption:

 Consumer initiatives (ACCERAs: Asociaciones / Cooperativas de Consumo Ecológico y Responsible de Alimentos) as open accessible associations;

 Producer initiatives (ACPCERAs: Asociaciones / Cooperativas de Productores de Consumo Ecológico y Responsible de Alimentos) also as open accessible associations;

 Agro-ecological cooperatives (CACERAs: Cooperativas Agroecológicas de Consumo Ecológico y Responsible de Alimentos) valorise and optimise similar interrelations but its social structure and closed character are much stronger;

 Other initiatives (OCERAs) referring to a fluid category of brokerage functions including shops, distribution agents, (public) catering services using local food circuits and initiatives that strengthen urban agriculture and / or school gardens.

2.4 Pre-dominant forms of food retailing at the city-region level

The city-region takes a particular position to Simon Fernández’ typology. Although Vigo is Galicia’s largest city and has its shopping malls and supermarkets, many of its inhabitants hold a relationship with their villages where they still produce food for home consumption. Also in the city itself areas that still are to be ‘urbanised’ (according to the planning system) hold many vegetable gardens. Its outskirts again are characterised by Monte where dominant land-use (see section 2.6) is forestation and the many small private plots in use as among others vineyards, maize and vegetable cropping and orchards.

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2.5 Current levels of recycling (nutrients and water) at the city- region level

In Vigo, there is no collection of organic waste. Households with own plots of land recycle and/or compost their organic waste to feed small husbandry (often chicken) and/or fertilize their kitchen gardens. For example, in traditional land-use practices fish dish residues are fed either to the chicken of directly applied as organic manure in kitchen gardens. In line with this trend Vigo’s neighbouring municipalities Mos and Cangas run programs on composting the organic waste at household level. Although on hold by the municipal authority of Gondomar, the CMVMC Vincios (ten minutes from Vigo) consists of an organic materials processing plant. The aim would be to clean Monte and fertilize again the poor soils in order to improve their productive value: e.g. animal husbandry in combination with forestry activities (see also CMVMC Vincios 2012; www.vincios.org; Swagemakers et al 2013).

Close to Vigo, the enterprise ‘Abonos Lourido’ has over 15 years experience turning Monte vegetation into compost for agricultural use. This type of land-use diminished the risk of Monte getting on fire, which is an important phenomenon in Galicia, and detrimental to the natural resource base. In Vigo itself, Teis’ CMVMC (in A Madroa) aim at the reproduction of an autochthonous forest resistant against fires and provides ample societal functionalities. The CMVMC Teis aims at closing nutrient and water cycles: the plants materials remain to feed the soil, and generate flourishing biodiversity and water containing capacity of the soils. The CMVMC Vincios is confronted with the possible implementation of mining activities detrimental to the water storage facilities to the city of Vigo, and develops a multi-functional land-use strategy in order to defend its Monte.

2.6 Land-use map

Figure 3 shows the formal land use patterns in the MAV according to the ‘Sistema de Informacion Geografico Agrario, Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentacion y Medioambiente’. In the map land-use is dominated by eucalyptus and pine forestation (pink colours), cultivated land (potatoes, cereals et cetera: brown colours), ‘Monte bajo’ (bushes, scrub: green colours) and unproductive (urban) areas (yellow colours). Figure 4 shows how Monte is the dominant land-use form in the MAV: in peri-urban areas (4a and 4b), the urban area (4c) and in general (4d).

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Figure 3. Land-use patterns in the MAV.

Figure 4. Land-use distribution in the MAV.

