EDUCast “Sustainable Food Systems – How our Food Consumption Impacts Climate Change” (Episode 7)
GUEST: Nathalie Lambrecht, Postdoctoral researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research & Charité – Berlin University Medicine
HOST: Patrizia Boi, Student at the University of Cagliari (UNICA)
Patrizia Boi is a student at the University of Cagliari in Italy, and participated in the EDUC-SHARE Science Journalism Internship in the summer semester of 2023. Students from EDUC partner universities could apply for the internship and the selected students were matched with the seven main research areas of the Alliance. Patrizia’s topic was “Sustainable Changes: Climate and Resources”. To learn more about the subject, Patrizia reached out to Nathalie Lambrecht, who is a postdoctoral researcher at both the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research as well as the Charité – Berlin University Medicine in Germany. Part of the internship was an introductory workshop on Science Communication. One of the results is this interview. We say thank you to Patrizia Boi and Nathalie Lambrecht for allowing us to share their interview in the EDUCast series.
EDUC-SHARE is funded by Horizon 2020 European Union Funding for Research & Innovation.
The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
MUSIC & LICENCES
“Ambient guitar” (short, podcast intro theme song) by Transistor.fm
Licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License.
“Sakura” by Maarten Schellekens
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“Rainy Afternoon at The Lion” by Mike Cavanagh
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[Applause] Welcome to educast the podcast of the EduCare Horizon 2020 project with our podcast series you have the opportunity to meet several researchers from our partner universities and to discover exciting research and Innovation topics in the links with Society in this episode we will hear an interview conducted by a student in the UK
Alliance patri Bo is a student at the University of ceri in Italy and participated in the eduk share science journalism internship in the summer semester of 2023 students from the Duke partner universities could apply for the internship and the selected students were matched with the seven main research areas of the
Alliance Patricia’s topic was sustainable changes climate and resources to learn more about this subject patri reached out to Natalie lamra who’s a postdoctoral researcher at both the potum institute for climate impact research as well as the charity Berlin University medicine in Germany patri also came to visit poam
And to discover the Lively University campus and City part of the internship was an introductory workshop on science communication one of the results is this interview which you will hear now first of all uh I would like to thank you for agreeing to participate in this research on climat and resources in the
Con of sustainable change in this hour or time or so I’m going to ask you some question about the impact of climate change in the world and we are going to talk about how uh we can solve this with the right tools uh surely H knowing properly a problem is the
First step to understand how to solve it h the role of researchers is very important in disseminating uh to everyone the results that may concern environmental social and um and so on H issues that need uh to be resolved in our societies to improve their functioning and balance to start our
Conversation and I will ask you to ask you if you could uh briefly introduce yourself and describe your path as a researcher the floor is yours sure thank you thanks so much for um yeah the time um yeah so I’m um Dr Natalie lambre I’m a researcher in the climate change and
Health group um which is jointly Affiliated at sh t iniversity t medine Berlin in Germany as well as the potam institute for climate impact research in Germany um and so my research broadly focuses on um uh Food Systems and how to um create more sustainable Food Systems to improve
Human nutrition and health and also um to improve the health of our planet so um I received my PhD from the University of Michigan in the United States um in nutritional Sciences so my background is in um nutritional sciences and also nutritional epidemiology um but with a strong focus
In system so uh my dissertation research looked at um livestock agriculture in Ghana looking at how livestock ownership in um small small scale livestock agriculture in rural households in Ghana um impacted children’s nutrition and health so specifically I was looking at whether household livestock ownership could um
Was how that was associated with anemia in children which is a disease that is both sensitive to um dietary intake and nutrition as well as exposure to infectious diseases um and also looking at the kind of potential benefits and risks of small scale livestock ownership particularly
In the context of um these sorts of systems in which livestock free range in the environment um and can expose children to feces but can also be a source of food and nutrition um so I was kind of looking at this potential dual benefit and risks um since that time um
Uh I’ve been doing some research as part of the um food and agricultural approaches to reducing malnutrition project which was a randomized control control trial conducted in Bangladesh where um uh a large scale intervention was conducted looking at Homestead food production um which Incorporated um educating um and giving women resources
To grow their own vegetables raise poultry um and also giving them nutrition and high HG education and particular Food hygiene education and looking at impacts of that on children’s nutrition and health outcomes um and then I also do um work within the area of sustainable Food Systems and and shifting diets towards
More sustainable diets so thinking um in particular um how communal Foods service settings um such as universities or hospitals or other Healthcare settings um um Can shift the food that they serve to be more sustainable um more environmentally sustainable and also healthy um so these kinds of win-win
Solutions in terms of diets so one of the projects that I currently work on is looking at um the current status quo of hospitals and nursing homes in Germany and the foods that they serve and we’re looking at the environmental impact of the food that they serve as well as the
Nutritional quality and seeing if it is appropriate for the residents um and patients that they serve what we’re really trying to understand is um how do we shift Food Service in these communal settings towards more sustainable and healthy dietary patterns um and one of the standards that we’re looking at is the
Planetary Health diet which is a diet that is um both healthy and um within the planetary boundaries so we’re looking at how does the food served in these settings um how is that uh scored in relation to the standards and guidelines set forth by the planetary Health diet and how could
It be more in line with that how would you would you describe the fundamental relationship between climate change and health of individuals can explain me uh how how you think that climate change today greatly affect the nutritional value of food and consequently diseases yeah there are a number of ways
