Identification of best practices for promoting food literacy and sustainable diets in higher education institutions

Abstract

Food represents the one of the most powerful levers for positively impacting people's health and global sustainability. However, the major diets that characterize current societies worldwide fail to represent nutritionally balanced and environmentally friendly eating patterns and are threatening both individuals and the planet. What is needed is a shift in diet that includes a reduction in unhealthy foods and animal products through a gradual transition to eating patterns based on fresh, local, seasonal, and minimally processed foods, prioritizing plant-based products such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, and less impactful animal products such as eggs, milk and fermented products, poultry, and sustainable fish. Given the complexity of factors influencing people's eating habits, contemporary lifestyles, and the increasingly obesogenic environment we live in, multi-strategic actions are needed to trigger lasting change toward sustainable behaviors. In this context, creating an enabling food environment that supports people in this transition and facilitates the adoption of healthy food choices is paramount. Among various living contexts, educational institutions play a key role in shaping the dietary behaviors of the younger generation. In particular, the provision of good-quality, healthy food through on-campus dining services encourages healthy dietary behaviors and fosters the general well-being of diners. Based on these considerations, the purpose of this Doctoral Thesis was to identify best practices for implementing effective strategies to improve food literacy and promote sustainable diets through higher education institutions, particularly leveraging the key role of food services. To address this goal, two lines of research were pursued in parallel, and a workshop was organized to provide a position paper based on the latest evidence from the literature and the experiences of the leading experts in the field. As primary research activity, a systematic review was conducted to assess the adherence to dietary guidelines in young populations (2-35 years) living in Europe. Overall, the results showed little compliance with national dietary guidelines and nutritional recommendations, confirming the current shift toward Western-style diets, characterized mainly by a low consumption of plant-based foods, and an excessive consumption of meat and meat products, sweets, and sugary drinks. However, due to the limited number of studies conducted on nationally representative samples over the past decade, drawing solid conclusions about the current dietary habits of younger European generations is difficult, especially for young adults. Subsequently, an online survey addressed to two representative cohorts of Italian and American students was carried out to explore their adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and the sustainability of their dietary behaviors, providing new evidence on the main drivers of dietary habits in this specific target population, considering different living contexts such as a Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean area. The results highlighted an active lifestyle, sustainable eating behavior, extensive consumption of plant-based foods, willingness to buy and eat healthy and sustainable meals, and regular university cafeteria attendance as the main predictors of high MD adherence. In this context, it is crucial to make university dining services an enabling environment for promoting healthy and sustainable food choices among students and the academic community. Given this, a pilot study tested the effect of reordering menu items as a "light touch" nudging strategy to encourage low-carbon food choices. A significant effect of item placement on users' decisions was found. In particular, eco-friendly options were preferred if placed at the beginning of the menu, however the choice of beef options was not decreased. These outcomes confirmed the effectiveness of an easy-to-implement nudging approach, but also emphasize the need for a multi-strategy approach that includes outreach and education of students about the environmental impact of their food choices. Raising awareness about nutrition and food sustainability issues among food service users is as important as increasing knowledge and skills of restaurant staff, especially chefs, on the same topics. In this connection, the second part of this thesis aimed to assess the impact of an intervention to raise knowledge on nutrition and food sustainability aspects in a control and intervention sample of culinary students registered at the International School of Italian Cuisine (ALMA) in Parma (Italy). The effectiveness of the educational project was confirmed by the increased level of knowledge in the intervention group and the adequate nutritional profile of the menus prepared by the chefs during a work project, a task organized as part of the educational intervention. However, the environmental impact of the menus, assessed as carbon footprint and water footprint, highlighted trade-offs within the environmental sustainability dimension, pointing out the need for a multi-factorial approach when addressing the concept of food sustainability. The need for a holistic vision represents the key concept that emerged from the discussion among leading experts on the central role of university dining services in improving the eating habits and overall well-being of students and academic communities. Notably, creating an enabling environment and engaging the academic community have emerged as key strategies on which to build sustainable university food services, supported over time by connecting different academic departments, students, and other university and private stakeholders.