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Many of the urbanised areas in fact however consist of combinations of urbanisation and small scaled horticulture and pasture areas. The percentage of land-use in the MAV that consists of Monte (58%) gets close to the Galician pattern (60%). Numbers in the MAV differ between municipalities: 8 out of 14 have over the Galician average (over 60%) of their total area as Monte whilst only in the more urban hub of Vigo this is lower (below 40%). Also in Vigo itself the total area Monte is still significant high. Table 2 illustrates the relevance of Montes Veciñais (these are areas managed by a CMVMC) and their total surface: 24,000 ha (about 32% of the total area in the MAV) (http://www.medioruralemar.xunta.es/institucional/estatisticas/montes_vecinais_en_ma n_comun/). Among these

Municipality Montes (Nº) Area (ha)

Salvaterra de Miño 23 478.84 Cangas 5 823.35 Moaña 3 1,541.26 Baiona 10 1,900.44 Fornelos de Montes 7 6,394.78 Gondomar 12 2,304.59 Mos 12 1,384.01 Nigrán 6 902.60 Pazos de Borbén 10 2,798.62 Porriño (O) 8 1,078.24 Redondela 14 1,627.17 Salceda de Caselas 7 931.57 Soutomaior 18 1,168.79 Vigo 20 1.479,54 Total 155 24,813.80

Table 2. Surface of Montes Veciñais in Metropolitan Area of Vigo.

Although at a marginal scale, grassroots initiatives reintroduce multi-functional use to Monte in such a way that it meets today’s societal needs and demand. These initiatives develop strategies, arrangements and/or practices to improve the agro-food system’s ecological performance. Hence, these communities together with grassroots initiatives in gardening and shortening food supply chains represent departure points for the sustainment of the food system in the Metropolitan Area of Vigo. Ones the interrelations between these initiatives and the SUPURBFOOD sub themes would strengthen these could have a great impact on its further dissemination in the area.

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3. Dynamics in the city-region

Our research approach consisted of interactive empirical fieldwork with a focus on the dynamics and interplay between different actor worlds (Glaser and Strauss 1967). Building upon the identification of the functions and zoning of land-use patterns (in the sections 1 and 2) this section 3 aims at the identification of blockages, opportunities, priorities and best practices in the city-region. After checking the city-region dynamics with some key-informants and running a social media analysis we carried out an explorative interview round in the period April-May 2013. This was followed by a first city-region workshop in June. These activities are reported in section 3.1. Thereafter we discuss the results for the three SUPURBFOOD sub themes shortening food supply chains (section 3.2), multi-functional land-use (section 3.3) and closing the cycles of organic waste, water and nutrients (section 3.4). Section 3.5 provides an overview the research findings, analyses of the identified city-region dynamics, which provides input for the next phase in the SUPURBFOOD project.

3.1 Stakeholder consultation

3.1.1 Social media analysis

In the Galician context, an attempt to grasp city-region dynamics by means of the analysis of social media failed. In the period December 2012 to February 2013 we encountered several websites of social groups, small enterprises, consumer initiatives and CMVMCs as well as blogs and Facebook pages but in comparison with other European city-regions these were perhaps with a few exceptions not providing much discussion. Like in other city-regions, alternative food networks (initiatives that fit to the typology in section 2.3) use social media mostly to communicate their discourse to the outside world. In meetings among the group members, arranged in former meetings or by telephone calls, the implementation of projects and activities is planned and discussed. Looking a bit farther we found websites, blogs and Facebook pages from outside the city-region with inspiring activities and web designs. With the start of the cropping season the social media related to horticulture became more active and communicated their activities, calling for participation in the gardens, upcoming events and merchandising their production. In June 2013, the innovative website of CMVMC Vincios was launched (www.vincios.org) informing the public on resource vulnerabilities in their working area.

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3.1.2 Interview round

Key-informants’ information combined with information provided by the social media resulted in a series of interviews that was further completed following a snow ball method. In the interviews (that were all recorded on voice recorders) we learned more into detail about initiatives and dynamics in the city-regions. Also, we discussed the mutual interrelations of initiatives and the institutional support. Although we did several attempts we did not manage to make appointments with representatives of the administration of Vigo itself. We interviewed the representatives / initiators of:

 Feira Praza da Pedra (monthly market for local food products in Vigo)

 CMVMC Vincios (communally owned mountainous area outside Vigo)

 CMVMC Teis (communally owned mountainous area in Vigo)

 Tabertenda (organic and local food product shop / bar in Salceda)

 The Council of Salceda on food projects

 The Council of Mos on waste recycling projects

 Val Miñor (regional platform of CMVMCs in the Serra do Galiñeiro)

