Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FEAST (FEAST)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-07-01 al 2023-12-31
Food systems in Europe are largely unjust and unsustainable for the environment, human health and public sector.
- Environment: The agricultural sector is responsible for 10.3% of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Health: Consumption of poor-quality diets is increasing in Europe and it is the leading cause of death and a top contributor to Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) burden. Approximately 75% of all diseases and 85% of all deaths in Europe can be attributed to NCDs.
- Public Sector: EU governments spend about €700 billion annually to treat NCDs—which is about 70% of the ~€1 trillion (7–10% of GDP) EU governments spend annually on healthcare.
FEAST aims to support European food systems to shift away from the current ‘Lose-Lose-Lose-Win' food systems that sees only large food corporations ‘winning’ at the expense of enormous negative consequences for the environment, health and the public sector. FEAST aims to advance the state of the art by leveraging current best practice and co-designing novel solutions throughout Europe with food system stakeholders, including diverse vulnerable groups, to identify how they can be supported and empowered to facilitate and benefit from the just transition to healthier and more sustainable dietary behaviour – at all levels (micro, meso and macro) and in all sectors (producers, distributors, retailers and consumers) of the food system.
- Environment: The agricultural sector is responsible for 10.3% of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Health: Consumption of poor-quality diets is increasing in Europe and it is the leading cause of death and a top contributor to Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) burden. Approximately 75% of all diseases and 85% of all deaths in Europe can be attributed to NCDs.
- Public Sector: EU governments spend about €700 billion annually to treat NCDs—which is about 70% of the ~€1 trillion (7–10% of GDP) EU governments spend annually on healthcare.
FEAST aims to support European food systems to shift away from the current ‘Lose-Lose-Lose-Win' food systems that sees only large food corporations ‘winning’ at the expense of enormous negative consequences for the environment, health and the public sector. FEAST aims to advance the state of the art by leveraging current best practice and co-designing novel solutions throughout Europe with food system stakeholders, including diverse vulnerable groups, to identify how they can be supported and empowered to facilitate and benefit from the just transition to healthier and more sustainable dietary behaviour – at all levels (micro, meso and macro) and in all sectors (producers, distributors, retailers and consumers) of the food system.
To deliver on its objectives, FEAST focuses on three key areas:
- Understanding the current food system
We aim to understand the barriers and facilitators to people in Europe eating healthier and more sustainable diets through a large-scale survey (aiming for over 20,000 respondents). To date, we conducted a review of the literature to identify validated survey questions; refined these questions to a core set of 88 questions for our survey; applied for and received ethics approval for the survey; contracted an agency to disseminate the survey; and had the survey translated and validated in 27 different languages.
We also aim to understand how food environments (private and public sectors and communities) influence the ability of people to eat healthier and more sustainable diets in Europe. To date, we have explored the assessed commitments to population nutrition and environmental sustainability of over 100 individual companies in three countries (Belgium, Ireland, Portugal). We have also developed a method to map policies and conduct interviews to map policy, which has begun in Cork and Brussels.
- Co-designing solutions
We are working with 12 living labs (LL) across Europe to co-design community-based solutions, and associated business cases, to support people to eat healthier and more sustainable diets. To date, we have engaged with our living lab partners to identify: a vulnerable group in their region that is suffering from food-related issues; a short list of the key problems impacting them; a list of outcomes that would be ideal to achieve for them. For some of the LL we have also gone through the process of getting ethics approval.
We are also exploring technology-based solutions to support the transition to healthier and more sustainable diets. We conducted a ‘hackathon’ in partnership with the Milan Food Policy and Terre des Hommes in Milan and the winner, ‘Hub City’, has been supported to create a web and mobile app to reduce food waste in Milan. Additionally, four LL have identified target populations that will be supported with technology-based solutions to support people to eat healthier and more sustainable diets. Finally, we have been working with a mobile food shopping app to set up a trial to explore the impact of providing information on sustainability, health and ethics on peoples’ food purchasing decisions.
