Sustainability is vital for future generations without depriving them of today's not only our well being but also the environment
Climate change is real and is a product of our habits. It contributed to rising temperatures, sea level rise, floods and wildfires.
One of our habits that contributes to climate change is nutrition, which affects not only our health but also the environment.
Food waste
According to the 2024 United Nations Food waste report, in 2022 the planet wasted a total of 1.05 billion tons of food, with most of it (631 tons) coming from households.
Ιn the European Union, Greece was reanked 5th in the amount of food wasted. The fight against food waste starts at school!
(3)
Children having a 'healthy' weight have 13% more effective results in their classes and their education.
41% of children aged from 10 to 12 are overweight or obese
21% of children under 9 are overweight or obese
35% of daily calories that an average child eats at school
50% of children get more than half of their calories at school
(1)
LABELS
School nutrition is a big oppor tunity to achieve sustainability!
Healthy school meals are essential for students so that they:
Have a favorable impact on attendance
Can make a difference in academic achievement
The goal of the course is to:
Inform - engage students and parents
Challenge and change the norms
Provide access to resources and tools that can help par ticipants succeed
Present ideas and best practices for introducing plant forward cuisine to
FAT SUGAR
CALORIES
''Schools are the biggest restaurant chains in ever y city!'' (2)
''Human diets have the potential to suppor t both environmental sustainability and human health.'' (3)
''In the coming decades, the sur vival of humanity will depend on ecological literacy, the ability to understand the basic principles of ecology and live accordingly!''(4)
(7)
(8)
An eco-literate person could:
Understand environmental problems and their causes.
Ar ticulate what sustainability is and its impor tance.
Honestly assess the moral dimensions of unsustainability.
Describe the connections and relationships within a local ecosystem.
Outline actionable solutions to address local issues of unsustainability
Advocate for the protection/conservation of local ecosystems/species.
Identify and describe potential local sustainability issues.
Identify and diagnose obstacles to ecological sustainability
Identify greenwashing.
The goal is to:
with engage to tools the students give and awareness Raise these issues outside the classroom.
tant impor issues the to relevant more activities class Make to students and what's happening in society.
(11)
SOURCES
(1) G. Afentopoulos, Action for healthy kids, Journal of the American Dietary Association, Unicef, 2021
(2) D. Binkle, Procurment report, Rethinking School Lunch, A new System for purchasing food for school meals, LAUSD, www. ecoliteracy.org
(3) The Harvard T.H. Chan, School of Public Health, Article, The nutrition source, Sustainability, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sustainability/
(4) F.Capra, Report, Systems thinking includes a shift of emphasis from structure to process, Center for Ecoliteracy, https://www.ecoliteracy.org/article/new-facts-life
(1) Happy woman holding apple, freepik.com, https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/happy-womanholdingapple_6184336.htm#page=2&query=teenager%20holding%20fruits&position=12&from_view= earch& track=ais
(2) Save the planet, D.. Mandoulidis, Mandoulides Schools
(3) Food Waste, D. Mandoulidis, Mandoulides Schools
(4) Planet earth 'on a diet', D. Mantoulidis, Mandoulides Schools
(5) Red berries, Αrtbutenkov, Free photo many different berries in the form of a frame on a white back ground, Freepik, https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/many-different-berries-form-frame-white-back ground_26484867.htm#query=red%20fruits&position=1&from_view=keyword&track=ais
(6) Childhood obesity, Laila B. van der Heiden, Childhood Obesity - Behind the doors of the epidemic, publicatie-on line.nl
(7) Kid meal with sliced citrus fruits creating funny face on plate, T. Winstead, pexels.com, https:// www.pexels.com/photo/kid-meal-with-sliced-citrus-fruits-creating-funny-face-on-plate-6489570/
(8) The diet that ‘protects’ from coronary diet, capital.gr, 01.02.2021, https://www.capital.gr/health /3361088/i-diatrofi-pou-prostateuei-apo-ti-stefaniaia-noso/
(9) People holding watermelon slices, pexels.com, https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-holdingwatermelon-slices-4965572/
(10) Crop little girl with mouth in milk, pexels.com, https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-little-girlwith-mouth in-milk-5693041/
(11) pikisuperstar, Free photo-Young people eating berries in the streets, freepik.com, https://www.freepik.com/ free-photo/young-people-eating-berries-street_36305684.htm#page=2&position=32&from_view=collections