 ABC Bio (a recently started organic food shop in the centre of Vigo)

 Ábore (a consumer cooperative on provision of organic food products)

 Cesta Fresca (small-scaled horticulture garden with box schemes)

From the interviews we learn that the councillors (and their departments) in the city of Vigo focus on urbanisation, parks and gardens and the environment more in general. Although recently also in Vigo urban gardens have been opened there is no such as a city department with an orientation on food provision and planning of other green infrastructure and functionalities. Elsewhere in the MAV some smaller municipalities recognise the dynamics generated by grassroots initiatives and innovative stakeholders and start facilitating these dynamics. However, although first attempts are undertaken active grassroots initiatives and local governments building a common food and forestry strategy yet hardly mutually strengthen each other.

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The multi-functional performance potential of Monte in the study area is increasingly ‘activated’ by local stakeholders, and becomes visible for both citizens and politicians in the area. From the interview round raises the impression that the number of initiatives related to short food chains channels and local production increases. Land-use policy however is not very well adapted to this dynamic.

3.1.3 The first city workshop

The purpose of the stakeholder meeting has been programmed to enable the city- region research team to present their findings to stakeholders in the city, as well as to gather new information. Vigo’s stakeholder meeting was held on the 4th of June at the Faculty of Economics at the Vigo University, a politically neutral area. The meeting lasted from 3.5 hours and has been recorded on audio, and was followed by a lunch in the university canteen where the discussion continued informally. Although in the interview round and in preparation of the regional seminar regional policy makers have been approached, only one (notably belonging to one of the smaller and less developed communities in the area) finally joined the meeting.

Figure 5. The first, explorative and experimental City Workshop in Vigo (June 2013)

Among the 6 stakeholders was one representative of a municipality in the city-region. The others were activists, members of Comunidades de Monte en Man Común (CMVMCs) and members of consumer organisations. The lack of legal representatives and conflicts between administrations and CMCVCs in the area led to a discussion on policy and the role of CMVMCs in framing sustainable development.

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The fact that the city workshop has been characterised by the under-representation of regional policy makers might have to do, hypothetically, with the dominant discourse and policy programs at the regional level, which relate multi-functional land-use to biomass production for energy production (heating). Such a policy is ‘destructive’ from the point of view of the interviewees and participants in the regional seminar. Although few people participated in the meeting it has been very productive in terms of defining priorities / research issues in the area.

Figure 6. Innovative initiatives identified and classified in the city workhop (June 2013)

Participants recommended the further exploration of a regional strategy on the improvement of the agro-food system’s ecological performance, and especially the facilitation of initiatives. Generating economic development and employment among city-region dwellers should be its main objective. The area itself should be redefined.

The map in Figure 6 shows initiatives that – according to participants in the meeting – should be part of such a regional sustainable food and forestry strategy. Multi- functional land-use is marked in yellow, short food chains in blue and closing cycles of nutrients and water in green; the post-its carry comments on the individual relevance of the initiatives. The projects and their relative relevance are listed in Table 3.

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Short food chains Multi-functional land-use Closing cycles

Project Score Project Score Project Score

Loaira 2 CMVMC Vincios 3 Planta compostaxe (pr.) 3 Mercado en 3 CMVMC Couso 2 Compostaxe caseira 3 Vigo Árbore 3 Ricardo – Chandebrito 3 Cidade de Vigo (pr.) - Cesta Fresca 3 CMVMC Xinzo 1 Algas (Vincios / Nigrán) ? Pandarán 1 Corisca 1 Iniciativa en Coruxo ?

Table 3. Initiatives. Scores: 3 = extremely relevant; 2 = very relevant; 1 = relevant, (pr.) = problematic: initiatives prioritised because of the limited efficiency in their application

Firstly mentioned in the short food chain category is Loaira, a consumer initiative. The monthly farmers’ market in Vigo is considered to be a more efficient, shorter food channel but less developed. It is interrelated with Árbore, the already longer existing consumer initiative in Vigo. Árbore itself does not represent the most short food channel but aims at setting fair interrelations between consumers and producers. Cesta Fresca is the local short food chain channel in the area, interrelates with CMVMC Xinzo and a food initiative in Coruxo (Vigo). This initiative remains undefined in this meeting and is new to us. Pandarán focuses on baking bread from traditional and organic wheat (but not necessarily) and has developed the distribution of organic and other type of ‘healthy’ food products.

