Choosing sustainability at the table

Hi, my name is Franca Braga and I’m a food technologist, an expert in nutrition, health and consumer protection. In this course we’ll be focusing on sustainable nutrition.
Why do we need to talk about this? Because our planet is in trouble, as the result of an economy geared solely to profit and exaggerated consumerism. Food systems account for more than one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, the emissions that affect climate change. In the end, there won’t be enough food for everyone on the planet. The challenge is to ensure sufficient, healthy, sustainable food for the world population. Sufficient, to feed all the inhabitants of the earth. To combat hunger, malnutrition and insufficient access to nutritious food. Healthy, to support our health. There is a correlation, based on solid scientific evidence, between our eating habits and diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Sustainable, because food must also be environmentally, economically and socially friendly. These are important, interesting concepts. So you may now be asking yourself: what can I do? These problems are much bigger than me. The fact is you do have an important role to play, because we all do, even if the problems are global and complex. Everyone’s contribution is needed to promote change. Because change starts from the bottom. What you choose to put in your trolley, what you decide to bring to the table, drives the market. It represents demand, and if demand wants healthier, environmentally friendly food, then production processes will start to change. If your sensitivity to the sustainability of what you eat increases, then global awareness and attention to your choices will increase too. By the end of the course you’ll have the right tools to become an active part of this transformation.