Cities Feeding People examines urban agriculture in East Africa and proves that it is a safe, clean, and secure method to feed the world's struggling urban residents. It also collapses the myth that urban agriculture is practiced only by the poor and unemployed. Cities Feeding People provides the hard facts needed to convince governments that urban agriculture should have a larger role in feeding the urban population.

For most people, grocery shopping is a mundane activity. Few stop to think about the massive, global infrastructure that makes it possible to buy Chilean grapes in a Philadelphia supermarket in the middle of winter. Yet every piece of food represents an interlocking system of agriculture, manufacturing, shipping, logistics, retailing, and nonprofits that controls what we eat—or don’t. The Problem with Feeding Cities is a sociological and historical examination of how this remarkable network of abundance and convenience came into being over the last century. It looks at how the US food system transformed from feeding communities to feeding the entire nation, and it reveals how a process that was once about fulfilling basic needs became focused on satisfying profit margins. It is also a story of how this system fails to feed people, especially in the creation of food deserts. Andrew Deener shows that problems with food access are the result of infrastructural failings stemming from how markets and cities were developed, how distribution systems were built, and how organizations coordinate the quality and movement of food. He profiles hundreds of people connected through the food chain, from farmers, wholesalers, and supermarket executives, to global shippers, logistics experts, and cold-storage operators, to food bank employees and public health advocates. It is a book that will change the way we see our grocery store trips and will encourage us all to rethink the way we eat in this country.

Our reliance on industrial agriculture has resulted in a food supply riddled with hidden environmental, economic and health care costs and beset by rising food prices. With only a handful of corporations responsible for the lion's share of the food on our supermarket shelves, we are incredibly vulnerable to supply chain disruption. The Urban Food Revolution provides a recipe for community food security based on leading innovations across North America. The author draws on his political and business experience to show that we have all the necessary ingredients to ensure that local, fresh sustainable food is affordable and widely available. He describes how cities are bringing food production home by: Growing community through neighborhood gardening, cooking and composting programs Rebuilding local food processing, storage and distribution systems Investing in farmers markets and community supported agriculture Reducing obesity through local fresh food initiatives in schools, colleges and universities. Ending inner-city food deserts Producing food locally makes people healthier, alleviates poverty, creates jobs, and makes cities safer and more beautiful. The Urban Food Revolution is an essential resource for anyone who has lost confidence in the global industrial food system and wants practical advice on how to join the local food revolution.

Analyses the roles of women and men in urban food production, and through case studies from three developing regions suggests how women's contribution might be maximized.

Accompanying CD-ROM also has titles in French and Spanish.

Each year, millions of children die of environmental causes and many more suffer serious illness or injury. Children are often the most vulnerable to the condition of their environment -and their health is an index of its quality - but their wellbeing is rarely given priority by governments or aid agencies. Ironically, the problems can be traced back to matters which can be treated straightforwardly and at relatively low cost - poor drinking water or food, or infectious diseases which can be controlled. This book gives a multidisciplinary account of the environmental health hazards threatening children and the range of impacts they can have. It also explains what can be done, by communities as well as governments and aid workers, to provide safe and healthy environments for children. The book looks at conditions in a range of cities in the developing world, as well as pollutants and other health problems affecting children in the North. Published in association with UNICEF, and written by some of the same authors as Environmental Problems in Third World Cities (Earthscan, 1993), this provides excellent course material, and will be useful for practitioners working on child development, infant and maternal health, environmental health and community development. David Satterthwaite is Director of the Human Settlements Programme at the International Institute for Environment and Development, and principal author of Environmental Problems in Third World Cities (1993) and Squatter Citizen(1989).