In the category multi-functional land-use firstly is mentioned the CMVMC Vincios. It has the longest history and widest scope of activities related to the communal management of the territory. CMVMC Couso started later. Ricardo represents a qualitative interpretation of a small-scaled semi-professional private land user combining horticulture, cattle breeding and forestry activities. CMVMC Xinzo is out of the focus area (MAV), which calls for an extension of the conceptualisation of the MAV. Corisca as ecologic wine production initiative could be integrated into the activities of CMVMCs.

Firstly listed in the closing cycle category is the compost plant of Val do Miñor in which also CMVMC Vincios participates. While it creates labour and recycles nutrients in the Monte environment it faces institutional problems. It is considered relevant since it illustrates the problematic governance context for innovate grassroots initiatives in the

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area and in Galicia more in general. Home composting is a pattern in the peri-urban area. Also many citizens living in a flat in the city itself use organic waste as compost in their kitchen gardens elsewhere in the area. The Council of Vigo is mentioned as problematic: it neither supports nor recognizes the efforts made and successes booked by the local stakeholders running projects on multi-functional land use. While these initiatives play a significant social role, the Council neglects the needs of these initiatives. A project on bringing algae from the beaches by means of compost to cultivated land is considered innovative. Multi-functional land-use in general is considered relevant, and food provision a challenge for CMVMCs. CMVMC Vincios runs a project on fertilizing land with algae and has several projects related to food production but doesn’t sell food products. The initiative in Coruxo remains without comments in the meeting. The initiative has interrelations with Cesta Fresca.

The identification and classification of the projects per theme and their interrelations took a lot of time. As a consequence, the matrix developed at the regional seminar has been limited to a distinction into and the identification of Blockages (in blue), Opportunities (in orange), Priorities (in green), and Best practices (in yellow) (Figure 7). Although has been registered who commented what in this matrix is not distinguished between governance, market and civic participants.

Figure 7. Blockages, opportunities, priorities, and best practices identified (June 2013)

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Although participants made a (vague) differentiation into governance levels, no one liked to situate their comments at a specific level and in a specific category, arguing some of the comments are applicable to different levels and for different categories. Nonetheless their comments provide departure points for the further exploration and interpretation of interrelations between the sub themes and different aggregation levels in future research or a city-region workshop revisited, e.g. as a special parallel session at the 5th International Congress of Agro-ecology and Organic Agriculture in Vigo (26- 28 June 2014). Next we analyse the SUPURBFOOD sub themes (sections 3.2, 3..3 and 3.4) in terms of blockages, opportunities and priorities, followed by a synthesis (section 3.5) of the initial but fragile interrelations between the (diffuse) domains of local governance, market, and civil society in the MAV, based on the best practices mentioned by the different informants in the fieldwork.

3.2 Shortening of food chains

Mentioned as important blockages of sustaining the regional food system are the lack of a formal administrative level (so as at the level of the MAV) and a document on and stakeholder commitment to such a regional food strategy. In general, the high level of regional bureaucracy is a limiting factor. In many cases legislation limits especially the grassroots initiatives in booking progress. This is worsened by the political mechanisms that characterise the region: policy created under the one policy regime is turned 180 degrees under the next. In the region, adopted European legislation often follows the productivist model, which is counter-productive to the aims and development of short food chains. Related to this are the blockages of the mentality of the regional governors and the dominant, large-scaled producers and the concerns these and the majority of Galician producers have to change. The legislation on food system related-subsidies are not aligned to shortening the food chain. This report does not contain information on public food procurement in the city. To this gap in our exploration of the existence and/or the departure points for a regional food strategy we come back to in section 4.5 of the conclusions.

