Education for Sustainable Food and Nutrition – Towards Criteria for German Secondary Schools

Abstract

Food is an integral part of everyone’s life, but the food sector also hugely contributes to harming the environment. Education is the best tool to bring the topic closer to the youngest generations by integrating sustainable food and nutrition into their educational institutions. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address this challenge through multiple SDGs, for example, through SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production. This research was conducted for the KMGNE, a Berlin-based research educational institute. This research explores criteria that can be used to incorporate the topic of sustainable food and nutrition in German secondary schools. Through a mix of qualitative methods, the concept of shaping competences, outcome-based learning was explored, and based on the research results, a set of criteria were determined. The research shows that transformative learning changes behaviour, as it allows internal change about assumptions and beliefs in students. This is why transformative learning works best to bring a change in behaviour. It is essential that schools not only teach about sustainable food and nutrition but also teach by example through the food they offer. Practitioners need to receive training to integrate sustainable food and nutrition-related topics into their lessons. External partners and learning environments should be included in education for sustainable food and nutrition to add authenticity as they can tell personal stories or show food production. The research was conducted in Germany; however, it is possible to use the determined criteria in different educational settings and countries.