Sustainable Gastronomy Day June 2019

It’s Sustainable Gastronomy Day – What Does That Mean?

Sustainable Gastronomy Day is a day facilitated by the UN member states recognising that gastronomy, ‘the practice or art of choosing, cooking, and eating good food’ connects with the three dimensions of sustainable development. Those being; people, planet and profit.

Gastronomy is the relationship between food and culture, meaning it differs from country to country. It focuses on the art of preparing food, as well as the cooking styles between particular regions. Primarily, it places emphasis on gourmet cuisine. But, how then, does it play a part in sustainability?

Gastronomy’s commitment to the principles of sustainability includes poverty reduction, efficient use of resources and environmental protection. Finally, gastronomy can also help protect cultural values, heritage and diversity. Especially those relating to food and the way ingredients are grown or cooked.

The UN’s View

According to the UN, ‘sustainable gastronomy can play a role in promoting agricultural development, food security, nutrition, sustainable food production and the conservation of biodiversity’.

In order to protect culture and environment, and contribute to a more sustainable world – there are certain things those in the food industry can do.

Number one is perhaps raising awareness of the day itself. Second, to that, is raising awareness of how sustainability can be incorporated into nutrition and cooking. That includes the diversification of crops – focusing on crops that are underutilized and encouraging their use in cooking. Applying sustainable food production and natural resource management practices also contributes to sustainable gastronomy.

On a more local level, encouraging restaurants to choose a clean energy source can be beneficial. For example, use gas and electricity instead of coal and use natural gas rather than carbon.

What Does it Mean?

Overall, sustainable gastronomy can play a role in promoting agricultural development, food security, nutrition, sustainable food production and the conservation of biodiversity. By encouraging farmers to grow diverse crops, sustainable gastronomy in turn aids biodiversity. Ultimately, it means more sustainable food growth.

Sustainable food production and sourcing can lead to people making more informed and wise decisions when it comes to their food.

Sources:
The UN
Blue Ocean Network