Simultaneously in the city-region ample opportunities for the organisation of a regional food strategy are available. Grassroots initiatives e.g. initiated horticulture activities in small field plots and animal breeding in Monte areas. The commercialisation of this type of food production has different levels of professionalization; including these initiatives into a regional food strategy on public food procurement could strengthen,

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enlarge and improve the ecological performance of regional food provision. The actual economic crisis can be a catalyser in changing the dominant productivist paradigm into an alternative, a more sustainable one. Local markets and subsidies can further strengthen the existing dynamics on local food production and short food chains. Local and regional governments could take the opportunity to apply rules and regulations on local food procurement in school, hospitals and other types of public canteens.

Blockage Opportunities Priorities

Governance No formal city-region level Creation of labour places and Define food strategy

No local food strategy regional multiplier effects Connect actors

No information of attitude to local food procurement

Market Small volume of locally Public food procurement Organise local markets

produced fresh food Increase number of fresh food Logistics local food system producers unsustainable

Civic Lack of commitments from Economic crisis might generate Promote consumer initiatives public bodies paradigm shift Legislation on productivist mode of production

Bureaucracy

Table 4. Shortening of food chains

Priorities in this sub theme are the reintroduction of local food markets, the recycling of residues (including consumers handing back organic waste to producers), the provision of courses and education to city-region dwellers, and the analysis of innovative projects and initiatives. Central issues are cost-benefits analyses (resource valorisation) and the dissemination of this type of information. Crucial support to the shortening food chains consists of the establishment of innovative networks, the visualisation of initiatives and the exchange of knowledge generated in these networking activities, issues that we take up as research focus in section 4.4 of the conclusions. In addition, a priority is the shift of subsidies from conventional agriculture to rural development more in general.

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3.3 Multi-functional land-use

At the level of the city-region the communication between initiatives is limited, which blocks the development of multi-functional land-use. Although inspiring practices among land-users exist these are little known and/or adopted and adapted by others. Next, planning is on urbanisation; there is no territorial plan for the region as a whole.

Blockage Opportunities Priorities

Governance Support to the productivist Support endogenous knowledge Support to bottom up initiatives

land-use paradigm creation already developed by and participatory processes

grassroots initiatives (Monte, Support to natural beauty and

horticulture) biodiversity measures

Market Organic farming in public and Land Bank: develop policy on private areas rental agreements between land

Produce qualitative timber in owners and users with focus on autochthonous tree plantations sustainability of the food and forestry system Reproduction of leisure areas

Civic Land Bank: mediating from Social, economic and ecological Organise regional interaction in 2014 land for use industrial benefits turn directly back into order to spread ‘best practices’

biomass production the communities

Table 5. Multi-functional land-use

It is an opportunity that legislative landownership entities in the area can independently define and organise their contribution to a regional development strategy in which food and forestry production is central. With thousands of citizens in need of food Monte area represents a great potential as cultivation area for fresh food products and leisure activities. In the context of the economic crisis these provide job opportunities as well as a contribution to the regional economy without great monetary capital investments. Such dynamics are in turn an opportunity to fight the abandonment of natural resources at the regional level: next to communal land available to put into value in the city-region these resources are at large scale available in Galicia as a whole. Food production is an underestimated function and hence an opportunity in terms of land-use functions.

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Priorities at the local level are the integration of land-use activities, closing cycles, the production of compost and making available land utile. Priority is a legislative frame on recycling waste and better use of waste products in the production chains at the regional level. This should be combined with the reintroduction of local markets in the city and the small towns, and the provision of information on the importance and aspects of food autonomy in the city-region.

3.4 Closing the cycles of organic waste, water and nutrients

Issues related to this sub theme have been less frequently mentioned, however, these are elementary to the sub themes shortening food chains and multi-functional land-use. The most important blockage is considered the orientation on the productivist land-use model related to both food and forestry production. In the productivist paradigm small- scaled fresh produce is considered economically irrelevant.

