“Mad” for the sustainable diet
Picture credit: Healthy lunch to go packed in lunch box by valeria_aksakova on Freepik
In recent years, institutions around the world have highlighted the environmental impact of people’s diets through many events, publications and reports. In fact, in 2021, Barcelona was the World Capital of Sustainable Food and hosted a world summit with participants from all over the world who discussed how to promote sustainable consumption and production. At Sostenipra, we have contributed to the dissemination and awareness-raising of sustainable diets among young people through the program “Mad for Science” by Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera and thanks to the participation of ICTA-UAB as an environmental research center. In the last edition, we shared our research on healthy and sustainable diets with a group of high school students with the help of our researchers, especially through Pietro Tonini’s research.
During the first session, the different types of diet present in Europe and the new concept of “sustainable planetary diet” were introduced, while identifying the differences with food consumption data in Spain. In the second part of the course, the students learned which methodologies are used to study the food consumption of a population. To make it more practical, the students themselves produced a small study of the consumption of ultra-processed foods, fruits and vegetables among teenagers in Catalonia. To finish the course, the young participants analyzed the data and designed an awareness-raising campaign targetting their peers in order to encourage the consumption of fruit and vegetables and reduce the consumption of ultra-processed products. Through these practical and theoretical activities, the students understood the importance of food for both personal health and the environment.
Would you like to participate in “Mad for Science” at ICTA-UAB this year?
You will find more information about the program on the official website of “Mad for Science“.