Cooking Workshops Research Articles

Culinary Medicine Cooking Workshops as Add-On Therapy for Inpatients with Depression and Eating Disorders.

Culinary medicine integrates healthy eating with positive food experiences, offering a holistic approach to treating mental health disorders, such as depression and eating disorders, where disruptions in eating habits and mood are common. While traditional psychiatric treatments focus on medication and psychotherapy, culinary workshops provide a novel intervention for inpatient care. This study evaluated the effectiveness of culinary medicine cooking workshops as a supplementary treatment for psychiatric inpatients with depression and eating disorders. We assessed the feasibility of five cooking workshops led by a professional chef and nutritional therapist in 39 psychiatric inpatients (depression, n = 29; eating disorders, n = 10). Participants completed questionnaires on dietary habits, mood, and workshop feedback before and after the intervention. The workshops were highly accepted, with 90% of participants reporting they would recommend them for recovery. Significant improvements were observed in mood (p < 0.001), sadness (p < 0.001), hopelessness (p = 0.002), and tiredness (p = 0.003) across the overall group. Patients with depression showed improvements in nearly all mood subscales, while those with eating disorders improved in sadness (p = 0.029). Culinary medicine workshops are a promising tool for enhancing mood and reducing hopelessness and tiredness in inpatients with depression. They also promote sustainable lifestyle changes that may benefit long-term physical and mental health. Future studies should explore the long-term impact of these interventions on psychiatric disorders.

Long-term effects of a school-based experiential nutrition education intervention

ABSTRACT Nutrition education is essential for the development of healthy eating behaviours among children. Over the past few years, multiple nutrition education programmes have been implemented in primary schools. In the current study, the long-term effects of the experiential nutrition education programme ‘Learning Street’ are assessed. This 3-week programme comprises a classroom-based introduction lesson, a visit to a fruit or vegetable (FV) farmer, a cooking workshop, and a joint eating moment. The programme is designed for children aged 8–12 years. Questionnaire outcomes of 11-to-12-year-old children (n = 87) who participated in a Learning Street programme two years before were compared to those of a control group (n = 102) with similar demographics. The questionnaire included questions on children’s FV knowledge, liking, intake, and attitude, as well as their general health attitude, cooking self-efficacy, and cooking attitude. There was a significant difference in FV attitude (Cohen’s d = 0.55; 95% CI: −0.69 to −0.21) and general health attitude (Cohen’s d = 0.37; 95% CI: −0.56 to −0.07) between the intervention and the control groups. For general health attitude, the difference was only significant for a subgroup of children (n = 25) who had participated in two Learning Street programmes. The findings suggest that regularly exposing children to experiential nutrition education may have long-term benefits.

Gastronomic revaluation of vegetable discards generated in the culinary transformation of products

Currently, food waste and food loss have become issues of great interest worldwide. Approximately 1300 million tons of food are lost or wasted each year worldwide (FAO, 2020). To contribute to the mitigation of food loss, the gastronomy programs of the Universidad Autónoma de Manizales and the Institución Universitaria Colegio Mayor de Antioquia, along with the Food Engineering Program of the Universidad de Caldas, proposed a project. The project aimed to characterize the vegetable waste (VW) obtained in the cooking workshops of one of the institutions during a regular academic period of 18 weeks. Through this project, they identified 351 kg of VW generated. Based on this information, 16 recipes were designed, formulated, and prepared. Among them, eight recipes were selected based on their gastronomic potential. These selected recipes were then rated on a scale of one to eight by gastronomic experts. Following this evaluation, the first four recipes from the list were chosen. The results of the quality analysis indicated that the products made from vegetable discards are microbiologically viable, meaning they are suitable for consumption. Both acceptance tests and sensory analysis yielded favorable results. However, significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed among certain samples in terms of preference and attributes such as color, odor, and flavor. In conclusion, vegetables composed of by-products such as hulls and seeds, as well as non-compliant food items, are deemed suitable for gastronomic processing and human consumption.

Impact of a Cooking Intervention on the Cooking Skills of Adult Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Study.