Blockage Opportunities Priorities

Governance Lack of gathering organic Grassroots initiatives already Prevention of forest fires: multi-

household waste in the city- reproduce organic materials functional land-use promising

region Organisational structures for the alternative for fire brigades

Focus on the use of organic multi-functional use of land and Support to local initiatives so as materials in biomass plants water resources available the compost plant of Val Miñor

Market Waste collection and optimal Emphasis on more ‘sustainable’ use of waste create employment business initiatives to be taken in local communities in urban up by communities (CMVMCs) and peri-urban areas as well as more remote rural areas

Civic Detrimental effects of the Multi-functional land-use as Public campaigns to be started planned projects such as alternative to productivist type by partners in short food chains mining activities in areas of natural resource management and landowners communities for drink water collection (CMVMCs)

Table 6. Closing the cycles of organic waste, water and nutrients

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Eucalyptus plantations and the construction of biomass plants are expected to bring economic returns in Monte areas. The long term perspectives of soil erosion and the increased risk on forest fires in abandoned areas however are poorly evaluated in such a land-use scenario. Land will be rented from private and communal landowners, who keep the ownership of their belongings. Although a payment to these landowners is foreseen, the regional program does not foresee in strengthening alternative land-use patterns in which water quality and spontaneous endogenous plant growth are better guaranteed. The latter for example could provide in organic compost whilst reducing the risk on forest fires and is a low-cost investment in terms of man hours and machinery. A priority is the introduction of legal frames that support these activities: communities would be capable of organising such multi-functional land-use, combine food and forestry activities, safeguard water resources, provide organic compost that in turn improves the soil fertility, and enhance biodiversity whilst providing a leisure area to residents as well as to relative outsiders.

3.5 Towards a regional food strategy

In the metropolitan area of Vigo land planning continues favouring urbanisation and industrial forestation. Especially in Monte, biomass plantations and wind parks are increasing (governmental legislation supports these dynamics), whilst urban and rural dwellers often have other objectives and ideals. Expropriation of the land and/or the access to land often forces citizens to deny further control over their (often commonly owned) resources. This is caused by the dominant policy discourse on land use to increase the production of renewable energy, which results in a growing negative impact on many components of the landscape ecosystem such as the soil condition, water quality, and landscape aesthetics. Figure 8 illustrates how each year over thousand citizens participate in a protest walk against wind parks and mining activities.

Figure 8. Serra do Galiñeiro. Natural-leisure area nearby Vigo without legal protection

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Detrimental for the public space in the city-region of Vigo but also elsewhere in Galicia are the implementation of fast growing productive forests in combination with biomass plants, the installation of wind parks with few benefits to citizens and mining activities in natural areas with consequences for drink and irrigation water quality. Alternatively, a policy discourse that aims at achieving the local potential of self subsistence in food provision of the region would benefit from a focus on cyclical, iterative and participatory processes of exploring, prioritising, experimenting and reflecting on nutrient, water and waste cycles, on the multifunctional use of Monte among stakeholder initiatives, and on organic composting of both vegetation of Monte (e.g. Abonos Lourido, outside the formally defined MAV) and household residues in relation to small scaled commercial horticulture and kitchen gardening. Best practices in the city-region relate to local food markets where producers sell fresh produce (the surpluses in case other distribution channels fix the majority of the fresh produce) and the promotion of regional food production, the minimization of the costs and the reduction of pollution (among others the transport of food products), and educational activities more in general. Best practices include multi-functional land-use related to the reintroduction of autochthonous forests, the reintroduction of animals in these areas and the improvement of poor, mountainous soils by the input of algae and biomass production favouring soil fertility in these areas.

Departure points for a network analysis are the initiatives identified in section 3.1. In the city-region, the further exploration, identification and evaluation of innovative practices that contribute to the construction of a regional food strategy, forestry should be included. Hence, taking an agro-forestry perspective seems very promising and a useful strategy. Such theoretical departure point could contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of new techniques, strategies, arrangements and/or practices that contribute to the improvement of the regional food system in Vigo’s metropolitan area and also in Galicia’s more remote rural areas.

The exploration of opportunities and blockages resulted in the observation that despite the many local initiatives related to shortening food chains, multi-functional land-use, closing nutrient cycles and the mutual interrelations between these sub themes, a ‘common frame’ lacks. In section 4 we will turn this observation into a research focus and a series of hypothesis that could be tested in future research. In addition to the initiatives so far included in the network analysis those should be included that fit to the objectives formulated in section 4.4.

