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80% Of All Food Produced Goes to Cities

As populations grow and cities become more crowded, the amount of food needed to sustain them grows as well. Let’s look at a breakdown of urban food needs:

  • Today, at least 55% of the global population lives in urban areas.

  • About 80% of all food produced is meant for urban consumption.

  • It is expected that 2.5 billion more people will live in urban areas by 2050.

  • Already 85% of the global population live in or within three hours of an urban center of >50,000 people.

  • Food and green waste make up more than 50% of all municipal.

  • Urbanites consume up to 70% of the food supply.

  • Some 60% of irrigated croplands and 35% of rain-fed croplands lie within a 12.5-mile (20 km) radius of urban areas.

  • Food expenses may be as high as two-thirds of total urban household expenditures.

  • Processed food consumption—with low nutrient value—has increased annually by 5.45% between 1998 and 2012 in lower- and middle-income countries.

  • Over 2 billion adults are either overweight or obese.

Source: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations


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