To investigate the impact of the Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen (NCK) Program on the cooking skills of Brazilian individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A randomized controlled intervention study was performed, with intervention and control groups. The intervention group participated in weekly sessions of the NCK Program for six weeks (including two in-person practical cooking and three online cooking workshops). The cooking recipes were adapted by replacing high glycemic index ingredients with low and medium glycemic index alternatives. Of note, the recipes did not contain added sugars or sweeteners, were based on the use of fresh or minimally processed foods, herbs, and spices, and were sensorially tested by individuals with T2DM before use in the intervention. The study outcomes were participant score changes on the seven scales. A validated online instrument was administered to the control and intervention groups at baseline (T1) and post-intervention (T2). Parametric and non-parametric tests were used to assess the differences between the T1 and T2 parameters. Of the 60 individuals enrolled, 44 answered the questionnaire at both times. The findings revealed a 45.37% ± 93.57% increase in Knowledge of Cooking Terms in the intervention group, whereas the control group showed a 3.82% ± 16.17% reduction (p = 0.008). There was an increase in all the other cooking skills and healthy eating scales from T1 to T2 in the intervention group, but the differences were not significant. The development of cooking skills can contribute to increasing culinary knowledge and the availability of time to cook at home. The results contribute to the planning of health actions aimed at individuals with DM2 through culinary interventions and public food and nutrition policies.

Transformation Processes toward Low-Impact Pleasure

Taking Karen Blixen’s short story “Babette’s Feast” (1950) as the starting point of reflection, this article examines the role of culinary pleasure in relation to social and environmental transformations. Combining literary criticism and food studies, the article explores the transformative potential of culinary art both as it is represented in the literary text and as it might affect people in real life. While Blixen in her story makes the case for culinary pleasure as an experience of abundance and extravagance, the article argues that we need to rethink pleasure according to sustainability criteria, including frugal practices. By presenting a method that engages in processes of change by both examining a literary food text and reflecting on a cooking workshop as a speculative exercise on how to create low-impact pleasure, this contribution seeks to introduce an integrated approach to literary criticism, food studies, and socioecological transformation.

Fostering culinary diversification, food hygiene, and sanitation: A community outreach initiative for MSMEs

This paper highlights a community outreach program aimed at promoting culinary diversification, enhancing food hygiene, and fostering sanitation practices among Culinary Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Serdang Wetan Village under BUMDES (Village-owned enterprise) Serdang Tirta Kencana, Tangerang, Indonesia. The primary objective of the outreach activities was to empower MSMEs with knowledge and skills to diversify their culinary offerings while ensuring compliance with essential food safety standards and sanitation guidelines. Through a cooking workshop and interactive demonstrations, participating MSMEs were introduced to new recipes, cooking techniques, and ingredient combinations that would enhance their menu options. The program also strongly emphasized food hygiene and sanitation practices to minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses and uphold public health standards. Participants received comprehensive training on proper food handling, storage, and preparation techniques, emphasizing maintaining a clean and hygienic environment within their establishments. Overall, this program underscores the significance of community-driven initiatives in bolstering culinary diversification, food hygiene, and sanitation for MSMEs. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration, this outreach program holds the potential to promote sustainable development and elevate the food industry in Serdang Wetan Village while ensuring the health and well-being of its residents and visitors alike.

Exploring feasibility and acceptability of an integrated urban gardens and peer nutritional counselling intervention for people with HIV in the Dominican Republic.

Food security interventions with people living with HIV (PLHIV) are needed to improve HIV outcomes. This process evaluation of a pilot intervention involving urban gardening and peer nutritional counselling with PLHIV assesses feasibility, acceptability and implementation challenges to inform scale-up. Mixed methods were used, including quantitative data on intervention participation and feasibility and acceptability among participants (n 45) and qualitative data from a purposive sample of participants (n 21). Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and coded using a codebook developed iteratively. An HIV clinic in the northwest-central part of the Dominican Republic. The intervention was feasible for most participants: 84 % attended a garden workshop and 71 % established an urban garden; 91 % received all three core nutritional counselling sessions; and 73 % attended the cooking workshop. The intervention was also highly acceptable: nearly, all participants (93-96 %) rated the gardening as 'helpful' or 'very helpful' for taking HIV medications, their mental/emotional well-being and staying healthy; similarly, high percentages (89-97 %) rated the nutrition counselling 'helpful' or 'very helpful' for following a healthy diet, reducing unhealthy foods and increasing fruit/vegetable intake. Garden barriers included lack of space and animals/pests. Transportation barriers impeded nutritional counselling. Harvested veggies were consumed by participants' households, shared with neighbours and family, and sold in the community. Many emphasised that comradery with other PLHIV helped them cope with HIV-related marginalisation. An urban gardens and peer nutritional counselling intervention with PLHIV was feasible and acceptable; however, addressing issues of transportation, pests and space is necessary for equitable participation and benefit.

