Table 3 Suggested strategies to foster... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Suggested strategies to foster more sustainable diets reported among n = 30 Canadian young adults who completed individual interviews exploring perceptions of sustainable eating

Suggested strategies	Sample quotes
1. Intrapersonal approaches − Increasing one’s own knowledge and awareness of sustainable diets through a) Information about local producers and farmers, gardening and regulations for raising chickens b) Recipe books – plant-based recipes c) Guidebook or YouTube channel about gardening for beginners − Buying only what food you need − Budgeting − Attending markets when prices reduced for quick sale − Packing lunch − Eating at home − Meal planning	134 (female, university education, urban resident): I feel like what could help is almost a “sustainable eating for dummies”, some sort of guide or book or a YouTube channel 168 (male, high school education, rural resident): For my lunch, something more sustainable for my bank account would be something like packing lunch and making it obviously healthier instead of eating fast food and all that garbage out there
2. Interpersonal approaches − A shared understanding and common definition of sustainable diets across stakeholders − Shifting cultural and social norms, including a. Shifting perceptions that sustainable diets are for exclusive groups and reframing it as a community activity b. Norms about what makes a meal (i.e. meat and potatoes) c. Viewing sustainable diets as necessary for the future − Spreading awareness among others through networking and talking about sustainable diets − Modelling sustainable diets for children − Using social media to increase education and awareness	126 (female, university education, urban resident): I think even social media trends making sustainable eating more commonplace or bringing it into the limelight a little bit more as it’s not talked about super openly or frequently. So, making it more of an active part of the conversation I think could also help a lot 139 (male, university education urban resident): Culturally, I think if we moved more in that direction of sustainable eating is not just something that’d be nice to do, that is ethically good, but also, almost a must for our long-term future, then I think that those cultural norms just seep into things, and suddenly people’s behaviors kind of shift with that in mind
3. Community approaches − Community collaboration to foster food skills and literacy, food sharing, food waste reduction and food security − Increasing education and awareness of sustainable diets through a) Community cooking classes b) Education sessions with a nutritionist c) Classes/education sessions about gardening and sustainability − Increasing accessibility of fresh, local, sustainable food through a) Community fridges b) Community gardens c) Access to fresh food at food banks d) Access to farmers markets e) Vegetable delivery boxes f) Markets with a sliding scale cost for fresh local produce, reduced prices	106 (female, college education, rural resident): Maybe if there were meetings or groups where a nutritionist or anybody could come in and give people the information. I feel like some people don’t really even know what sustainable eating is 134 (female, university education, urban resident): I think the community aspect is really huge, too. Like when I lived in [redacted], we had so many community gardens and it was quite literally open like there were voluntary hours that you came in and helped with the garden. And then people could just walk in and pick food that they needed. And it was like fully open, like, nothing was gated, nothing locked. And I don’t know, it just worked really well like I used to walk past one all the time to get to school and work
4. Institutional changes − Restaurants decreasing food packaging waste − Cafeterias and schools serving sustainable meals − New grocery store chains that sell sustainable food − Lowering the cost of groceries	162 (female, university education, urban resident): Well obviously the markup coming back down and making groceries more affordable for everyone 108 (female, university education, urban resident): If the restaurants themselves take action to reduce the packaging or make it recyclable
5. Government actions − Incentives for producers, wholesalers, retailers, companies and consumers to promote sustainable diets (tax rebates for purchasing local food, subsidies for local farms and producers, grants for purchasing gardening infrastructure) − Including sustainable diets in the school curriculum − Funding social programs at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to increase access to sustainable foods − Regulations for new buildings to be sustainable – rooftop gardens − Increasing minimum wage to increase the affordability of sustainable food	150 (male, university education, urban resident): I think that knowledge is power, and I think that we have an opportunity in the school system to teach that at a younger age 147 (male, university education, urban resident): Government subsidies to help motivate people to make better decisions that are better for the environment 139 (male, university education, urban resident): If there was some sort of government incentives in terms of how we produce food, so at the farm level, and I know there’s obviously a very elaborate subsidy system for certain things like milk and eggs and such, but for other vegetables, if there was that plus if there was some sort of incentives on the consumer side, I think it would take a multi-pronged approach to really do things there

