Switch to m𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘀 for European citizens

The first ‘Impact through Synergy’ workshop took place on July 5 in Amsterdam, organized as part of actionline 4 of the joint Roadmap on Food, Health & Living Environment. This workshop provided an exceptional opportunity for EU project coordinators to come together and engage in a highly focused and interactive discussion with respect to the challenges in the food, health an living environment continuum.

This workshop intended to provide an opportunity to take stock of what is already being done by European consortia in the FHLE-continuum, and to bring together relevant EC-projects spanning the FHLE continuum, and to determine possible scenarios for convergence and concerted actions in 2024. And to pull together the collective expertise and experience from these consortia to identify critical issues, discuss innovative paths forward and, importantly, converge upon ideas and practical next steps. The international participants returned home, filled with unique insights and perspectives on the latest trends and best practices in their scientific domains.

One of the participating projects was the Horizon Europe SWITCH project. This four-year project aims to accelerate the behavioural shift of European citizens towards more sustainable and healthy diets, using research and innovation as a driver to increase knowledge, accessibility, and facilitation strategies at all levels of the food systems. In particular, SWITCH explores the regional dimensions of well-established healthy dietary patterns in 6 Food Hubs across Europe, from the Nordic Diet to the Mediterranean, valorising their healthy and sustainable elements in the just transition towards a dietary change of the EU citizens.

In the 6 Food Hubs, drivers and barriers of food choices are explored and tailored Action Plans detail approaches and solutions to be tested in real living labs with a direct and pro-active involvement of the multi-actors (ranging from farmers, restaurants, work and school canteens to citizens, media and policymakers) of the local food systems. Want to know more? Check https://switchdiet.eu/