Discursive Framework of Food Security and Its Impact on Urban Consumers’ Cognition and Behavior

Abstract

This study aims to identify the effects of food security philosophy on the ideas and discourses of the contemporary urban environment and public space. The philosophy is based on the food security concept elaborated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as well as on the four pillars of food security, namely availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability. The focus lies on the interpretation of the meanings carried by the definition of food security and the ways this definition is complemented by the four-pillars model. The interpretation is completed by the analysis of the principal features of the food security discourse framework. The study is based on the interpretation of the impact of these discourses on the representations of a typical urban consumer. The paper concludes with the analysis of urban consumer behavior and cognition in the context of food and nutrition security. Particular attention is paid to how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted food security discourses and urban consumer perceptions and representations.