The “School in the Green”: An Experience of Developing Scholastic Intelligence Through the Enhancement of the Naturalistic and Visual-Spatial Ones

The "Cipolletti" Institute has launched, from the 2020-21 school year to today, in the summer months, the experience of the "School in the Green", located in a wood in the town of Banzano di Montoro (AV- Italy). It is a space equipped for the safety of kindergarten and primary school children, in which motor, artistic, and laboratory activities are carried out in English since the Institute is a bilingual school. The school, which has been using the "Embodied cognition" model for years, has intended to integrate "Embodied" learning, precisely "Embodied", with outdoor teaching, trying to develop, in parallel with scholastic intelligence, also naturalistic intelligence, and visual-spatial. Among the scientific assumptions is that of Waldpädagogik, of experiential pedagogy that values discovery learning. The project of the "School in the Green" was supervised by the Chair of Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Department of Medicine, Surgery, Dentistry "Scuola Medica Salernitana" of the University of Salerno (Italy), and the same Department sponsored the project. The activities carried out were: Study science directly through sensory experience in nature; Music and movement workshop with Orff instruments; Sensory and musical journey with handcrafted instruments; Motor paths and motor coordination to develop naturalistic intelligence and visual-spatial intelligence; Motor-sport activity in the greenery; Immersive learning of the English language; Peer tutoring for learning English; Small group activity in Spanish; Learning of less widespread languages with the 3D construction of morpho-phonemes (for example Korean, Portuguese); Theatrical activities in nature; Garden care; Workshop for flower arrangements; Outdoor cooking workshop¸local field trips. This short article reports the theoretical construct of reference and research to evaluate whether school learning activities benefit from being implemented in a naturalistic context.

A Solar Cooking Workshop for Low-Income Communities: A Social and Environmental Initiative

Brazil is a tropical country which has an average of 250 sunny days per year. Unfortunately, very little solar energy is used for both heating water and for food cooking with solar cookers. Traditional cooking process demands fuel consumption while solar cooking takes advantage of the abundant, free solar energy. This article proposes the use of affordable panel solar cookers, with a sustainable design, based on waste materials, such as cardboard and potato chips metallized plastic bags as alternative materials to commercial reflective aluminum foil or reflective plastic films. Our work is an example of the feasibility of simple, fast and low-cost solar cooking apparatus and techniques dissemination among underprivileged communities.Keywords: Solar Energy; Affordable Solar Cookers; Sustainability, Waste Materials Oficina de Fogões Solares para Comunidades de Baixa Renda: Uma Iniciativa Socioambiental.ResumoO Brasil é um país tropical que tem em média 250 dias de sol por ano. Infelizmente, muito pouca energia solar é usada para aquecer água e para cozinhar alimentos com fogões solares. O processo de cozimento tradicional exige consumo de combustível, enquanto o cozimento solar aproveita a abundante energia solar gratuita. Este artigo propõe a utilização de fogões solares de painel de baixo custo, com design sustentável, a partir de resíduos, como sacolas plásticas metalizadas de papelão e batata frita, como materiais alternativos às folhas de alumínio reflexivas comerciais ou filmes plásticos reflexivos. Nosso trabalho é um exemplo da viabilidade da disseminação de aparelhos e técnicas de cozimento solar simples, rápido e de baixo custo entre comunidades carentes.Palavras-chave: Energia Solar; Fogões Solares Acessíveis; Sustentabilidade; Resíduos.

Effects of the healthy lifestyle community program (cohort 1) on stress-eating and weight change after 8 weeks: a controlled study

