project - Research and innovation
Switching european food systems for a just, healthy and sustainable dietary transition through knowledge and innovation
Objectives
The overarching goal of SWITCH is to improve understanding of knowledge, accessibility and facilitation gaps that limit present large scale adoption of sustainable and healthy diets among European citizens and to develop and demonstrate appropriate innovative solutions and tools to facilitate a just transition towards healthy and sustainable dietary behavior at all levels of the multi-actor food system in EU.
Activities
Within SWITCH, EU citizens are encouraged to adopt sustainable and healthy diets by changing the way food is being produced and consumed. This is done with a combination of technologies, social initiatives, and innovations supporting sustainable food systems.
The project is implemented in real-life conditions in six Food Hubs through a multi-actor systemic approach and co-creation strategies. All the actors of the food systems are engaged, connected and valorized.
Examples of SWITCH activities: promoting regional sustainable diets and inclusive community programs; facilitating communication and education; providing guidance and support for policymakers; innovating with digital tools.
Project details
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Type of Horizon project
- Other Horizon funded projects
- Project acronym
- SWITCH
- CORDIS Fact sheet
- Project contribution to CAP specific objectives
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- SO4. Agriculture and climate mitigation
- Protecting food and health quality
- Fostering knowledge and innovation
- Project contribution to EU Strategies
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- Achieving climate neutrality
- Fostering organic farming and/or organic aquaculture, with the aim of increased uptake
- Improving management of natural resources used by agriculture, such as water, soil and air
EUR 10 427 094.25
Total budget
Total contributions including EU funding.
EUR 10 427 094.25
EU contribution
Any type of EU funding.
2 Practice Abstracts
This abstract presents how the Digital Hub Experience (DHE) is expected to support citizens, chefs, farmers, and food system actors at large in cultivating stronger connections and facilitating communication within their regional Hub communities. With the overarching goal to contribute to the transition towards healthier and more sustainable food systems, the DHE will act as an ecosystem of apps and functionalities designed as follows:
The general public can use the DHE to discover how healthy and sustainable their daily food choices are and track how these change over time.
Chefs will be supported by the DHE in driving positive change in their community, influencing people’s food choices and attracting clients to their work. With little time investment, chefs will be able to upload their recipes and receive scores based on how healthy and sustainable they are, while also boosting the visual appeal of their creations through cutting-edge AI image filters.
The DHE will let farmers share real-time updates and predictions about their produce with the Hub community. They will be able to connect directly with local restaurants and chefs that could adapt their menus according to what is fresh and upcoming, as well as keep citizens informed about what is locally available for purchase.
Policy-makers will have access to dynamic trends of food data, which can provide actionable insights to facilitate changes in the food system.
More broadly, the DHE will also act as a platform for the SWITCH local Hubs to promote their activities, tell their stories and those of their actors, and share local resources. It will support actors in taking more of a leading role in facilitating change in their region.
This abstract aims to share the main opportunities that were identified through inventories in the SWITCH Hub regions and to provide recommendations for effective action towards healthier and more sustainable regional food systems.
Barriers indicated within the regions include perceived disconnection between people and food, imbalances in food security and food sovereignty, misalignment between policies and inaction due to low interest and effectiveness of public administrations and politics. The following opportunities may help counteract them, tapping into various levels (sociocultural, economic, political and physical-environmental):
- Connectedness: activities that valorise the regional territory, traditions, culture and foods, cultivate a shared sense of familiarity, belonging and appreciation, with gastronomy playing a key role;
- Balance: relatively cheap food markets, existing infrastructure and natural spaces may be used to increase demand for small producers and provide affordable, accessible local food;
- Alignment: the multitude of small, bottom-up (grassroots) initiatives provides critical mass to advocate for policies and subsidies that favor regional, sustainable produce over imported, unsustainable and highly-processed foods from (multinational) large companies;
- Action: reframing sustainability into a positive challenge that resonates with the everyday reality of actors invites engagement, alignment and creation of social networks, partnerships and initiatives that collaborate with coherence to ensure sustainable use of resources.
SWITCH Food Hubs are using these opportunities to co-create their activities with their local actors to be implemented from 2024.
Contacts
Project email
Project coordinator
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CMCC - Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici
Project coordinator