Eating your way to sustainable development: delivering multiple dividends through school meals Tanja Bastia School of City and Regional Planning Cardiff University, UK Outline I.Sustainable consumption and sustainable development II.Project Data Methodology III.School meals in Italy IV.Case study Piombino V.Dividends: health, production, environment VI.Conclusions I. Sustainable consumption Sustainable development Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) Sustainable consumption Consumption practices that promote sustainable development I. Marrying environmental and health concerns Early focus on the environment Euro-centric Poverty not a concern Developing countries Broader focus Inequalities and poverty need to be tackled first Rise of obesity in industrialised countries Need for a broader definition Sustainability related to resources but also skills and knowledge I. School meals and multiple dividends Through creative public procurement, school meals could deliver a multiple dividend: First, more nutritious school food could help reduce diet- related health problems []; Second, more locally produced school meals could create new local markets for local farmers and producers []; Third, a more localised agri-food chain could yield environmental benefits through lower food miles []. (Morgan and Morley, 2002) I. The potential of school meals Delivering Health Rural development Environment Educating Future Skills Knowledge II. The project Delivering Sustainability: Towards the Creative Procurement of School Meals Financial support ESRC, Economic and Social Research Council, UK Research team Kevin Morgan, Terry Marsden, Roberta Sonnino, Yoko Kanemasu, Mara Miele, Tanja Bastia II. Research design Whole food-chain approach Production Procurement Consumption Goal: Role of public sector in fostering sustainable food chains How were changes introduced? Catalysts for change. What do you need to make these changes happen? Legislation, partnership, support, etc. How were these changes received by pupils, parents and members of staff? II. Case studies Scotland East Ayrshire Wales Carmarthen England Gloucestershire Italy Rome Piombino Additional case studies London New York II. Data and methodology: Interviews Procurement Five local authorities Procurement officers Production Three to four producers in each local authority Consumption Primary and secondary school per local authority Head-teacher, head-cook, two teachers (e.g. home economics, P.E.) II. Data and methodology: focus groups Pupils Primary school, Year 4-5 (9-10 years old) Secondary, Year 7-8 (12-13 years old) Discussion Games: animals and vegetables Diaries Parents Eating and shopping customs Attitudes towards childrens food consumption Opinion of school meals II. Picture focus group discussion III. School meals in Italy School meals Post WWII nutrients Education Role of organic food Positive benefits Impact of chemicals on children Environmental education Participation III. The educational role of school meals III. School meals ethos School catering can facilitate a formative, educational and socialising journey that can enable school-age children to get to know each other, compare themselves, while highlighting and stressing that despite their different tastes, inclinations, sexualities and socio-economic backgrounds, they all share the affective problems and the symbolism that underline consumption. Rosa Bianco Finocchiaro, coordinator, interregional programme on food communication and education III. Why is there a need for food education in Italy? Mediterranean diet High consumption of fruit and vegetables Lower consumption of meat products III. The Mediterranean diet III. Obesity and consumption trends Obesity a problem in Italy Consumption trends Increased snacking Disruption of family meals Sedentary lifestyle III. Childrens obesity rates, Italy and UK III. Pre-obesity and obesity, 15 year olds III. Sustainable school meals Farm to fork Balance between production and consumption IV: Case study: Piombino IV. Research sites Primary school Perticale in Piombino Secondary school Riotorto IV. School meals in Piombino SIR Eudania Merger of 4 companies in 1992 HQ Florence 1250 employees In Piombino since schools Pre-school Primary schools One secondary school, Riotorto Centralised cooking system 900 meals a day 17% special meals IV. What children eat All meals have First course (rice, pasta, soup, etc.) Second course (meat or fish with vegetables) Fruit Water Three menus Summer (October and mid April to June) Winter (November to January) Intermediary (February to mid April) Variety linked to seasonality Transition from conventional to organic Decrease waste through Measuring everything Know childrens response to food V. From farm to plate: delivering the multiple dividends V. Health dividend: teaching the value of a balanced midday meal Ensuring variety Diaries More than just nutrition Table manners Proper meal Mothering role of school meals Conference Dietician V. Mothering school meals How children eat One teacher per class Teacher sits and eats with the