SLU news

Climate-smart meals – a challenge by SLU students

Published: 01 November 2018

Today, almost one-half of the world's children are malnourished. Climate change is likely to worsen the situation. Malnourishment is expected to be the biggest health effect in the wake of climate change.

This is what a group of SLU students wants to pay attention to and do something about. They have had a workshop during the course Global livestock production (Agriculture programme – Animal Science), to learn more about sustainability. The method is to gradually build a pyramid while discussing various issues in social, environmental and economic sustainability. It is an active and creative way to become more aware of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. 

You start with an important challenge and work your way upwards, to finally reach the top of the pyramid where you decide about an activity that you want to implement to help achieve one of the sustainability goals.

From left: Paulina Berglund, Kajsa Bruhn, Ronja Lindell, Emma Nilsson,
Lotta Rydhmer (teacher), Ewa Wredle (teacher), Ida Sofia Klemets, Alice von Sydow, Elin Svensson. 

"If we can – you can!"

When SLU Global visits the workshop, discussions are in full swing. The students have already decided that they want to invest in an activity that can reduce malnutrition globally. The group talks about different types of advocacy activities. What can we as students do to reduce climate change and thus contribute to less malnutrition in the world? How can we clearly link sustainability and climate change to malnutrition? Some kind of educational activity is their choice, but which? They reflect on a lunch lecture about One Planet Plate - Meals for a Living Planet. It is a guide to sustainable meals that benefit the climate and that is developed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The lecture has made a clear impression on the student group and after some reasoning about how to go ahead, the day results in a challenge on Facebook (FB). It is a menu with recipes for a week that guides you to eat within the limits of the planet. The challenge takes place 5-11 November and anyone who wants to be able to join.

The students hope that they can spur many others to eat climate smart.

"If we can – you can!", it says in the FB invitation.

You are welcome to participate in the challenge 5-11 November!
Link to the challenge on Facebook.