- Exploring policies to support the transition to healthier and more sustainable food systems
We aim to create a common modelling framework that can be used across regions (both cities and rural areas) to support policy makers to understand the food system solutions that can positively impact health, the environment and the economy. To date, we have identified 14 large datasets that will be used for our models; refined existing impact assessment models; conducted a review to identify some of the drivers affecting dietary choice for two vulnerable groups (children and low income groups).
Informed by and in parallel to our modelling work, we also aim to co-design policy and recommendations for policymakers to support the transition to healthier and more sustainable food systems. To date, we have conducted an analysis to inform the methods we can use to engage in constructive dialogue with policy makers and we have conducted several sessions to inform the policy areas that we will focus on for our co-design activities.
- Understanding the current food system
We aim to understand the barriers and facilitators to people in Europe eating healthier and more sustainable diets through a large-scale survey (aiming for over 20,000 respondents). To date, we conducted a review of the literature to identify validated survey questions; refined these questions to a core set of 88 questions for our survey; applied for and received ethics approval for the survey; contracted an agency to disseminate the survey; and had the survey translated and validated in 27 different languages.
We also aim to understand how food environments (private and public sectors and communities) influence the ability of people to eat healthier and more sustainable diets in Europe. To date, we have explored the assessed commitments to population nutrition and environmental sustainability of over 100 individual companies in three countries (Belgium, Ireland, Portugal). We have also developed a method to map policies and conduct interviews to map policy, which has begun in Cork and Brussels.
- Co-designing solutions
We are working with 12 living labs (LL) across Europe to co-design community-based solutions, and associated business cases, to support people to eat healthier and more sustainable diets. To date, we have engaged with our living lab partners to identify: a vulnerable group in their region that is suffering from food-related issues; a short list of the key problems impacting them; a list of outcomes that would be ideal to achieve for them. For some of the LL we have also gone through the process of getting ethics approval.
We are also exploring technology-based solutions to support the transition to healthier and more sustainable diets. We conducted a ‘hackathon’ in partnership with the Milan Food Policy and Terre des Hommes in Milan and the winner, ‘Hub City’, has been supported to create a web and mobile app to reduce food waste in Milan. Additionally, four LL have identified target populations that will be supported with technology-based solutions to support people to eat healthier and more sustainable diets. Finally, we have been working with a mobile food shopping app to set up a trial to explore the impact of providing information on sustainability, health and ethics on peoples’ food purchasing decisions.
- Exploring policies to support the transition to healthier and more sustainable food systems
We aim to create a common modelling framework that can be used across regions (both cities and rural areas) to support policy makers to understand the food system solutions that can positively impact health, the environment and the economy. To date, we have identified 14 large datasets that will be used for our models; refined existing impact assessment models; conducted a review to identify some of the drivers affecting dietary choice for two vulnerable groups (children and low income groups).
Informed by and in parallel to our modelling work, we also aim to co-design policy and recommendations for policymakers to support the transition to healthier and more sustainable food systems. To date, we have conducted an analysis to inform the methods we can use to engage in constructive dialogue with policy makers and we have conducted several sessions to inform the policy areas that we will focus on for our co-design activities.
Three key results that are beyond the state of the art include:
- A comprehensive analysis of the commitments of over 100 companies spanning Belgium, Ireland and Portugal to support health and environmental sustainability. As far as we are aware, this is the first such assessment that has been done to this scale and level of depth.
- A comprehensive analysis of the issues affecting a key vulnerable group in each of our LLs along with an exploration of the outcomes that will serve as the target for co-designed community-based solutions that will result from this.
- The app that resulted from our first hackathon in Milan, ‘Hub City’, was developed. 'Hub City' is a novel solution to curbing both food waste and food insecurity in Milan.
- A comprehensive analysis of the commitments of over 100 companies spanning Belgium, Ireland and Portugal to support health and environmental sustainability. As far as we are aware, this is the first such assessment that has been done to this scale and level of depth.
- A comprehensive analysis of the issues affecting a key vulnerable group in each of our LLs along with an exploration of the outcomes that will serve as the target for co-designed community-based solutions that will result from this.
- The app that resulted from our first hackathon in Milan, ‘Hub City’, was developed. 'Hub City' is a novel solution to curbing both food waste and food insecurity in Milan.