Search Results (123)

This paper illustrates the theoretical framework, the methodological approach, and the primary findings of a project titled MASSTER (Managing(South)Africa-and-Senegal-Sustainability-Targets-through-Economic-diversification-of-Rural-areas), in which higher educational institutions (HEIs) and organizations from Senegal, South Africa, and Europe collaborate with the aim of addressing the nexus between migration, agriculture and development in Sub-Saharan Africa by co-creating evidence-based training, tools, and actions to foster development and co-development while targeting several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely Zero-hunger, Good-Health-and-Wellbeing, Gender-Equality, Quality-education, Decent-work-and-economic-growth, Responsible-consumption-and-production, all within the frame of Partnership-for-the-Goals. The MASSTER project employs a transdisciplinary and bottom-up approach based on a cross-sectional study conducted in South Africa and Senegal to identify actual challenges, needs, and resources from farmers (n = 737) and students enrolled in agricultural courses (n = 1.013). Findings underpinned the co-creation of the primary project outcomes: training on agritourism development, farm management, income-generating activities, climate change resilience, and food value chain; toolkits designed to boost the adoption of the Whole of Society Approach and to strengthen cooperation between HEIs and local communities; MASSTER Student-and-alumni-tracking-procedure-with-early-warning-mechanism-for-brain-drain; and a MOOC on critical-thinking-and-empowerment. The MASSTER project can have a relevant impact at local and international levels, providing evidence-based tools to be used by HEIs, stakeholders/policymakers, and the scientific community to actively foster development and co-development. Full article

Agri-food systems are increasingly exposed to environmental, economic, and social challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, and growing territorial inequalities. In this context, agroecology is increasingly recognised as a transformative paradigm integrating ecological, economic, social, cultural, and political dimensions within broader processes of food-system transition. Within the PRIMA AgrEcoMed project, 24 Italian agroecological initiatives led by women and young farmers were analysed to explore their contribution to agroecological transition processes in Mediterranean rural areas. The study adopts a qualitative multiple-case study approach and evaluates the selected initiatives through the framework of the 13 Principles of Agroecology proposed by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, organised into three operational axes: improving resource efficiency, strengthening resilience, and ensuring social responsibility and fairness. The results show that the analysed initiatives combine ecological farming practices with processes of multifunctionality, territorial networking, knowledge co-creation, short supply chains, and community engagement. The findings suggest that several initiatives move beyond input-reduction strategies associated with “weak agroecology” and display characteristics consistent with stronger agroecological pathways based on territorial embeddedness, collective learning, and the reorganisation of relationships between production, consumption, and local communities. The paper highlights the relevance of agroecology not only as an environmentally sustainable farming approach, but also as a broader socio-ecological and territorial transition process, as well as the importance of policy frameworks to support territorial agroecological systems. Full article

Background/Objectives: Although food literacy is extensively studied in schools, the concept is less explored in the context of summer camps, which are also interesting learning environments. This qualitative study aimed to explore the clarity, usefulness and relevance of an adapted food literacy model for summer camps with camp counselors, camp managers and registered dietitians (RDs). Methods: Six semi-structured focus groups with counselors (n = 28) were conducted at summer camps located in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada. Semi-structured individual interviews were carried out online with camp managers (n = 5) and RDs (n = 6). Through an inductive approach, a thematic content analysis of transcribed verbatim was performed. Using a bottom-up approach, second and third final versions of the adapted food literacy model were developed. Results: Counselors and managers showed their intention to use an easy-to-use food literacy model. To improve their understanding, they proposed clarifying who will use the model and adding pictures. They expressed the need to be supported by incorporating concrete activity ideas and training to enhance the model’s usefulness. RDs highlighted that the model covered essential themes of food literacy. They expressed the need to clarify certain model components to make them easier to understand and more applicable to youth. Conclusions: This study contributed to the co-creation with participants of a clear, useful and relevant food literacy model tailored to the context of summer camps. Such a model will help camp counselors to implement relevant healthy eating actions and multiply opportunities to promote healthy habits among youth. Full article

