Changing the food for the future: food and sustainability

Sustainability is currently one of the most pressing topics, and it is accepted that food has strong implications on the concept. On the other hand, food is very relevant for tourism, since not only it is part of the daily behaviour, but also it is also presented as a product. That is why we need to train food professionals with an increasing awareness to these issues in order to enable them for the design and production of sustainable and balanced meals.

Within the context of two curricular units included in the graduation on Cookery and Food Production, students were challenged to develop sustainable and balanced meals by reformulating the proportions of food, giving privilege to the vegetable component of the dish and lesser importance to products of animal origin. This includes the dish design and naming of the recipes. Some teacher–student dialogue was used, complemented with primary data collected by a questionnaire.

Results were undoubtedly good. Students became aware of the differences between the quantities normally served and those needed from the health and nutrition point of view, which also have a greater impact on sustainability. Considering the 17 United Nations (UN) Goals, several were focused, namely no. 3 – good health and well-being and no. 12 – responsible consumption and production.

Intervening and training future professionals in this area will make it easier to convey these good practices not only to the hospitality service, but also to the public daily life, with the potential to change mentalities about what should be the food for the future.