By Diego Giuliani

Global food systems are today responsible for over one third of total greenhouse gas emissions and, according to a report by the British think tank Chatham House, in 2021 they were already the leading cause of biodiversity loss on our planet. Two years later, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated their combined health, environmental and social cost at around $12.7 trillion per year, roughly 10% of global GDP. Yet, according to FAO figures, 730 million people are undernourished globally, and one third of the world’s population cannot afford a healthy diet. This trend is further exacerbated by the combined effect of population growth and climate change on crop yields, food price volatility and widening inequalities. Hence the call for an urgent reform of food systems, one that intervenes on global dietary patterns and promotes more biodiversity-supporting farming practices.

Studying everyday behaviour and how people can transition towards more sustainable living patterns related to food is one of the main activities of Arlind Xhelili. An expert in consumer behaviour and consumption patterns, since 2015 he has been working in the “sustainable lifestyles team” at the German CSCP, a research institution based in Wuppertal, mainly focused on sustainable consumption and production. “Our behaviours are shaped by both what we know internally and what is available externally,” he explains. “When it comes to food consumption, one important barrier is limited food literacy. This includes the ability to judge what is nutritious, what is seasonal and what is sustainable. Many people also struggle with planning, cooking, and storing fresh food properly, or with increasing its shelf life at home. Availability and convenience matter too, because sustainable options are not always easy to find where people usually shop. And externally, there are also affordability barriers, since sustainable products can be expensive and therefore inaccessible to many people.”

To help dismantle this complex web of conditioning, a European initiative, SPOON, has been set up, coordinated by Xhelili and aimed at “co-creating a fairer, healthier and more sustainable food future.” “The project works on three different levels,” he explains. “First, there are the citizen science labs, where we discuss challenges and research questions with people and gather insights about food consumption behaviour. Second, there are the behaviour change interventions, which are less directly co-created but still rely on input gathered in the labs. Third, there is the digital toolset, which brings about the broader citizen science dimension of the project by collecting data from many people across different places.”

The “citizen science labs” he refers to are an evolution of the better-known and more established concept of “living labs”: a network of hundreds of open innovation ecosystems where users, researchers, companies and public authorities co-create, test, and validate solutions in real-world conditions. What sets SPOON’s approach apart is the active involvement of the public in scientific research processes, including data collection, analysis and knowledge co-creation, to enhance scientific literacy and policy relevance. Known among insiders as “citizen science,” it is based on the principle of not treating people as passive recipients, but listening to their real needs. And this, Xhelili says, makes a real difference: “The angle chosen by researchers may fit a national or European perspective, but not necessarily the reality on the ground. Citizens can point out which issues are relevant locally and help shape a more accurate approach. At the same time, they provide the data needed for larger-scale analysis, which is what makes the approach especially valuable.”

Six citizen labs across Europe are testing this approach. United by the goal of promoting healthier and more sustainable diets, and by an understanding of the barriers and opportunities that shape them, they differ in the specific issues they focus on, such as low food literacy limiting sustainable choices, increased consumption of processed food or excessive food waste. One of them is in the Slovenian region of Pomurje: an area bordering Austria, Hungary and Croatia, whose ecosystem largely revolves around agriculture and food production, yet marked by strong demographic ageing and among the least economically developed in the country. “In our region, the average salary is lower than in the rest of Slovenia, and this affects people’s ability to afford fresh, local or organic produce,” explains Sasa Straus, food system expert at the Slovenian non-profit business support organisation ITC. Hence the local citizen science lab’s aim to “first raise awareness that healthy and sustainable food is beneficial for individuals, the economy and the environment; and second, create the conditions that make such food more accessible.”

Whether through the co-design of agricultural product traceability systems or information workshops for citizens and farmers, the involvement of end users proves essential for more effectively addressing specific local challenges. “We apply this bottom-up approach on a daily basis with all actors in the value chain. We engage with them to understand their real needs and to explore together how to address them effectively. This is also crucial for ensuring the acceptance of the solutions developed, as our experience shows that without such involvement, solutions are rarely adopted,” continues Straus. Crucial to building trust and public acceptance is also the fact that citizens are not seen merely as participants, but as active contributors to research, from its design phase to its practical implementation. “The added value of this approach is that it builds trust in the research process. Citizens feel ownership, as they are directly involved, and they perceive the outcomes as reflecting their own views rather than being imposed from above,” stresses Straus’s colleague and programme manager at ITC, Tamara Kozic.

Yet SPOON involves citizens not only to better understand barriers, enablers and opportunities from a local perspective. The project also engages them directly in data generation to develop more local and tailored solutions. “We use digital tools to gather collective intelligence, while paying close attention to data privacy, control and transparency. All data handling is designed to be GDPR-compliant, so that people can clearly see what is collected, how it is shared, and with whom,” says Xhelili. Aimed at supporting citizen science and large-scale data collection, the goal is the creation of a “digital toolset”, including several components. “The back end is called DataU, and it provides the infrastructure that enables secure data requests and sharing,” he continues. “It allows consumers to give permission for their data to be used and records that consent for future use. The front end is called DashboardU, which is the interface people actually see and use. Within the interface, there is also a personal data wallet, where users can store information they have already provided and reuse it when similar data is requested again.” The expected outcome is collecting data that allow different stakeholders to act in concert to break down the barriers that currently hinder a fairer and more sustainable food system. “Researchers can build on existing evidence; retailers can identify barriers and gaps; and policymakers can better understand why people do not eat as healthily or sustainably as they would like,” Xhelili explains.

The urgency and potential benefits of coordinated measures like this are also stressed by a number of projections for the coming decades. According to a recent study by the International Institute for Environment, in the absence of change, current food systems will continue to drive climate change and ecosystem collapse, with food security deteriorating by over 40% in low-income countries. Conversely, a 2024 report by Deloitte estimates that a transition towards more sustainable food systems could lift some 300 million people out of undernourishment and cut food prices by 16%. Increasing the production and consumption of local food requires strong collaboration, Kozic says. “But our experience proves that living labs play a key role in enabling more structured and effective cooperation, and can ultimately generate a real and very positive impact within their ecosystems.” Yet behavioural change also depends on factors such as “what is offered, how policies are designed, and whether the environment supports a certain choice”, concludes Xhelili: “The issue is not just individual knowledge or motivation. It is a combination of consumer behaviour, market conditions, communication and policy support. That is the only way to make real change happen.”

Photo credits: INCOMMON