Critical Dietetics and Sustainable Food Systems

Abstract

In this chapter, we invite readers to consider a food system that is based on values where individual health, the health of the society (social system) and ecosystem health are of equal importance. With this as a lens, there is a clear need to move beyond the biosciences to consider transdisciplinary approaches as important for nutrition and dietetics in today and tomorrow’s reality. This chapter begins by briefly highlighting historical engagement of the nutrition and dietetics community with food system sustainability, before moving to define foundational concepts of sustainability in food systems and diets, from a systems perspective. It then provides some examples of how some of today’s pressing nutritional challenges are sustainability challenges and examples of the interface between today’s dietetics and food system sustainability. This chapter ends with a discussion on the role of nutrition and dietetic practitioners in food system sustainability and the needs and challenges for dietetic education to support that role.