Abstract
Cities strive to feed growing populations while at the same time minimize the environmental impacts of their food systems. To support cities to achieve their goals, they require systematic and practical actions, including identification of the needs and capacities of food practitioners to guide and support food-related policies and initiatives. This study aims to explore barriers to food-related actions in everyday settings and the potential of a food pedagogy framework to overcome such barriers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 experienced food leaders from diverse food-related areas in Australia. Thematic analysis identified six key themes related to weaknesses in food-related actions, including lack of: a broad understanding about food; acknowledgement of values of food in everyday lives; a broad pedagogical lens; a responsible entity; organizational supports; and coordination between stakeholders and communities. Existing national and global food initiatives were reviewed using a pedagogical framework to identify presence of these barriers to actions, together with strategies that aimed to avoid or diminish such barriers. The findings confirm that a pedagogical approach has potential to enhance the roles and capacities of food practitioners and provide support for government and community structures to achieve a common vision of healthy and sustainable urban food systems.
Highlights
Food is a fundamental part of our everyday lives, and we all eat food for life
The current study explores community food leaders’ perspectives as to why foodrelated activities in everyday settings have not gained traction; that is, what are the barriers to food actions? The study addresses the research questions: What are the barriers to food-related activities in urban areas? In what ways can a food pedagogy framework pre-empt or address barriers to food-related activities, and inform food policies and food initiatives for urban societal health and sustainability?
This study identified barriers to food-related actions to address complex urban food issues
Summary
Food is a fundamental part of our everyday lives, and we all eat food for life. Urban food consumption processes or practices can cause high levels of food waste and environmental contamination, which are major contributions to climate change [5]. Urban lifestyles and unhealthy food environments, such as a higher demand for convenience, a diverse range of processed foods, packaged and ready-made foods outside the home, and higher prices for nutrient-dense foods, have led to dietary changes and increased the prevalence of overweight and obesity and the risks for non-communicable diseases [6,7]. Less attention is directed at how to obtain, process, store, prepare, share, and eat food in more sustainable ways in everyday lives [8,9,10]
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