Sustainable food systems: Is our nutrition workforce equipped to lead us into a sustainable future?
Our current food system is fuelling climate change and leaving the sustainability of our growing population in question. But is Australia's nutrition workforce ready to fight on the frontlines towards food system reform and a sustainable future for all? Based on the university training our nutritionists and dietitians are receiving, the answer is not yet.
It's commonly accepted that our natural environment affects our health and well-being, and that adequate food is essential for humans to not only survive, but to thrive. Yet how often do we really consider the impact that the food we eat everyday is having on our natural environment? For example, the coffee you may be enjoying while reading this blog has made quite the journey to reach your coffee cup, with it's very own carbon footprint dependant on the distance travelled, agricultural practices, embedded water and green-house gas emissions. Our global food system is responsible for one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, uses 70% of the planet’s accessible freshwater resources and 40% of the Earth’s surface [1-4] - it’s hard to deny that the food we eat is contributing to environmental degradation. Despite the detrimental effects of intensified food production, one-third of food produced worldwide is wasted, which contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions [5]. With our growing global population, and an increasing requirement for food, it is vital to rethink our food system, including the food choices we make every day. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have defined several targets which aim for climate action, sustainable cities and communities, and the responsible consumption and production of food, among others [6]. More recently, sustainable food consumption has gained public attention through the EAT Lancet Commission’s report which defines targets for healthy and sustainable diets from sustainable food systems [7].
 |
Our nutrition workforce (i.e. Dietitians and Nutritionists) can influence practice in a variety of settings (e.g. policy, food industry, hospitals, private practise) and are well positioned to bring about change towards greater food sovereignty. But in reality, how well is the nutrition workforce actually equipped to apply their skills to effect the changes required to improve environmental outcomes?
To answer this question, researchers Stefanie Carino, Liza Barbour and Julia McCartan, from Monash University’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food conducted a study to understand how university nutrition and dietetics students are being taught about the environment, food systems and sustainable food. “Universities have the distinct potential to spark societal and environmental change through the education they provide to tertiary students,” explained researcher Stefanie. Yet the final results from this study highlight various areas for improvement, whereby tertiary educators can incorporate this emerging topic into their training. Of the 130 Nutrition and Dietetic university degrees in Australia, 8% (i.e. nine) of these included a unit on sustainable food systems. When digging deeper, almost 90% of the learning outcomes were in the knowledge category of Miller’s Prism of Clinical Competence (Figure 1), rather than learning outcomes in the skills and attitudes categories, which are also important to be able to initiate meaningful action. When it came to assessing students’ capabilities, these units received a mixed scorecard. Just over half (56%) of the assessment within these units (within 8% of Australian courses) required students to ‘show’ a skill, and none of them incorporated assessment where performance is integrated into practice (i.e. the ‘does’ level of Miller’s Prism of Clinical Competence). Ultimately, these findings revealed that deeper-level learning and assessment opportunities are not currently being provided.
 |
| Miller's Prism of Clinical Competence. Image created based on works by Miller GE, The Assessment of Clinical Skills/Competence/Performance; Acad. Med. 1990; 65(9); 63-67. |
Without question, change is required. “We need to see the widespread incorporation of food sustainability into tertiary curriculum as well as creating meaningful opportunities to assess the skills required in real life settings” commented Stefanie. In a welcome move, the Nutrition Society of Australia recently updated their nutrition science core competencies to include environmental sustainability [8]. The research team highlight that the consideration of these issues in core competency standards by bodies such as the Nutrition Society of Australia and the Dietitians Association of Australia, who hold the key to accreditation in Australia, may provide the essential push for universities to make curricula changes.
For the current nutrition workforce, there is an opportunity to seek professional development opportunities to build their own knowledge and skills to address food sustainability in practice, such as seeking seminars, resources, webinars and conferences in this area. Considering environmental sustainability as a key issue and responsibility of the nutrition workforce is a necessary first step towards food system transformation which contributes to human health and wellbeing within our planetary health boundaries.