Stress-eating (eating more or more unhealthily in order to accommodate to stress), contributes to the development and maintenance of obesity. The effect of comprehensive weight loss interventions on changes in stress-eating as well as the contributing role of stress-eating on weight reduction has not been examined. The impact of the 8-week intensive phase of the Healthy Lifestyle Community Programme (HLCP, cohort 1) on emotional, external and restrained eating, as expressions of stress-eating was evaluated in a non-randomized controlled trial. Intervention: 14 seminars (twice per week, including practical units), complemented by stress-regulation and cooking workshops and coaching sessions empowering participants to change their behaviour towards a healthy plant-based diet (ad libitum), stress regulation, regular exercise and to focus on social support. Participants were recruited from the general population. In the intervention group, 91 participants (IG; age: 56 ± 10, 77% female) and in the control group, 52 (CG; age: 62 ± 14, 57% female) were enrolled. At baseline, participants of the IG reported higher levels of stress (9.7 ± 5.4 points [P] vs. 7.6 ± 6.2; p < 0.011), and of emotional eating (27.9 ± 9.4 vs. 20.0 ± 7.1; p < 0.001) and external eating (29.1 ± 4.9 vs. 25.5 ± 5.6; p < 0.001) than participants of the CG. Within 8 weeks, in the IG, scores of emotional eating (− 3.5 ± 5.4 P) and external eating significantly decreased (= − 2.0 ± 3.8 P), while restrained eating increased (2.7 ± 5.0 P; p for all < 0.001). Weight change was negatively correlated with change of external eating (R2 = 0.045; CC = − 0.285; p = 0.014), indicating that a greater weight change was associated with a smaller change of external eating. This is the first study to prospectively investigate the role of stress-eating on the weight reduction effect of comprehensive lifestyle interventions. Our data confirm that overweight is associated with EE and external eating and suggest that the HLCP is capable to reduce both, weight and stress-eating.Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS; reference: DRKS00018821; September 18th 2019; retrospectively registered).

Cooking a pro-veg*n social identity: the influence of vegan cooking workshops on children’s pro-veg*n social identities, attitudes, and dietary intentions

Plant-based dietary choices can help to mitigate climate change. Yet, most people still consume meat. Social identity influences dietary choices. This study tests whether shared identity, pro-veg*n norms, attitudes, and dietary intentions, can be strengthened via a vegan cooking workshop for children. Pupils (N = 155) cooked in small groups (3–6 members). Compared to pre-measures, shared identity, pro-veg*n (vegan and/or vegetarian) norms, attitudes, dietary intentions, and appreciation of vegan food increased after the vegan cooking workshop. Changed perceptions about what is important or not (injunctive norms) at school predicted changes in attitudes; increased dietary intentions were predicted by changed inferences about the behaviours of peers with whom pupils directly cooked. Jointly cooking a vegan meal thus seems an effective intervention to shape shared identity and pro-veg*n norms, and foster attitudes and dietary intentions in line with this formed pro-veg*n social identity. Therefore, cooking workshops may induce social change.

P112 Fruit and Vegetable Fairs as a Food Education Strategy for Chilean Children

<h3>Objective</h3> To design, implement and pilot-test a comprehensive preschool food education program, in Chile, which used the farmers markets, as one of the main learning strategies for encouraging children to eat more fruits and vegetables (F&V). <h3>Use of Theory or Research</h3> This program was based on the socio-ecological model, as it focused on strengthening values of healthy life through participatory food ecosystems, which managed to integrate daycares, preschools, students and families with the entire community. <h3>Target audience</h3> Although this program focused on children (n = 170, ages 1-6) from the community of Nuñoa, Chile, it also included participation from parents (n = 510), teachers (n = 25), and farmers markets' sellers (n = 65). <h3>Program Description</h3> The program consisted of the following core components: (1) Weekly food education workshops with children and educators; (2) weekly visits to the farmers market; (3) weekly parent-child cooking workshops; (4) orchards at home and at school; (5) diverse food menus; (6) varied community actions; and (7) food sensory laboratory. All the activities involved the child through art, music, literature and also digital tools such as phone applications, audio and video recording. The latter allowed the continuity during COVID-19. <h3>Evaluation Methods</h3> A triangulation of pre-during-post evaluation methods (i.e., interviews, surveys and focus groups with children, school directors and teachers) were used to assess changes on F&V intake, open markets shopping, ultra-processed food consumption, house cooking, and pulses consumption. Children's nutritional status was obtained from public data from primary healthcare, measured annually by nutritionists. <h3>Results</h3> In a period of one-year of intervention, children increased F&V intake from 7 to 20 weekly portions and daily home-cooking from 15% to 55%, while they decreased ultra-processed food intake from 70% to 20%, and obesity prevalence from 16.8% to 10.1%. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The results from this study suggest that the combination of the different program's components, including the visits to the farmers markets, were well-received by the community of Nuñoa, Chile, and positively influence children's practices and behaviors towards F&V intake. <h3>Funding</h3> Fundación Brotes, Chile and Programa Elige Vivir Sano, Ministerio de Desarrollo Social

An Evaluation of an Expanded Nutrition and Culinary Education After-School Program for 4th and 5th Graders in Five Diverse Urban Neighborhoods

ABSTRACT The present study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of program expansion of an afterschool Nutrition and Culinary Education Program with a 79% participation rate. A retrospective matched-pairs analysis was conducted on pre- and post-survey data of all five sites of 284 young participants (and their parents) who took part in a 10-week, 2-hour cooking and educational workshop. The results demonstrate that NCEP’s are effective, producing significant positive change in diverse neighborhoods in areas of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors around food. However, results varied among individual sites. Further study is needed to understand factors, which may influence outcomes between individual sites.

