Member profile
Ms. Lydia O'Meara
Organization:
Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK
Country:
Australia
Field(s) of expertise:
Ms. Lydia O'Meara
4. What changes are needed in urban planning to better support all dimensions of food security – including support for human rights, agency and sustainability? Which are some of the measures that can strengthen the agency of local actors in urban and peri-urban food systems?
7. How can urban and peri-urban food systems ensure that food and nutrition needs of specific groups of people, such as migrants, the internally-displaced, children, adolescent, etc., are met?
Response: This is a timely topic. Please find below examples and references of key leverage points for improving urban food systems, with a focus on increasing access to nutrient-rich foods recommended for both human and planetary health (e.g., fish and aquatic foods) for nutritionally vulnerable groups. Examples are given for both external (built) food environments and personal (individual) environments.
To improve the micronutrient adequacy and diet quality of urban populations, it is important to improve, and scale:
Physical access to food sources:
Delivery of social protection programmes
Regarding the scope – it would be nice to see this report extend beyond the built environment (e.g. availability, development of preservation methods for nutrient-dense foods/extension of supply chains, walkability of cities, proximity of markets) to also many of the personal food environment dimensions that mitigate the ability of individuals to interact with and procure healthy food from the external food environment, such as physical accessibility (transport access, disability, age, caregiving responsibilities, time, housing affordability/residential location), financial accessibility (e.g. women’s financial autonomy, livelihoods for vulnerable groups), and positive resilient community behaviours (e.g. social support/networks)
To make food systems more resilient to shocks – urban planning should also focus on strengthening personal food environment dimensions, alongside improving healthfulness of the external built environment.
Foster social capital / support and networks:
Enhance personal agency
References:
Akintola, S. L. & Fakoya, K. A. Small-scale fisheries in the context of traditional post-harvest practice
and the quest for food and nutritional security in Nigeria. Agric. Food Secur. 6, 1–17 (2017).
Byrd, K. A., Pincus, L., Pasqualino, M. M., Muzofa, F. & Cole, S. M. Dried small fish provide nutrient
densities important for the first 1000 days. Matern. Child Nutr. e13192 (2021) doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13192.
de Bruyn J, Wesana J, Bunting SW, Thilsted SH, Cohen PJ. Fish Acquisition and Consumption in the African Great Lakes Region through a Food Environment Lens: A Scoping Review. Nutrients. 2021; 13(7):2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu1307240
O’Meara, L., Cohen, P.J., Simmance, F., Marinda, P., Nagoli, J., Teoh, S.J., Funge-Smith, S., Mills, D., Thilsted, S., Byrd, K. (2021a) Inland fisheries critical for the diet quality of young children in sub-Saharan Africa, Global Food Security, 28, 100483, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100483.
O’Meara, L., Turner, C., Coitinho, D.C., Oenema, S. (2021b) Consumer experiences of food environments during the Covid-19 pandemic: Global insights from a rapid online survey of individuals from 119 countries, Global Food Security, 100594, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100594.
O’Meara, L., de Bruyn, J., Dominguez-Salas, P., Turner, C., Hope, T., Wellard, K., Stoynova, M., Ferguson, E. (2022) Characteristics of food environments that influence food acquisition and diets of women in low-and middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol (JBI Evidence Synthesis JBIES-21-00482).
Hope, T.; O'Meara, L.; Ohl, M.; O'Mullan, C. (2022) The impact of women's empowerment in food systems on women's dietary diversity in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis (protocol). PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022298612 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022298612
Weyant, C. L. et al. Occupational Exposure and Health in the Informal Sector: Fish Smoking in Coastal Ghana. Environ. Health Perspect. 130, (2022).
In preparation:
Byrd, K., Li, H., Fakoya, K. & Fiorella, K. Fresh large fish are commonly consumed among women in
Nigeria, but dried small fish are the richest in iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B-12.
O’Meara(a), L.; de Bruyn, J.; Dominguez-Salas, P.; Hope, T.; Fago, M.; Hodge, R.; Turner, C.; Stoynova, M.; Wellard, K.; Ferguson, E. (in preparation). Conceptual framework of food environments for women in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic scoping review.
O’Meara(b), L.; Sison, C; Isarabhakdi, P.; Turner, C.; Harris, J. (in preparation). ‘Whatever we have is what we eat’ the lived experience of the COVID-19 pandemic on food environments and diets of marginalised urban groups in the Philippines and Thailand.
Hope, T.; O'Meara, L.; O'Mullan, C. (in preparation) The impact of women's empowerment in food systems on women's dietary diversity in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review.