If you are interested in learning about food sustainability follow https://www.fcrn.org.uk/, or https://www.caha.org.au/ for the link between climate and health.
So what are we doing about sustainability education at Monash University Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food?
Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our workplace, our research and our teaching. In 2018 the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food was awarded gold status (highest level of achievement) in Monash University's 'Green Impact Program'. At a curricula level, our Bachelor of Nutrition Science is the first Australian nutrition and dietetics degree to have a compulsory unit dedicated to Food Sustainability Systems. This unit was designed in 2015 by Liza Barbour and Julia McCartan and has been taught since 2016 and has prompted other Universities in Australia to offer similar tertiary opportunities to nutrition students.
Researchers Liza Barbour and Dr Jorja Collins are also part of an interdisciplinary group from the Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences and the Monash Sustainability Development Institute who have been awarded a Teaching and Research Grant to investigate teaching the future healthcare workforce about climate change and environmental sustainability.
More information
Stefanie Carino is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and PhD student in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food at Monash University. Her current research focuses on exploring the environmental sustainability of hospital food services. You can follow Stefanie on Twitter via @StefanieCarino.
Liza Barbour is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition and Food Sustainability Systems, and PhD student in the Monash University Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food. Her current research focuses on the role of local governments in promoting healthy and environmentally sustainable food behaviours. Click here to access Liza’s research profile. You can follow Liza on Twitter via @Liza_R_Barbour.
Julia McCartan is an Accredited Practising Dietitian, Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition and Food Sustainability Systems in the Monash University Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food. She is also a PhD student in the Gukwonderuk Indigenous Unit. Her current research focuses on Indigenous food systems. Click here to access Julia’s research profile. You can follow Julia on Twitter via @JuliaMccartan.
Stay up to date with the Monash University Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food on Twitter via @MonashNutrition.
Publication information
Reference: Carino S, McCartan J, Barbour L. The Emerging Landscape for Sustainable Food System Education: Mapping Current Higher Education Opportunities for Australia’s Future Food and Nutrition Workforce. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. 2019 Mar 16:1-22. doi: 10.1080/19320248.2019.1583621.
Click here to access the paper published in the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.
The Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition is a Q3 ranked journal for Nutrition and Dietetics with an impact factor of 0.6.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.
References
1. Springmann M, Wiebe K, Mason-D'Croz D, Sulser TB, Rayner M, Scarborough P. Health and nutritional aspects of sustainable diet strategies and their association with environmental impacts: a global modelling analysis with country-level detail. The Lancet Planetary Health. 2018 Oct 1;2(10):e451-61.2. Vermeulen SJ, Campbell BM, Ingram JS. Climate change and food systems. Annual review of environment and resources. 2012 Oct 17;37.
3. Ramankutty N, Evan AT, Monfreda C, Foley JA. Farming the planet: 1. Geographic distribution of global agricultural lands in the year 2000. Global biogeochemical cycles. 2008 Mar;22(1).
4. Shiklomanov IA, Rodda JC, editors. World water resources at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Cambridge University Press; 2004 Dec 16.
5. Gustavsson J, Cederberg C, Sonesson U, Van Otterdijk R, Meybeck A. Global food losses and food waste. Rome: FAO; 2011 May 16.
6. United Nations General Assembly. Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld. Published 2015 Sep 25.
7. Willett W, Rockström J, Loken B, Springmann M, Lang T, Vermeulen S, Garnett T, Tilman D, DeClerck F, Wood A, Jonell M. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet. 2019 Feb 2;393(10170):447-92.
8. Lawlis T, Coates AM, Clark K, Charlton KE, Sinclair AJ, Wood LG, Devine A, Torres SJ. Development of nutrition science competencies for undergraduate degrees in Australia. Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition. 2019 Mar;28(1):166.