Cooking Workshops as a Strategy to Improve the Acceptability of Vegetables for Elementary School Children

The research aim was to develop cooking workshops using five health foods least accepted by elementary school children and assess their sensory acceptability and physicochemical composition. Three hundred and thirty two elementary school children aged between 7 and 10 years participated in the research. Food acceptability was evaluated in order to verify the nutritious foods less accepted by children, for use in preparations prepared in cooking workshops. Five products were prepared in cooking workshops: eggplant cookie, chard muffin, cress bread, radish pancake and chayote esfiha. All preparations showed high Acceptability Indexes (&gt; 85%). Higher lipid, calorie and fiber contents and lower ash and moisture contents were found in eggplant cookie. Lower contents of carbohydrate and calories were found in radish pancake, while higher contents of protein and ash were observed in chayote esfiha and chard muffin, respectively. The products with the highest carbohydrate contents were eggplant cookie and cress bread, while chard muffin had the lowest fiber content. It is concluded that cooking workshop is an effective educational strategy to improve the acceptability of vegetables with low acceptability for elementary school children.

Gastronomy as a social catalyst in the creative place-making process

This paper examines the integration of gastronomy in the creative place-making process. The study is based on the interviews with the organizers of five gastronomy events: a cooking workshop, a gastronomy festival, a series of gastronomy events at museums, a gastronomy theatre performance and an intimate dinner event. The contextual analysis shows that gastronomy events can contribute to five important features defining quality of place: diversity, liveliness, innovativeness, creativity and openness/tolerance. The final phase of our study brings comparison with findings in art-based place-making studies and discusses on diversity, integration in development policies and replicability potential of analyzed gastronomy events.

Number of children needed to evaluate products made in cooking workshops

This study investigated the necessary sample size of children for the sensory evaluation of products made in cooking workshops containing low acceptance ingredients. The study included 315 children aged 7 to 10 years. Five products were submitted to sensory evaluation in the cooking workshops: eggplant cookie, chard muffin, watercress bread, radish pancake, and chayote sfiha. Three evaluation conditions were considered to investigate the sample size: general (all children), gender (male and female) and nutritional status (low weight, eutrophy and excess weight). A methodology based on the bootstrap method was used to determine the sample size. In the general evaluation, the minimum sample size needed was 39 children, while in the evaluation by gender and nutritional status, the minimum was 41. Three products required a greater number of children: watercress bread, radish pancake and eggplant cookie. On the other hand, chard muffin and chayote sfiha required the smallest sample sizes. In general, the study showed that a small number of children is suitable to evaluate products made in cooking workshops containing ingredients less accepted by this audience. It also showed that both gender and nutritional status have little influence on the sample size. However, it is important to mention that the context the products are eaten must be taken into account, as this can directly affect the required number of evaluators.

An Integrated Urban Gardens and Peer Nutritional Counseling Intervention to Address Food Insecurity Among People With HIV in the Dominican Republic.

Food insecurity negatively affects HIV prevention and care, and sustainable interventions are needed. Here we describe the development of an integrated urban gardens and peer nutritional counseling intervention to address food insecurity and nutrition among people with HIV, which included: (1) peer nutritional counseling, (2) gardening training, and (3) garden-based nutrition and cooking workshops. The intervention was developed using community-based participatory research over multiple years and stages of data gathering and implementation and evaluation. Lessons learned include the importance of cross-sectoral partnerships to achieve multifaceted, integrated, and sustainable interventions and a shared commitment among partners to an ongoing cycle of action-oriented research, and the need for home-based and community-based gardens to enhance food security and social support. The development process successfully combined an evidence-based framework and community engagement to yield a multicomponent yet integrated food security and nutrition intervention appropriate for people with HIV and potentially adaptable for other chronic conditions.

