This project, initiated by young people, aimed to raise environmental awareness about climate change and the ecological impact of food production. Participants learned about sustainable and healthy eating, including vegetable-rich diets, diverse recipes, and basic cooking skills. They also explored the benefits of local and seasonal food purchases. The project culminated in the creation of a “Sustainable Recipe Book” with 100 recipes, promoting local, sustainable, and healthy eating habits.
Start: 01-01-2023 – End: 31-12-2023
Project Reference:-KA152-YOU-000097855
EU Grant: 17 303 EUR
Programme: Erasmus+
Key Action: Learning Mobility of Individuals
Action Type: Youth mobility
Project Partners:
Entrepreneurship and Social Economy Group – Greece
Eşsiz Eğitim Kültür ve Gelişim Derneği – Türkiye
Fundatia Zamolxes – Romania
MV International – Italy
Project TOPICs:
Environment and climate change
Physical and mental health, well-being
Green skills
TARGET GROUPs
The target group for this project was young people, particularly those concerned with environmental issues, sustainable eating habits, and healthy lifestyles. The project also aimed to engage participants interested in developing social, intercultural, and basic cooking skills.
APPROACH/METODOLOGY
The project used data collection, educational workshops, cultural exchange, practical application, community support, and collaborative creation of a “Sustainable Recipe Book” to raise environmental awareness and promote sustainable, healthy eating among young people.
PROJECT’S OBJECTIVES
The idea of carrying out this project arose from a conversation between young people and some mobile phones where we could check data. We perceived how climate change affected us directly and even more other regions of the world, where droughts and high temperatures were destroying nature and the main sources of food for citizens. Investigating, we observed that the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions was food production, assuming the world average was 14.5% of these (Climate change 2014: Synthesis report. Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Climate Change. Geneva, Switzerland [IPCC]).
This led us to realize that the consumption of junk food, fast food, and ultra-processed food was increasing in the younger generations, at the same time as obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular problems, and a sedentary lifestyle. Among other factors, these were related to a poor diet, mainly rich in meat and ultra-processed foods, meaning a high rate of contamination too.
Thus, we had the objective of raising environmental awareness among young people about the consequences of climate change on nature, the importance of protecting nature and its beauty, and the weight that food production had on the ecosystem. We also aimed to highlight the ecological footprint produced by our diets and the chosen foods.
To this end, participants observed not only the impact and importance of diets and their ecological footprint but also the impact this had on their own health, with varied diets rich in vegetables being the most recommended. Thus, they learned typical dishes from different countries, sustainable and healthy recipes, and basic kitchen skills. They also understood the positive impact that local and seasonal purchases had by supporting local businesses and encouraging the circular economy, which was favorable for the physical and economic health of the region and more sustainable by avoiding large exports.
In addition, among the objectives was contributing to encouraging more environmentally aware, more sustainable, healthy lifestyles, a healthier diet, a more active lifestyle, greater citizen proactivity, and better mental health of the participants.
Transversely, the objectives included that the participants acquired social skills, intercultural skills, learned basic expressions in other languages, as well as intercultural understanding and empathy. They also learned about the codes of conduct of other cultures, how to speak in public, and present in a language that was not their native language, along with skills in collaboration and cooperation in a group.
Project ACTIVITIES
The most tangible objective and result of the project was the realization of a “Sustainable Recipe Book,” in which each participant included 4 recipes, combining to about 100 recipes that used local, sustainable, and healthy products. This was done in an online document uploaded to the Drive platform, and participants had access to add their recipes. The organizers, at the end of the 2-month period to incorporate the recipes, gave the recipe book a uniform and visually attractive format. This was shared on social networks, uploaded to the internet, and to the numerous dissemination platforms of the European Union, so that anyone interested in Sustainable and Healthy Recipes could access the document. Additionally, it had a long-term impact since, being on the internet, it could remain open for many years, encouraging healthy, sustainable, and respectful eating with the environment and one’s own health, in addition to publicizing the Erasmus+ programs.