Mindful pedagogy integrates a mindful approach in the classroom to support learning, creativity, and wellbeing using formal meditative practice or informal subject-related mindful practice or both. Since 2019, Mindful Kitchen Health and Wellbeing for Chefs, a globally unique module, has been delivered within year 1 of an undergraduate culinary arts programme. It uses a mindful pedagogical approach in a teaching kitchen setting promoting student self-care, mindfulness with food and positive kitchen culture. This qualitative single-case study explores its impact on the wellbeing of chefs in a real-world context and the process that creates that impact. The case study database includes interviews with graduates (n = 11), students (n = 7), module artefacts, co-creation workshops, and researcher reflection on class observations. Four themes emerged: stepping into wellbeing using the breath builds self-awareness, a mindful classroom builds creative confidence, calm minds empower the self for the workplace and informal mindful pedagogy creates “spacious applied learning” in Higher Education (HE). These unique insights can inform wellbeing-focused pedagogical practice in HE settings. Students’ experiences are easily transferable into other disciplines; however, further research should investigate nuances in transferability. Recommendations on integrating this approach into educators’ practice to strengthen wellbeing-focused teaching are presented. Full article

This study addresses the critical challenge of food waste in the hospitality sector, directly contributing to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3. We conducted an intervention at a community-based culinary innovation center involving 18 participants. The research integrated the Collaborative System Model (CSM)—a framework that facilitates multi-stakeholder co-creation through knowledge interaction and feedback loops—into a Participatory Design (PD) process. Results demonstrated that the intervention reduced fruit waste mass by 72% per session and increased byproduct reuse rates from 15% to 68%. Sensory evaluations confirmed that these waste-reduction practices did not compromise product quality (p > 0.05). This approach provides a behavior-anchored unit process for pre-consumer waste reporting. Full article

Food waste remains a persistent sustainability challenge within independent restaurants, where operational pressures, cultural norms, and resource constraints limit systematic waste management. This study examines how an industry–academia partnership enabled the co-creation of food-waste reduction practices between hospitality students and sixteen independent restaurant operators in Wellington, New Zealand. Adopting the Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with operators and focus group discussions with hospitality students. Findings reveal that food wastage in the study units is shaped by time pressure, customer service expectations, tacit kitchen routines, and uncertainty in forecasting the demand. The study identifies three mechanisms—emotional disruption, shared reflection and experimentation—through which sustainability competencies become a part in professional identity. It offers theoretical grounded and practically actionable insights for industry–academia collaboration in resource-constrained hospitality environments. Full article

This paper explores the importance of local food in tourism development in the Republic of Srpska by analyzing the perceptions of hospitality employees in relation to the characteristics of the food service establishments in which they work. The aim of this study is to determine how local food influences tourism development and whether such effects are conditioned by specific factors. Although previous studies have extensively examined local food through the lens of consumer behavior, there remains a significant research gap regarding the internal perspective of hospitality employees as co-creators of the gastronomic experience. This study addresses that gap by applying Social Exchange Theory (SET) to explain how employees’ perceptions of economic, social, and environmental benefits shape their willingness to support the integration of local food. By placing employees at the center of the analysis, the paper provides insight into the mechanisms through which authentic ingredients are transformed into symbolic capital and strengthen destination identity. In this context, the analytical Local Food model was adapted and applied to a sample of 480 respondents, evenly distributed across the mesoregions of the Republic of Srpska. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), three key dimensions of influence were identified—economic, environmental, and social. In addition, independent-samples t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirmed that employees’ perceptions vary significantly depending on the production capacity of the establishments, whereas the type and location of the establishments were not identified as significant determinants of these differences. The findings further indicate that the intensity of these factors varies according to location, production capacity, and ownership type, while other characteristics of the hospitality establishments in which the respondents were employed were not found to be significant. A strong interrelationship among the identified factors was confirmed, with the social factor emerging as the most dominant. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of local food in strengthening the tourism attractiveness and sustainability of the hospitality sector in the Republic of Srpska. Full article

