Is food on the climate policy table? Assessing food systems themes in Canadian municipal climate plans

Cities have emerged as essential players in climate mitigation and community adaptation to climate change impacts. Food and agriculture are particularly climate-vulnerable sectors, but the degree to which these are considered in climate action plans for municipalities in the Global North is unclear. We reviewed climate plans for 25 major Canadian cities to examine how they discussed climate action opportunities around food systems circa the years 2021–2022. Our qualitative content analysis highlighted four overarching contexts of discussion: (1) general climate and food systems linkages; (2) aspirational framings or desired outcomes for food systems; (3) rural and urban food production; and (4) food distribution and consumption. We compared the results of our thematic analysis to a set of established climate change ‘response options’ for the food system from two high-level synthesis frameworks, including land management, supply chain management, risk management, and food systems transformation. Our findings suggest that food and agriculture are often discussed in superficial ways in these municipal climate plans, frequently lacking clear definitions of concepts or proposing solutions to address climate impacts on food systems that are not realistically under municipal control (e.g., rural land management). Response options more clearly within municipal jurisdiction (e.g., food procurement) are often discussed in vague terms or overlooked altogether. Future municipal climate plans should therefore focus on building rural–urban linkages into planning around agriculture, linking climate impacts to policy planning, and harnessing the power of supply chains for food systems transformation. Without identifying solutions to address stated impacts, cities risk a form of “climate taming” that could impede transformation.