Speakers
Description
The food system accounts for one-third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with significant contributions from agricultural production, land-use changes, and supply chain logistics, highlighting its critical role in the climate crisis (Crippa et al., 2021). Reports such as "Sustainable and Resilient City Region Food Systems" by FAO and RUAF underscore the need for multi-stakeholder participation, dialogue, and collaborative strategies to address urban and regional food system challenges (FAO, 2023). This dialogue is vital in building sustainable food chains, particularly involving local governments, NGOs, technical experts, logistics, cooperatives, retail groups, and consumers.
In Türkiye, the Marmara Region stands out as the most densely populated and urbanized area, housing over 25 million people and contributing significantly to the national economy. Intense urbanization places considerable pressure on the region's food resources and systems, including procurement, production, and distribution processes. While the region's fertile soils, climate conditions, and water resources allow for the cultivation of various agricultural products, rapid urbanization and industrialization in the area are leading to a reduction in agricultural land, decreasing quality of soil and underground water pollution,which have an impact on biodiversity and food safety. The region’s dual role as both an economic hub and a critical agricultural center underscores its importance in developing sustainable food supply chains at the national level (MMU, 2024).
To research these challenges and define urgent actions, the Play Marmara Food game, developed as part of the MARUF initiative and designed by Play the City, serves as an innovative tool for fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration. By engaging participants from diverse sectors in a serious game format, the initiative facilitates collaboration by gathering and visualizing high quality data, simulating real-world scenarios, encouraging dialogue, and fostering a shared understanding of challenges and opportunities, ultimately generating actionable strategies for sustainable solutions in regional food systems. This study examines the insights and outputs of the Play Marmara Food game, focusing on its contribution to informing food supply chains and advancing sustainable food system design in the Marmara Region.
References
Abt, C. (1970) Serious Games. New York: The Viking Press.
Crippa, M., Solazzo, E., Guizzardi, D., Monforti-Ferrario, F., Tubiello, F.N. and Leip, A. (2021) ‘Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions’, Nature Food, 2(3), pp. 198–209. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9.
FAO (2015) Food Wastage Footprint & Climate Change. Rome. Available at: www.fao.org/3/a-bb144e.pdf.
FAO (2023) Building sustainable and resilient city region food systems - Assessment and planning handbook. Rome. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4060/cc5184en.
MBB Kültür Yayınları (2024) Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF23) Raporu. Available at: https://mbbkulturyayinlari.com/maruf23-raporu.
Marmara Belediyeler Birliği (2023) Play Marmara. 4 September. Available at: https://www.marmara.gov.tr/tr/play-marmara-gida.
| Keywords | sustainable regional food systems; food security; supply chains; serious game |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