Corporate food museums are increasingly recognised as strategic heritage infrastructures capable of mediating between industrial memory, territorial identity, and contemporary societal challenges. This paper proposes a conceptual shift that repositions corporate food museums from static repositories of brand heritage to Living Labs for sustainable, inclusive, and participatory food innovation. Drawing on the EU-funded GNAM project, the study adopts a qualitative methodology combining the mapping of Italian corporate food museums with an analysis of European Living Labs in the food and agri-food domain. The comparative framework informs the development of a heritage-driven Living Lab model articulated around three interconnected dimensions: cultural heritage valorisation, community engagement, and sustainable food system innovation. The model is empirically grounded through a series of design-driven workshops, technology-transfer activities, and digital engagement initiatives conducted within corporate museums and academic laboratories in Southern Italy. These include co-creation processes involving students, citizens, companies, and researchers; experimentation with food waste valorisation, biodegradable and hybrid materials, and 3D food printing; and the deployment of digital platforms and immersive virtual environments. The paper contributes to heritage studies by advancing a replicable framework in which corporate food museums act as active agents of sustainable transformation, linking cultural heritage, technological experimentation, and community participation. Full article

The complexity of the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus demands a comprehensive framework for its implementation, particularly concerning place-based governance and sustainable transitions. In this work, the WEF Nexus is conceptualized through the lens of Socio-Technical Systems Transition Theory and its interconnections with geo-ecological system components, enabling its recognition as a place-based Socio-Technical–Ecological meta-System (STES). The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are introduced as landscape drivers of the WEF Nexus, as they acknowledge the crucial role of society, technology and ecological systems in its interconnected domains. A novel integrated methodology to develop the WEF Nexus as a STES transition is presented, encompassing literature review, qualitative analysis, conceptual mapping, and multi-stakeholder co-creation. This theoretical framework was empirically tested and improved across selected case studies on hydrological basins in Africa within the ONEPlanET Horizon Europe Project. Both leverageable subsystems and promising transitional innovation assets were identified. The transitional X-Curve assisted in the discussion in the empirical context of ONEPlanET to generalise the findings and the visual presentation of the identified pathways. The methodology that resulted is suitable for supporting a concrete exploration of systemic mapping, analysis, and planning towards a sustainable WEF Nexus in complex geographies, facilitated through multi-stakeholder engagement and co-creation. Full article

This study examined how social media content influences value co-creation among organic product consumers through the mediating roles of environmental awareness, green truth, and environmental attitude. Grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework, social media content is conceptualized as a stimulus, environmental awareness, green trust, and environmental attitude as internal organism states, and value co-creation as the behavioral response. A cross-sectional quantitative design was applied using a 20-item questionnaire administered to 739 organic-product consumers. Data were analyzed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that social media content does not directly affect value co-creation but significantly influences environmental awareness, green trust, and environmental attitude. Environmental awareness and green trust positively affect both environmental attitude and value co-creation, and environmental attitude emerges as the strongest direct predictor of value co-creation. These findings confirm the mediating role of cognitive and attitudinal mechanisms in transforming digital sustainability content into collaborative consumer behavior. This study contributes to the literature on sustainable consumption by integrating communication, cognitive, and attitudinal variables in a single explanatory model. Practically, the findings suggest that sustainability communication strategies in digital environments should prioritize credibility and environmental knowledge to foster consumer participation in value co-creation. Full article

Culinary micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a critical role in socio-economic sustainability, yet operate under heightened risks related to product quality, food safety, and business reputation. Although research on collaboration and co-creation often portrays openness as a desirable organizational orientation, limited attention has been paid to how MSMEs strategically regulate openness across their value-chain activities. This study explores how culinary MSMEs organize collaboration and negotiate boundaries between openness and closure. Using a qualitative multi-case approach, the findings show that openness is not uniformly applied but governed by a logic of selective openness shaped by risk exposure, accountability demands, and organizational capacity constraints. Core production activities function as protected zones characterized by strong closure, whereas market-facing functions allow more curated forms of external involvement. By reframing openness as a risk-based governance practice rather than a default collaboration strategy, this study provides a process-level explanation of how MSMEs sustain collaboration without compromising quality control, accountability, and organizational viability. The findings contribute to theorizing boundary governance in small enterprises and offer practical insights for designing collaborative strategies under conditions of risk and constraint. Full article