Suggested strategies	Sample quotes
1. Intrapersonal approaches − Increasing one’s own knowledge and awareness of sustainable diets through a) Information about local producers and farmers, gardening and regulations for raising chickens b) Recipe books – plant-based recipes c) Guidebook or YouTube channel about gardening for beginners − Buying only what food you need − Budgeting − Attending markets when prices reduced for quick sale − Packing lunch − Eating at home − Meal planning	134 (female, university education, urban resident): I feel like what could help is almost a “sustainable eating for dummies”, some sort of guide or book or a YouTube channel168 (male, high school education, rural resident): For my lunch, something more sustainable for my bank account would be something like packing lunch and making it obviously healthier instead of eating fast food and all that garbage out there
2. Interpersonal approaches − A shared understanding and common definition of sustainable diets across stakeholders − Shifting cultural and social norms, including a. Shifting perceptions that sustainable diets are for exclusive groups and reframing it as a community activity b. Norms about what makes a meal (i.e. meat and potatoes) c. Viewing sustainable diets as necessary for the future − Spreading awareness among others through networking and talking about sustainable diets − Modelling sustainable diets for children − Using social media to increase education and awareness	126 (female, university education, urban resident): I think even social media trends making sustainable eating more commonplace or bringing it into the limelight a little bit more as it’s not talked about super openly or frequently. So, making it more of an active part of the conversation I think could also help a lot139 (male, university education urban resident): Culturally, I think if we moved more in that direction of sustainable eating is not just something that’d be nice to do, that is ethically good, but also, almost a must for our long-term future, then I think that those cultural norms just seep into things, and suddenly people’s behaviors kind of shift with that in mind
3. Community approaches − Community collaboration to foster food skills and literacy, food sharing, food waste reduction and food security − Increasing education and awareness of sustainable diets through a) Community cooking classes b) Education sessions with a nutritionist c) Classes/education sessions about gardening and sustainability − Increasing accessibility of fresh, local, sustainable food through a) Community fridges b) Community gardens c) Access to fresh food at food banks d) Access to farmers markets e) Vegetable delivery boxes f) Markets with a sliding scale cost for fresh local produce, reduced prices	106 (female, college education, rural resident): Maybe if there were meetings or groups where a nutritionist or anybody could come in and give people the information. I feel like some people don’t really even know what sustainable eating is134 (female, university education, urban resident): I think the community aspect is really huge, too. Like when I lived in [redacted], we had so many community gardens and it was quite literally open like there were voluntary hours that you came in and helped with the garden. And then people could just walk in and pick food that they needed. And it was like fully open, like, nothing was gated, nothing locked. And I don’t know, it just worked really well like I used to walk past one all the time to get to school and work
4. Institutional changes − Restaurants decreasing food packaging waste − Cafeterias and schools serving sustainable meals − New grocery store chains that sell sustainable food − Lowering the cost of groceries	162 (female, university education, urban resident): Well obviously the markup coming back down and making groceries more affordable for everyone108 (female, university education, urban resident): If the restaurants themselves take action to reduce the packaging or make it recyclable
5. Government actions − Incentives for producers, wholesalers, retailers, companies and consumers to promote sustainable diets (tax rebates for purchasing local food, subsidies for local farms and producers, grants for purchasing gardening infrastructure) − Including sustainable diets in the school curriculum − Funding social programs at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to increase access to sustainable foods − Regulations for new buildings to be sustainable – rooftop gardens − Increasing minimum wage to increase the affordability of sustainable food	150 (male, university education, urban resident): I think that knowledge is power, and I think that we have an opportunity in the school system to teach that at a younger age147 (male, university education, urban resident): Government subsidies to help motivate people to make better decisions that are better for the environment139 (male, university education, urban resident): If there was some sort of government incentives in terms of how we produce food, so at the farm level, and I know there’s obviously a very elaborate subsidy system for certain things like milk and eggs and such, but for other vegetables, if there was that plus if there was some sort of incentives on the consumer side, I think it would take a multi-pronged approach to really do things there

Source(s): Authors’ own work