Throughout much of the world, complex systems of production, processing, transport, and marketing create a functional web through which food is made available to consumers.
Cities are perfect places to begin tracing the complexities of food webs.
The origins, qualities and quantities of this flow have an incredibly significant potential for environmental impact. Ultimately, a city's consumer culture dictates the range and density of its food web and thus determines the extent to which the web can be ecologically sustainable. In Hong Kong and Mexico City, cities to which ecological sustainability as a goal has been growing in importance, food systems are defined by the fluctuating dynamics between tradition and social change. This paper examines the relative sustainability of both cities' food systems, synthesizing information about imports, production, marketing, and food preparation in relation to regional culture. It is first important to look at the differing food needs of the two metropolitan areas.