Given the lack of integrated, cross-cutting approaches in urban Quality of Life measures, a new framework is proposed here that draws upon a city-level index co-created under the Quality of Life Initiative implemented by UN-Habitat. Using a conceptual narrative review with a systematic structure, themes relevant to the urban context were clustered into three areas or ‘lenses’ through which decision-making in development and policy might be viewed, namely: Structural (i.e., adequacy, affordability, objective safety), Fairness (i.e., equity, inclusion, opportunity), and Perception (i.e., belonging, perceived safety, meaning and purpose). In support of creating sustainable communities, structural foundations and needs, such as housing, transport, food, and infrastructure, typically need to be addressed first. These structural realities are then filtered through a fairness lens—who benefits, who participates, and who is left behind? Finally, the filtered urban experience culminates in perception-level outcomes in terms of how people feel, connect, and find meaning in their urban experience. While presented sequentially in the framework, this is not prescriptive. Cities may start with any one lens dependent upon the context of the sustainable development challenge they are seeking to address while still recognizing the dynamic tensions among the lenses. The power of the framework lies in moving beyond siloed thinking to examine interconnections and intersectionality. To explore the potential practical application of the framework it was applied to three key urban Quality of Life challenges, namely, informality, migration, and sustainability. The framework is offered as an adaptable tool for policymakers and practitioners to support the design of more equitable, inclusive, and meaningful urban development interventions that support delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and the global agenda to leave no one behind. Full article

Volunteer tourism is garnering growing attention across various fields, allowing tourists to both consume and co-produce tourism services. In agriculture, however, this remains underexplored, despite a worsening farm labour shortage due to ageing populations and a lack of successors, particularly in industrialised nations. This issue threatens farm productivity and food security. This paper addresses this research gap by examining paid volunteer tourism platforms in Japan. It presents a framework highlighting the co-creation of local tourism demand and analyses wage determinants across 138 farms. Results show that corporate farms engaged in direct sales offer higher wages, especially when prices are elevated or locations are remote, suggesting wage premiums reflect labour shortages. Accommodation and Wi-Fi provision depend on farm finances and unused facilities. Organic and GAP-certified farms offer lower wages, likely due to higher production costs, despite producing value-added goods. As platform-based paid volunteer tourism meets the needs of both farmers and volunteers, its prevalence is expected to increase. Full article

This study investigates how algorithmic governance, a core feature of modern e-commerce platforms, impacts the consumption behavior of its service providers—specifically, ride-hailing drivers’ preference for high-calorie food. From an e-commerce ecosystem perspective, the dynamic interaction between platforms and their service providers is critical for long-term value co-creation and platform sustainability. By examining how algorithmic control mechanisms spill over into drivers’ off-platform behaviors, this research offers crucial insights for designing more sustainable and human-centric platform business models. Analyzing 710 survey responses from ride-hailing drivers in China via PLS-SEM, our findings reveal that algorithmic tracking evaluation and behavioral constraints are positively associated with high-calorie food consumption, with emotional exhaustion acting as a key mediator. Notably, standard guidance algorithms showed no significant effect. These results contribute to the e-commerce literature by demonstrating how platform-centric control can inadvertently lead to adverse externalities that may undermine service quality and provider well-being, ultimately posing a risk to the platform’s brand reputation and operational stability. We offer practical recommendations for e-commerce platform managers on optimizing algorithmic strategies to foster a healthier and more sustainable gig worker ecosystem. Full article

Developing the bioeconomy offers a critical sustainable path away from fossil fuels by using renewable biological resources to create feed, food, materials, and energy; fostering decarbonization; and supporting circular economic growth. However, the pivotal role of different demonstration facilities in unlocking viable bio-based products remains to be fully defined and appreciated. This review addresses the importance and added value of developing a novel integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) demonstration site in the peatlands as a scalable facility to support companies and end-users who are co-creating and testing appropriate bio-based products for new markets along with de-risking for investments. The operational activities necessary to develop and launch a fully functional IMTA-based bioeconomy demonstration site to meet a diversity of end-user expectations are considerable, including many unforeseen challenges that are addressed in this review. The IMTA site offers considerable potential for building a networked ecosystem of end-users (farmers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, companies, policy-makers), enabling alternative uses of land along with tailoring strategic policies for enhancing regional resilience and competitiveness with a global orientation. Full article