FIT4FOOD2030 partner, EUFIC, is a prime mover in a network of volunteers that has designed and launched a short multi-lingual survey of ordinary people’s changing behaviour and attitudes to food arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, available here.
The purpose of the questionnaire survey is to provide the basis for further investigation along the whole food value chain and to examine the role of ordinary people, communities, and bottom-up initiatives, alongside market and governance actors.
Please get involved and spread the word here
Example of contributors to the research include:
- Transition Town organisations and the Ecolise network
- Research and technology organisations like the Danish Technological Institute
- Research and educational institutions like Copenhagen Business School and the INSIGHT Centre of Galway University in Ireland
- Commercial organisations like T6 Ecosystems in Italy and Global Forum in France
- Public authorities including Aarhus, Aachen, Firenze and Riga
Research questions include the following: Will we revert to business as usual once the present crisis is over, or will we take the opportunity as individual consumers, policy-makers or market players to re-think and move towards more sustainable and resilient food systems that can also improve people’s health and wellbeing?
The results of the questionnaire will be disseminated widely and used to undertake more in-depth work on these issues where the researchers will also welcome cooperation with other organisations that can add value. Food is, of course, the single biggest source of CO2 emissions, by far the biggest user of freshwater, and by far the greatest cause of species extinction and habitat loss. The researchers are also focusing on the social exclusion and food poverty implications as these are becoming even more acute and exacerbated by the pandemic and its aftermath.
The questionnaire is open until the end of June and, although the researchers already have a large number of responses and compelling initial results, they are looking for many more to cement the scientific robustness of the data they are obtaining. You can participate using any of the available languages you are most comfortable with, regardless of where you live.