Cuina sense pares / Cooking without parents

Abstract Issue Health promotion in Catalunya isn't a mandatory competency for councils; hence fomenting healthy eating habits isn't a priority for many municipalities because they have to destiny the resources in required issues. To revert this situation, Barcelona Provincial Council, a second level local administration, gives both technical and economic support for health promotion which is specially needed for municipalities with fewer inhabitants. Description of the Problem Adolescence implies autonomy to eat and often it turns in unhealthy eating habits. For this reason, Barcelona Provincial Council, in 2010 creates the project “Cuina sense pares” to promote a healthy eating and an optimum nutritional state from 14 to 18 teenagers in the province of Barcelona. The project counts on cooking workshops throughout territory and on a website www.cuinasensepares.cat that facilitates resources and cooking proposals adapted to the collective. Questions What was the response of the municipalities in the project? How municipalities value the project? Has it been echoed in the media? Results In 10 years, 673 workshops have been realised in 154 municipalities from the 311 in the province of Barcelona with a participation of 9.069 teenagers. Additionally, a 60% of the applicant municipalities have less than 10.000 inhabitants. The municipal technicians have rated the cooking workshops with an average of 9.11 among all. It has appeared 126 times in news media. In addition, the website has had more than 94.000 views and the Youtube channel has had 33.400. Lessons Involve the young in their eating by the elaboration of easy and healthy recipes. As an innovation, healthy cooking workshops are offered to municipalities complemented by a website. Key messages Facilitate tools to municipalities to boost healthy promotion eating programmes between the young. Foment a healthy eating between the young by attractive cooking proposals.

Dietary and lifestyle habits of secondary school students in Subotica

Abstract Dietary habits, alcohol use and physical activity initiated in childhood and adolescence are often maintained during later life. Study objective was to investigate high school students' behavior patterns and nutritional status. The cross-sectional study involved 301 students (16 years old) from two secondary schools in Subotica, North Backa Region. Study took place in October 2019. Students anonymously filled out a modified national questionnaire consisting of 27 questions and covering the areas: free time, physical activity, alcohol use, eating habits. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight) were done in schools. Statistical data processing was done in SPSS. Boys were more physically active than girls, both in regard to competitive sports (36.4% vs. 8.2%) and recreational sports or other physical activity for at least 4 hours per week (15.2% vs. 7.3%). This difference is statistically significant (χ2=40.534; DF = 3; p = 0.001). More than a half of the students (58%) admitted drinking alcohol occasionally in the last 12 months and every fifth student during weekends. Daily consumption of breakfast is present in 44% students, fresh fruits in 28.3% and vegetables in 25.9%. On the contrary, 31.6% of them eat sweets and 30.8% drink sweetened soft drinks daily. There is a statistically significant difference in type of used fats, with boys using more often “bad” fats (χ2=12.884; DF = 3; p = 0.005). Every third student (32.5%) is overweight or obese (&amp;gt;85th percentile). The high percentage of students with BMI &amp;gt; 85th percentile, poor nutrition habits, lack of physical activity, frequent alcohol use, indicated a need for stronger implementation of interventions aimed at adolescents and younger age groups. Following the study, a comprehensive intervention program was implemented in the period October-December 2019. The program included educational seminars, peer education, demonstrational cooking workshops, stands for parents, preparing an e-cookbook, sports and recreation fair. Key messages The results obtained underline a need for youth empowerment and environmental interventions to support their lifestyle change. It is our obligation to help them find a way to enhance their health potential as early as possible.

Towards a circular economy in food consumption: Food waste reduction practices as ethical work

This article explores the transition towards a circular economy in the context of household food waste practices. The research concerning the circular economy has mainly focused on engineering or the processes of production, manufacturing, business and industry. However, the transition towards a circular economy requires, in addition to new technologies, infrastructures and innovations, a societal change and a change in everyday practices. In this article, we address this by examining the everyday practices of food waste reduction in households as ethical work. We claim that the intertwined practices, institutions and policies of the circular economy create moral categories and responsibilities in everyday food consumption. Thus, the transition towards circular economy requires everyday ethical work carried out by consumers. However, our analysis also brings out some possible challenges related to this transition that has not yet been accomplished. Our research materials consist of 26 food waste diaries collected from Finnish households and participant observation in 4 leftover cooking workshops organized with the Finnish Martha organization. We adapt Michel Foucault’s conception of ethics, focusing on the constitution of ethical subjectivity in food waste practices. Moreover, we utilize practice theoretical approach that has been widely used in food waste and sustainable consumption studies and connect it with Foucault’s theory. Our results suggest that in order to understand the circular economy as a moral economy, it is crucial to note the moral complexity of everyday life that results from partly contradictory ethical sensitivities and practices.