Sustainable Gastronomy Day

Alexas Fotos / Pixabay.com / 2016 / CC0 1.0

The 18th of June is Sustainable Gastronomy Day.

It promotes both sustainable and enjoyable eating.

“Sustainable gastronomy means cuisine that takes into account where the ingredients are from, how the food is grown and how it gets to our markets and eventually to our plates.” ^[1]What is Sustainable Gastronomy? United Nations. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.un.org/en/observances/sustainable-gastronomy-day

The day is promoted by both UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

“Sustainability is the idea that the preparation of food is done in a way that is not wasteful of natural resources and can be continued into the future without being detrimental to environment or health. Sustainable gastronomy celebrates seasonal ingredients and producers, preserving wildlife as well as culinary traditions. All cultures and civilizations can contribute to and are crucial enablers of sustainable development. A common vision for sustainable food and agriculture must equally address social, economic and environmental dimensions to ensure sustainability.” ^[2]Martin-Rios, Carlos. Sustainable gastronomy: An opportunity for a green recovery. Lausanne, Switzerland:  Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne. Accessed May 2021 at
https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/sustainable-gastronomy-an-opportunity-for-a-green-recovery

Thinking about what is sustainable on the plate starts right on the farm, and with the environment the food is grown or harvested in:

“The UN’s Sustainable Gastronomy Day is about recognizing that sustainable gastronomy has an impact on many different little pillars, the large pillar being societal, environmental and economic pillars. But within this… sustainable gastronomy has a role towards agriculture, towards food security, towards the nutrition of the individuals. It’s about food production, biodiversity and the conservation of biodiversity,” ^[3]Bhaya, Abhishek G. Sustainable Gastronomy Day: ‘Food is the fabric of societies’. Beijing, China: CGTN News. 20 June 2019. Accessed May 2021 at https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-06-18/Sustainable-Gastronomy-Day-Food-is-the-fabric-of-societies–HDdFQVIrXq/index.html

Looking at a broader menu of ingredients to be exploring in our kitchens will also increase sustainability, by reducing our reliance on just a few items:

“There are only about 30 food species, including wheat, maize, rice etc., that make for 95 percent of the world’s food needs. However more than 12,000 different species worldwide are listed as edible, he noted.” ^[4]Bhaya, Abhishek G. Sustainable Gastronomy Day: ‘Food is the fabric of societies’. Beijing, China: CGTN News. 20 June 2019. Accessed May 2021 at https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-06-18/Sustainable-Gastronomy-Day-Food-is-the-fabric-of-societies–HDdFQVIrXq/index.html

It’s important that any thinking about sustainable gastronomy incorporates culturally appropriate regional approaches. For instance, Italians promoting events for the day specifically mention pasta:

“The goal of the webinar and other events is to promote a more sustainable food world, educate the public on food waste, and to celebrate the benefits of a diet that lovingly includes pasta.” ^[5]Feinstein, Paul. Join the World Sustainable Gastronomy Day Webinar. La Cucina Italiana Magazine. Milan, Italy: Condé Nast. 17 June 2020. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/trends/news/join-the-world-sustainable-gastronomy-day-webinar

And, try as you might to promote bugs as edible food for humans, you will probably never convince many North Americans or Europeans to eat insects, at least not in our lifetimes.

For this to work, the foodstuffs being promoted as sustainable also have to be financially accessible to consumers. It’s of no use to say that people should be willing to pay a little more, if only the upper-middle class can afford to actually do that. Sustainability is not being achieved if what is identified as sustainable for the planet is out of the range of what 90% of the people can afford.

Some people say that sustainability involves encouraging consumers to buy what they can use in a short time frame, but given the important role that home food preservation of locally sourced foods can play in sustainability, that should probably be modified to: “Don’t buy more than you can use or preserve in a reasonable time frame.”

#SustainableGastronomyDay

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtag/sustainablegastronomyday

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sustainable-Gastronomy-Day-18-June-100786948348615/

Sustainable Gastronomy Day strives:

• to promote a new model of cuisine, and to instill a sense in cooks of using ingredients responsibly. After all, they are stewards at the end of a long chain of people who have worked to produce that ingredient;
• to encourage mainstream media food writers as well as bloggers to start writing recipes that make more responsible use of ingredients, and not encourage people to buy something they will use a little of and then throw away;
• to make cooks cognisant of the whole chain of value and resources from farm to fork;
• to get consumers to choose food that is healthy both for our bodies and for the environment.

The day’s promoters also put out challenges to the restaurant, catering, and food service industries such as: ^[6]Martin-Rios, Carlos. Sustainable gastronomy: An opportunity for a green recovery. Lausanne, Switzerland:  Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne. Accessed May 2021 at https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/sustainable-gastronomy-an-opportunity-for-a-green-recovery

• ending the massive food waste that is currently just “costed in” and accepted with a shrug;
• reducing water use wastage in the kitchen;
• reducing single-use, non biodegradable packaging, without compromising food safety;
• giving kitchen staff incentives to think of ways to use up food that might otherwise be thrown away for being slightly imperfect or surplus;
• looking for deals from suppliers to use their surplus products that might be approaching out of date;
• reforming “all you can eat buffets” because of all the waste they generate;
• implementing menus that minimize environmentally harmful products, including unsustainably harvested palm and other oils;
• partnering with competing businesses to better manage power relations in the food supply chain;
• making mitigation of food waste in the supply chain a priority;
• banning customer-facing single-use or disposable plastics;
• promoting clean energy for commercial kitchens.

In terms of public education on sustainable gastronomy:

• TV chefs could begin incorporating educating audiences by incorporating sustainability into their programme content;
• chefs can demonstrate ways to use up leftovers;
• bloggers could create websites that specialize in suggesting recipes for certain leftovers;
• governments could reinvest in teaching consumers up-to-date, research-based methods of home food preservation allowing people to preserve local foods, and reduce food wastage, while ensuring quality and safety of the preserved food items;
• dietary guidelines put out by health agencies and weight management schemes such as Weight Watchers, etc., should begin to consider a process of incorporating sustainability into them;
• raising public awareness of sustainable gastronomy and more responsible consumer practices.

History

The decision to hold the day was taken by the UN General Assembly on 21 December 2016. ^[7]Resolution A/RES/71/246. What is Sustainable Gastronomy? United Nations. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.un.org/en/observances/sustainable-gastronomy-day

Text of resolution (note: drafted a month prior, thus November date on the PDF).

Resources

Building the future of food (link valid as of June 2021)

Sources

Celebrating together the world day of sustainable gastronomy. Future Food Network. 15 June 2020. Accessed May 2021 at https://futurefood.network/celebrating-together-the-world-day-of-sustainable-gastronomy/

Culture for Sustainable Development. United Nations. Accessed May 2021 at https://en.unesco.org/themes/culture-sustainable-development.

Empty your fridge to fight world hunger this Sustainable Gastronomy Day. Griffith University Library, Australia. Blog entry. 18 June 2020. Accessed May 2021 at https://blogs.griffith.edu.au/library/2020/06/18/empty-your-fridge-to-fight-world-hunger-this-sustainable-gastronomy-day/

Sustainable Gastronomy Day. Pennsylvania State University Sustainability Institute. 18 June 2022 [sic]. Accessed May 2021 at https://sustainability.psu.edu/event/sustainable-gastronomy-day/2022-06-18/

Williams, Caroline. Sustainable Gastronomy 101 – A Chef’s Guide to Sustainable Dining. Chefs Pencil. 18 June 2020. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.chefspencil.com/sustainable-gastronomy-101-a-chefs-guide-to-sustainable-dining/