Cognitive Incongruencies Concerning Planetary Health and how to Address Them
01.10.2023
By: Clara Waldau
Supervisor: Dr. Gesa Lüdecke
My final project is guided by the research question on how a scientific consensus about greenhouse gas emissions of the food system can effectively be prepared and transmitted to an audience of laypeople.
A plant-based diet is known to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent when compared to an omnivorous diet, yet there is a global nutrition transition towards more emission and resource intensive food. Here, my project sets out to bridge the gap between an eco-scientific foundation and the implications for daily life, between the food that is primarily cooked versus the one that we should be eating. I strove to use a holistic approach towards the positive incentives that a plant-based diet can hold: Designing a cooking class focusing on land use change but also on learning how to prepare vegan food in a way that meets omnivorous’ needs and does not feel compromising but is instead delicious. The cooking class aimed to reach students as well as locals in the town of Tutzing, Bavaria and its surroundings who are interested in cooking well with ecological challenges in mind.