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4. Conclusions

The analysis of the Vigo city-region has shown interesting developments but also several blockages (problems or challenges), opportunities and priorities. Although an overall sustainable food strategy is missing there are an impressing number of initiatives and institutions dealing with sustainable food provisioning, agriculture and closing nutrient cycles in the city. Especially grassroots initiatives such as CMVMCs, small horticulture entrepreneurs and some local organic food shops take the provision of regional food products as challenge and opportunity for reintroducing food and forestry and related products as regional asset.

Preliminary conclusions:

 Sustainability aspects in public food procurement and sustainable land-use practices needs more attention;

 Bottom up urban agriculture and gardening initiatives as well as the reintroduction of food production in Monte areas brings land-use security and food autonomy in the long term;

 Local, regional and national programs supporting these dynamics lack; often authorities implement programs detrimental to promising bottom up initiatives;

 Food and green waste: more efforts are needed to avoid and reduce wastes and to better use it;

 Rather than the creation of waste as new demand for business enterprises, in the margin of society alternatives aim at the reduction and reintroduction of waste into the recovery and improvement of natural resources;

 In order the grassroots initiatives to sustain their activities and have others adapting these, the appropriate implementation of laws and regulations and funding systems is required;

 In such programs instead of destroying social and environmentally sound production practices the self-responsibility and motivation of actors should be strengthened.

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A future food and forestry strategy that meets people needs and sustains Vigo vulnerable mountainous environment best is to be constructed bottom up: local entrepreneurs and forest managers have realistic ideas about how new techniques, strategies, arrangements and/or practices can improve a) the closing of nutrient, water and urban waste cycles in urban and peri-urban agriculture (WP4), b) short chain delivery of food in urban and peri-urban areas (WP5), and c) the multifunctional use of land in urban and peri-urban areas (WP6). Organic horticulture could benefit – like in the past rural dwellers used Monte – from the poor mountainous (Monte) areas. At the boundaries of the ‘formal’ MAV (not yet a formal administrative level) innovative initiatives are developing that seem relevant to the strengthening of interrelations between SUPURBFOOD’s sub themes. Therefore we suggest to apply an urban green infrastructure approach that includes best practices on strengthening the sustainment of food provision in the city-region itself.

4.1 Blockages

This report on the city-region dynamics regarding urban and peri-urban farming (UPA) reflects the difficult political situation in the MAV. Policies oriented to organic recycling related to farming activities lack. Since governance mechanisms further fail to reintroduce nature into production processes but also to organise society more democratically, the best is to focus on how horticulture activities, the management of Monte and organisation of short food supply chains succeed by mechanisms of collective action and cooperation. Although best practices as identified in this report ‘deal with’ the difficult policy-frames / political context at this moment an adequate institutional framework supporting the grassroots initiatives lacks.

4.2 Priorities

Hence, further performance assessment of closing of nutrient, water and urban waste cycles in urban and peri-urban agriculture can be best approached by the application of an actor-oriented approach on land-use differentiation. Thereby food (agro-forestry, animal husbandry, fruits, timber, horticulture activities, bee keeping etc.) and biomass production (productive forests as input for electricity plants versus waste such as bushed and scrub turned into organic compost) are important and interrelated issues.

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This brings focus in the research on short food supply chains and multi-functional land- use: in these sub themes the most innovative organisational and solutions for closing of nutrient, water and urban waste cycles can be found. These solutions hold the promise to perform socially, economical and ecologically better than solutions provided by governmental programs.

4.3 Opportunities

The focus on ‘people’ and networks in Vigo’s peri-urban area aims to develop a frame for social organisation as alternative to the dominant institutional frames. The identification and analysis of grassroots initiatives that diminish resource abandonment and reduce environmental pollution in food and forestry activities brings departure points for a sustainable regional food and land-use strategy. Such a strategy is social inclusive, protects the environment and consumers’ health and brings economic returns directly into the region.

