Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China

The global COVID-19 pandemic has elicited a range of public health governance responses. One common result has been an associated disruption of food supply chains and growing urban food insecurity. Policy responses to this situation have not yet received sufficient research attention. This paper the...

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Main Authors: Yi-Shin Chang, Zhenzhong Si, Jonathan Crush, Steffanie Scott, Taiyang Zhong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-06-01
Series:Urban Governance
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266432862300030X
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author Yi-Shin Chang
Zhenzhong Si
Jonathan Crush
Steffanie Scott
Taiyang Zhong
author_facet Yi-Shin Chang
Zhenzhong Si
Jonathan Crush
Steffanie Scott
Taiyang Zhong
author_sort Yi-Shin Chang
collection DOAJ
description The global COVID-19 pandemic has elicited a range of public health governance responses. One common result has been an associated disruption of food supply chains and growing urban food insecurity. Policy responses to this situation have not yet received sufficient research attention. This paper therefore focuses on the urban food security implications of China's zero-COVID public health measures and the response of central, provincial and municipal government to the governance challenge of ensuring a stable and sufficient food supply to urban consumers. During the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 in China, zero-COVID lockdown measures aimed to contain and eliminate the spread of the virus. This paper examines the associated policy responses around urban food security in early 2020, with a particular focus on two cities: Wuhan (where SARS-CoV-2 was first identified) and Nanjing (a neighbouring city). The analysis is based on an inventory of policy-related documents providing a wide range of information about governance responses to the pandemic. Four major governance challenges are addressed: agricultural production, food transportation, stabilization of food prices, and new contactless methods in purchasing foods. Key recommendations for post-pandemic policy responses around urban food security include: ensuring consistency throughout all levels of government, strengthening existing food reserves to leverage emergency responses, addressing the root causes of pandemic-related food insecurity by focusing on access at the household level, and improving food utilization.
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spelling doaj.art-4b8da271786a4e259a40e5ef2feb8df22023-06-28T04:30:24ZengElsevierUrban Governance2664-32862023-06-0132106115Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, ChinaYi-Shin Chang0Zhenzhong Si1Jonathan Crush2Steffanie Scott3Taiyang Zhong4School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaBalsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaBalsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa; Corresponding author.Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaSchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, ChinaThe global COVID-19 pandemic has elicited a range of public health governance responses. One common result has been an associated disruption of food supply chains and growing urban food insecurity. Policy responses to this situation have not yet received sufficient research attention. This paper therefore focuses on the urban food security implications of China's zero-COVID public health measures and the response of central, provincial and municipal government to the governance challenge of ensuring a stable and sufficient food supply to urban consumers. During the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 in China, zero-COVID lockdown measures aimed to contain and eliminate the spread of the virus. This paper examines the associated policy responses around urban food security in early 2020, with a particular focus on two cities: Wuhan (where SARS-CoV-2 was first identified) and Nanjing (a neighbouring city). The analysis is based on an inventory of policy-related documents providing a wide range of information about governance responses to the pandemic. Four major governance challenges are addressed: agricultural production, food transportation, stabilization of food prices, and new contactless methods in purchasing foods. Key recommendations for post-pandemic policy responses around urban food security include: ensuring consistency throughout all levels of government, strengthening existing food reserves to leverage emergency responses, addressing the root causes of pandemic-related food insecurity by focusing on access at the household level, and improving food utilization.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266432862300030XUrban food securityCOVID-19Food policyFood accessFood utilization
spellingShingle Yi-Shin Chang
Zhenzhong Si
Jonathan Crush
Steffanie Scott
Taiyang Zhong
Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China
Urban Governance
Urban food security
COVID-19
Food policy
Food access
Food utilization
title Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China
title_full Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China
title_fullStr Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China
title_full_unstemmed Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China
title_short Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China
title_sort governing for food security during the covid 19 pandemic in wuhan and nanjing china
topic Urban food security
COVID-19
Food policy
Food access
Food utilization
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266432862300030X
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