News
Cork Food Policy Research Hub hold an event for the Lifelong Learning Festival.
Held on April 28th, the Food Policy Research Hub event, titled "Building Sustainable Food Systems for Resilient Rebels", was led by post-doctoral researcher Dr. Mercedes Gil-Lespinard and research assistant Nora O'Connor.
The event began with a presentation by the researchers, with Mercedes providing background on the global syndemic and the rise in non-communicable diseases. This was followed by an introduction to the role of the food environment in influencing dietary patterns, examples of unhealthy food environments, and how the current global food system operates. The presentation emphasised how the idea that nutrition is just a matter of education and willpower is a common myth, with the reality being that what we eat is often dictated by our food environment.
The second half of the presentation focused on Cork's blueprint to healthier food environments, including a summary of the local food strategy and its five pillars. The challenges associated with each pillar were presented by Nora and the audience were tasked with working in small groups to create recommendations to address these challenges. Participants were incredibly engaged with the activity and came up with excellent recommendations.
Overall, the event was successful in raising awareness of how food choices are not solely made at the individual level but our dictated by a complex interplay of factors. Thank you to everyone who attended, and the Cork Food Policy Research Hub is excited to host another Lifelong Learning Festival next year.