4.4 People, policy-makers and programs

The characterisation of the demographic situation and land-use patterns make the urban and peri-urban areas in the MAV a study case per excellence for organisational innovation. In order to tackle the issue of closing nutrient and water cycles better is to start from related issues as multi-functional land-use and short supply chains. In the city-region these are developed by private stakeholders. These existing networks and their linkages should be central in future research. With the objective of developing a grassroots based strategic policy document the following steps are recommended:

1. Make thick descriptions of grassroots initiatives / business enterprises in the network in terms of value added created, cost reduction strategies, distinguish in a typology on ‘business aims’;

2. Interrelate the ‘localised and small initiatives as best practices in combination with a stakeholders event in which these linkages are discussed;

3. Assess the ‘balanced mix of governance mechanisms’ that makes UPA and short chains often a success whereby we might take a catalyzing role between the EESC’s objective as city-regions as laboratories of the world economy and political decision making process in the.

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Galicia as one of the more backwards regions in the SUPURBFOOD project brings its specific relevance horizon for directions the regional food strategy takes. Next to provide a qualitative better living environment for its city dwellers, elsewhere in Galicia rural dwellers directly might benefit from the ‘models’ developed in the MAV. Due to the Galician’s problems of the abandonment of natural resources and related forest fires and its need to generate labour and income in the food and forestry sectors it is crucial to relate the innovative grassroots dynamics to EU structural funds and CAP 2014- 2020 measurements.

More in particular future research should contribute to better understand:

 The role of rural spaces as providers of public / collective goods, meaning leisure, water, landscape, biodiversity from which the whole society benefits, and specially citizens without paying for those services;

 The (potential) contribution of grassroots initiatives that fight the current abandonment of resources and promote new job opportunities and income sources to the strengthening of the regional economy;

 The impact of alternative land-use activities and social organisation on regional food supply and its impact in terms of transport costs, the reduction of forest fires and the management of mountainous (drink) water sources.

Future research could test the following hypotheses:

I. Hypothesis: CMVMCs solve resource abandonment:

First objective is to assess the economic and environmental performance of CMVMCs: innovative social organisation and use of green space in and outside the city of Vigo. CMVMCs apply multi-functional land-use: they combine forestry activities (chestnut, walnut and oak plantations) with mushroom production, extensive animal husbandry, land improvement, compost production, archaeological and biodiversity conservation. In analytical terms: they combine agro-economic activities with environmental services, and it could be interesting to interpret their activities and ‘functions’ in terms of ecosystem services (ES).

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II. Hypothesis: Small growers organised in regional (short) food supply chains reduce environmental pressure:

Second objective is to assess the environmental performance (in terms of distance from producer to consumers) of alternative food networks. Analyses could focus on e.g. transport costs and institutional support for situating new business initiatives (i.e. the access to land). These initiatives have consumers in the MAV; and belong to Vigo’s urban green infrastructure.

III. Hypothesis: harvesting extensively and spontaneous growing bushes and scrub and transferring these biomass materials into compost sustain regional food and forestry production.

Third objective is to assess the environmental performance (and if possible include the economic performance) of endogenous biomass production: maintenance of Monte, water quality, and reduced risks on forest fires. Here, multi-functional land- use includes Holling’s (2001) sustainability criteria of a system’s capacity to adapt in future land-use cycles.

4.5 Remaining knowledge gaps on Vigo’s food strategy

Since we have not been able yet to speak with representatives of local administration of the city of Vigo (the city departments) that are responsible for food provided to a) schools and day care centres and b) to hospitals and elderly homes we lack information on whether there is communication or harmonization of strategic goals. Hence, the question remains: What is the focus of the concerned department on food issues? This is relevance since many school children in Vigo have the opportunity to eat in the school canteens, and these canteens often are catered by enterprises that compete each year on the provision of this public service. Sub questions are whether the conditions are on healthy diets as sugar or fat reduced meals are supported, whether sustainability issues (e.g. as in line with SUBURBFOOD’s three sub themes) are addressed, and how price pressure results in blockages or provides opportunities for local food procurement. This in turn relates to land-use dynamics in the city-region and the support to the grassroots initiatives we include in the further mapping, analysis and evaluation of a sustainable and regionally oriented food strategy. So far it is not clear if and who inside city departments should and could be involved in developing such a strategy.

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