University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.The conference and resulting papers reflect on interdisciplinarity as not limited to the design of objects or services, but seeking awareness towards new lifestyles and innovative approaches to food sustainability.
Agrobiodiversity is in rapid decline, due to the intensification of agriculture and the development of food value chains based on industrial processing techniques. However, consumers are not generally involved in developing solutions to reverse this trend and their relation to agrobiodiversity remains largely unknown. As part of a European project, and with the aim of involving consumers in guiding research, innovation and policies, a large online survey (n = 2397) and focus groups (n = 82) were carried out in seven countries to gather consumers' preferences and aversions regarding the use of agrobiodiversity in food chains in relation to their environmental concerns, food consumption practices and knowledge. Using the majority judgment approach typically used to improve political votes, different options for using of agrobiodiversity in food chains were proposed to citizen-consumers. Results first showed that the decline of agrobiodiversity is a concern for consumers, but does not guide food schoices. Then, the alternative options for using agrobiodiversity in food chains, previously documented as favourable to its conservation and development, received positive votes from a large majority of respondents, regardless of their socio-economic category. However, the research showed that respondents seem to have limited knowledge on the subject. This study calls for more research and policies to support alternative options for using agrobiodiversity in food chains. It also encourages the co-development of agrobiodiversity-based markets with citizen-consumers as well as the creation of food environments conducive to learning on agrobiodiversity.
Educating young people to active citizenship is becoming a priority to make better informed choices and promote sustainable behaviours. Food system information provides a good example, because the way we eat is linked to our health and the one of Planet. In Italian schools, the number of available food education modules is growing. However, most of them stress purely nutritional aspects and focus on the food system is relatively sparse. This paper presents an innovative way of teaching and develop global citizenship competences through food with a project called “We, Food, Our Planet”.
Abstract In the past 20 years, two new disciplines have been created and have evolved, first as two separate subjects, and now more and more interconnected: food studies and food design studies. The motive behind the recent success and popularity of education in the agri-food sector lies in the fact that everywhere in the world, the boundaries around the world of food and nutrition have widened. More attention is dedicated to communication, proximity, connections, social and cultural values, and the construction of new food systems. There is a growing need to find new ways to defeat food paradoxes (malnutrition, non-sustainable production systems and the battle against food waste, to name a few). In the past 10 years, the design method has been consolidating into the field of food. Participatory design and co-creation in food experience design became popular along with the discipline of food design. However, the interest in emerging and innovative forms of teaching models in academic and non-academic scenarios in agri-food education is increasing and becoming a challenging issue in food studies pedagogy. The learning objectives of food system education are continuously redefined with the aim of providing food experts with the necessary skills to change food systems and support more sustainable and healthier food value chains. In this article four case studies are presented in which a design approach was applied into different food system education programmes. The author of this article has personally been involved in each of the four scenarios, as a teacher and as a designer. Complex questions concerning the intersection of food system educational contexts, collaboration skills, critical knowledge production and creative approaches are considered in this article. The author presents the dimensions of critical/creative thinking in the scenarios and concludes with a discussion of the challenges and resources for food studies and design educators. The lessons learned in this article provide a starting point for discussing creativity in food system learning and education. On the basis of the analysis carried out in this article, design appears to be an interesting research method to apply to food system education, capable of creating innovative interactions between disciplines and new critical and creative mindsets for food experts. Increasing creativity and critical thinking as learning objectives in food system education will generate more sustainable food cultures and communities.
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