Abstract
Global food security and sustainability, animal welfare, dietary health, and socially just relations of food production have become prominent societal issues. They are of particular concern for young people as their lives progress towards becoming independent consumers and citizens with the capacity to shape food systems of the future. This paper examined the role of the Food for Life Partnership programme in promoting young people’s engagement with food-related citizenship education in secondary schools. The research consisted of a two stage study of 24 English schools. We surveyed experiences and attitudes of students and staff, and recorded programme activities. The results presented a mixed picture. Staff reports and monitoring evidence showed much successful implementation of programme activities across the whole school. However, there was less evidence of positive student behavioral change. Amongst a range of possibilities to account for the findings, one explanation is the organizational challenges of delivering a complex and ambitious programme in the secondary school setting. This suggests the need to develop food citizenship programmes that combine long term institutional reforms alongside focused interventions with specific groups of students. It also highlights the case for ensuring a place for food related citizenship on the educational policy agenda.
Highlights
International attention has turned to the environmental and social dimensions of food production
Overall the results suggest that in the period before enrolment only a minority of schools were engaged in whole school social and environmental food activities
This study focused on the involvement of 24 secondary schools in England in the Food for Life Partnership (FFLP) flagship programme between 2007 and 2011
Summary
International attention has turned to the environmental and social dimensions of food production. A recent UK Government report, ‘Food 2030’ [1] highlights a number of key issues such as growing concerns about the security and sustainability of a food system that is reliant on high inputs of limited or non-renewable resources; the socially exploitative nature of some food production systems; the impact on industrialized systems on animal welfare; and the dietary and nutritional quality of highly processed foods Many of these issues are of particular concern for young people as their lives progress towards becoming more independent consumers and citizens with the capacity to shape the character of food systems of the future. This disconnect has been further attributed to a risk averse culture [6]; parental bubble wrapping [7]; and the demand for safe, sanitized environments for young people [8]
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