2024-09-24 14:55:14
If young adults (18-25 years old) are strongly concerned about the environmental crisis and two thirds of them declare themselves particularly committed to this subject, they do not always adopt sustainable consumption practices.
This dissonance between their aspirations and their behavior is particularly observed in the food sector. While the students overwhelmingly support a stronger commitment from the State and university catering services in the ecological transition, they are also Fewer than older generations adopt sustainable eating practices (limiting meat consumption, sorting waste, reducing packaging, etc.).
Improving the situation could involve greater involvement of students in the design of nutritional interventions that concern them. Explanations.
Many students victims of food insecurity
Entry into university is often accompanied by emancipation from the family home, a feeling of freedom and an affirmation of one’s own choices. In this context, food also participates in the construction of the identity of these young adults. But the emergence of a “food self” is upset by the numerous constraints that weigh on students, especially economic.
Since the Covid-19 crisis, efforts have been made to measure student food insecurity. There latest national survey conducted by the Student Life Observatory thus revealed that 46% of students were in a situation offood insecurity. This is defined as not having regular access to enough safe and nutritious foods for an active and healthy life.
The figures are however disparate, with 18% of food insecurity reportedUniversity of Rouen Normandy43% atUniversity of Grenoble Alpesand 78%university of Guyana.
If financial difficulties are generally very widespread among students, they should not mask the diversity of their dietary profiles and their aspirations.
Students with heterogeneous profiles and desires
Work carried out at the University of Burgundy and published in 2023 allows us to better understand the profiles of students. After establishing their dietary practices as well as their sociodemographic profile and their lifestyle, the authors of this study were able to identify three different profilesdepending on the nutritional quality of the food and its environmental impact (these two dimensions being partly independent of each other):
The first group (20% of the sample of 600 students) could be considered as the one adopting a “healthy diet”: the students who made it up were older, with a greater level of physical activity, as well as a diet of better nutritional quality, but whose environmental impact was also higher;
The second group (40% of the sample), comprising more students still living with their parents, was the one whose diet had the lowest nutritional quality, while also having a high environmental impact;
The last group (40% of the sample), including more students living alone, adopted a so-called “frugal” diet, with the lowest energy intake, intermediate nutritional quality and low environmental impact.
Likewise, the results of the National student consultation 2023led by RESES (Student Network for an Ecological and Solidarity Society – a group of 140 student associations which carry out projects linked to socio-environmental issues such as food, biodiversity, climate, waste, etc.), made it possible to distinguish three groups of students according to their response to ecological issues: the “eco-active”, the “non-active” and the “anti-ecologists”.
If we want to put in place solutions adapted to all students, it is important to take these disparities into account, rather than treating student nutrition using a monolithic approach.
How can we support students’ desire for engagement?
Many students want university catering services to commit to more sustainable foodfor example by offering local, seasonal and organic products and vegetarian options, and by reducing plastic packaging. Co-constructing with them interventions likely to improve their diet could make it possible to reconcile their desire for commitment and the search for a favorable impact.
Unfortunately, students are rarely consulted when it comes to implementing and evaluating nutritional interventions on campus: a review of recent literature reveals that, in universities, only a small number of the interventions implemented were co-constructed with students. However, it seems that the latter are more effective than interventions designed solely by researchers.
Until now, interventions designed to improve student diets have often been aimed at students themselves, through the implementation of nutrition education programs or cooking classes. If they initially appear relevant, we know today that they are insufficient.
Not all students eat in line with their environmental beliefs.
alvan.ph/Shutterstock
As for the rest of the population, student nutrition is governed by many socio-economic, cultural, environmental and political factors. This is why other interventions have been tested in university restaurants, such as nutritional labeling, as well as made available or reducing the prices of healthier and more sustainable foods.
Drawing inspiration from participatory research projects could also help improve the situation.
Get inspired by citizen science projects
Involving citizens in research projects constitutes the foundation of participatory research. The degree of involvement varies from one project to another. For some, it is only a question of contributing to the collection of data (the project Garden birds for example, asks participants to count the birds present in their immediate environment). In other cases, citizens are involved alongside scientists in all stages of research, from the definition of the scientific protocol to the analysis of the data.
This type of participation makes it possible to ask more relevant research questions, better respond to the needs of populations, encourage their engagement, and thus potentially improve the effectiveness of interventions.
This practice is still not widespread in nutrition research projects, even though it would seem natural to involve the beneficiaries of an intervention in its design… Yet it already is. in areas such as agriculture or climate change.
The AirGeo project, for example, brings together scientists, artists, local actors and citizens to set up new systems for quantifying air pollution adapted to the local context, then act to promote better air quality.
It is in this spirit that the Sorbonne Paris-Nord University will launch its first Citizen Student Convention.
The student citizen convention, a new space for speaking out
On this occasion, thirty students will meet to reflect, debate and establish concrete proposals to design a university promoting access for the entire student community to “eat well” and “move well”. They will be supported in writing their proposals by stakeholders likely to put them in place, such as university representatives and staff, the CROUS of Créteil, local authorities and associations.
This type of so-called “deliberative” convention is modeled on the model of Citizen Conventions which have been carried out on a national scale in recent years (Citizens’ climate convention, Citizens’ convention on the end of life). This involves giving students the floor to make proposals on subjects relating to the life of their university.
At the University of Paris Est Créteil, where the entire first student citizen conventionthe deliberations on the theme of food resulted in the formulation of various proposalsapplicable at the individual level (promotion of anti-waste practices, cooking tutorials, awareness-raising actions, etc.) and collective (distribution of organic baskets, setting up a kitchen area, installation of hot water dispensers, improvement of the food offering with more vegetarian meals and a reduction in plastic waste, etc.).
Following these student citizen conventions, the main challenge will be to bring the students’ proposals to fruition. This will require strong and prolonged collaboration between students, the university institution and the different players in the local food supply.
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