children Rectangular tables, 8 children per table Role of the cook Not knowing who cooks their food has a negative emotional influence on the relationship children have with the food they eat Catering company dietician V. Health dividend: education programmes Formal and implicit National Cultura che nutre Inter-regional programmes on food education and communication Tender - Piombino Sensorial workshops E.g. cauliflower Breakfast workshops Alternatives to milk and biscuits Labels Supermarket visits Learning about label information V. Choice and equality Veltroni Mayor of Rome School meals for social inclusion All children eat the same Giving children the choice is a problem If the children are allowed to have only the second course, they put it in bread and then they only have a sandwich; they wont eat a proper meal. (Catering company dietician) Special meals Appearance V. Production dividend: creating a market for local food Tendering process 1990s Quality Parma Ham and Parmigiano Reggiano Head cook Piombino has always had a very specific tender already then in the late 1980s [when the catering company was formed]. At the beginning it was quite difficult for us to make others understand why we were using quality products. (Head cook, Catering Company, Piombino) V. Quality equated with traditional, regional food produce Since I have the possibility to make this choice, I personally choose PDO and almost always I choose Tuscan as well. So we have the Chianina, the Vitellone Bianco, which is from the Apennines and I am also working on something else, but I havent yet worked it out, but it is on the Maremmana. It is another type of cattle. It is beautiful but not very commercial because it doesnt have the same rendering as the other commercial cattle [names them] or even as the Chianina. But I am working on it, I am always on the attack, also because I am sure that in some areas, if I was able to offer that beef, I would have one more chance, because there is a lot of sensibility regarding this. (Area Manager, Catering Company, Piombino) V. Choosing quality Catering company Competitive advantage Tender specification Producers School meals = new market Educating taste= future consumers Increase awareness Traditional and rare species History and continuity V. Production dividend: stimulating organic production Almost 100% organic Has always been there Nothing in particular. As these organic products started to appear in the market, we naturally included them in the tender. There has always been some preoccupation from the municipality for childrens health and the quality of the food served in schools, so it was natural for us to introduce organic products in the tenders and gradually increase the percentage of organic produce served in school meals. (Schools and education services, Piombino Municipality) V. Environmental dividend: decreasing food waste We try to eliminate all possible waste. Anything that can be quantified, I work with the calculator and the scales. Its a matter of measuring everything, knowing the actual needs of the children and their response to particular foods, knowing how much they actually eat, what they eat the most. Then we also try to give them the vegetables cooked and prepared in different ways [so that the children dont get bored]. (Head cook, 2006) V. Environmental dividend: environmental education Piombino municipality Organic produce introduced because of environmental concerns Catering company Environmental concerns not yet taken on board Consistent with producers view V. Organic means healthy In Italy they have introduced organic products in the schools only because it is safer for the children, thats why there is a need for education. In Italy organic means healthy, whereas abroad it is an environmental productthis is why it has been introduced in the school. It is linked to health, more than to environmentalism. I think this is a limit of the Italian consumer, which the public administration is not trying to overcome. If the school has an educational function, it would be important to see organic products not just in terms of health, but also of the environment. (Supplier for Catering Company) VI. Conclusion: school meals as an opportunity Arena for forging partnerships for rural sustainable development between Producers Public sector Private sector (catering companies) Aim Sustainable development VI. Conclusion: Sustainable consumption? Delivering dividends Health: promote healthy living Expansion and consolidation of nutritional knowledge Learning new cooking skills Rural development: creating markets Niche, quality products increase their sales New jobs in agricultural sector Environment: include organic and local produce in school meals Fewer air miles Increased used of organic produce Improved waste management VI. Future challenge Environmental education Current awareness is unsatisfactory according to producers Combating societal pressures Changing patterns of consumption Ensuring continuity in partnerships Public/private partnerships Replicating good practices Communication and exchanges