In which climate change will is already and and is predicted to um affect nutrition and health um particularly in vulnerable groups um um some of that ranges from uh crops having less micronutrient content um from uh there’s some research showing that increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reduces the nutrient
Content of crops which has um implications for micronutrient deficiencies in low and middle- income countries there is um uh extreme weather events can also impact agricultural outputs and the and production um which would impact how much food people have and their food security so whether they’re actually able to grow the food
That they need and access that food and be able to consume it um from these different types of extreme weather events whether that be droughts or floods or um hotter temperatures in which um the crops that they’re used to Growing uh can’t grow anymore or um grow more slowly or there’s erratic weather
Patterns and such um we’re also seeing um uh Market biodiversity loss um from environmental degradation and some of that biodiversity loss is from pollinators which are absolutely Central to um our food system to pollinating um different crops whether it be fruits or vegetables that we need
For a healthy diet and so if we see less of those Foods we’ll be consuming less diverse diets which has also impacts on our health um these are just some of the impacts of environmental degradation on um nutrition and health but there’s lots of other areas in which climate change and
Environmental degradation can impact Health whether it’s through higher heat um which affects People’s Health um or other areas what is the topic that most touched you in your research and that think that that you think sorry should be more sensitized to which you should pay immediate
Attention I think one of the things that I’m most interested in and passionate about is the ways in which our Foods connects to climate change and and environmental degradation and I think when we talk about climate change or making shifts we often think about cleaner energy um shifting
Transportation um you know driving less or driving electric cars um shifting to renewable energy um those are kind of the focus of what we think about when we think about climate change and and so much um there’s such a large proportion of um uh climate change and environmental
Degradation that is based on the decisions that we make every day about what we eat um and there’s you know a third of greenhouse gas emissions are from our agricultural system our food system um and I think there’s less awareness of that in the global population um in people’s
Awareness and so to me it’s really interesting to try to continue to bring forth that awareness of what you eat every day has an impact on our planet and through kind of simple changes and shifts in what you choose to eat um we can really make some large
Shifts in the fight against climate change in making this world a better place for for us and for um future Generations have you ever felt emotionally involved uh in one of your research topics for example to feel feelings of disappointment uh discouragement to perceive perhaps uh that a subject does
Not have the echo the importance it deserves how does it feel to analyze a topic that that has such a high impact on the life of all of us yeah I think um there’s there sometimes can feel a bit of disappointment as a scientist when you’re um uh talking about and
Researching on um the importance of these issues in my case the importance of of food systems on both um the climate um and the planet around us as well as the health of people and um to see that globally kind of we just continue to behave the way we’ve always behaved
And that there is not a sense of urgency to shift our behaviors to shift um our culture and our Norms to react to this crisis that we’re in which is this the climate crisis um which has potentially ramifications and impacts on all of us on the health of all of us on
The well-being on our well-being on the well-being of our planet that we depend on and to continue to kind of do this research and not see a shift to see um political leaders making decisions that are contrary to the benefit of humanity and the planet um can feel really disappointing and frustrating and
Sometimes it can feel like um the the work that you’re doing doesn’t have an impact um so it can be difficult um to maintain kind of that hope and optimism for the future um nevertheless it’s it’s important to kind of continue to to feel that because otherwise it’s it’s hard to
Do the work but it’s a it’s a topic that is incredibly challenging to research um because it can feel very um large um and it can feel like um there’s so much at stake and that the world should be acting faster but it’s not um how cool interdisciplinary
Collaboration be improved to address the impact of Cl change uh you work in the field from your point of view uh do you think there is enough collaboration for improvement yeah I think interdisciplinary collaboration is absolutely essential for um research on climate change um that we
Um we we can’t work in silos in our disciplinary silos to solve the kinds of Global um and large scale problems that we’re facing right now in our world every problem requires um researchers and practitioners and Community Partners um from different perspectives that each bring their own perspective so
We need both interdisciplinary research where researchers from different fields are coming and bringing in their expertise to solve a problem but also so transdisciplinary research in which we’re working with um people on the ground directly who um are experiencing the problems um and and can also provide their Solutions and their knowledge
Towards um towards the research so working um in multiple um uh in multiple collaborations from different sides to come up with Solutions yeah and can you give me some examples of uh strategies that you know that during this year uh this period are working uh to address the challenges posed by
Climate change in the areas of climate health and nutrition yeah so there’s um there are number of different strategies that we can use I mean one of one of what I’ve already talked about is um thinking about how we can shift um our diets and some
Of the ways there’s there’s a number of ways we can kind of try to make that shift happen towards more environmentally friendly healthier diets um some of that is uh political levers to actually um change for example taxes on certain food products to deinen divize the um the purchases of
Those more High emission products um uh for example having having attacks on meat or high emission Meats um there’s also um decoupling um some subsidies so we heavily subsidize certain food products um so really um putting forth actually the true cost of food um um to force
People to make decisions um and to to shift diets away from this heavily subsidized kind of processed food towards um real of food um we also have Solutions in terms of changing our agricultural practices towards more um agroecological uh practices that are both better for the planet and also so
Good for communities um and for the health of the populations so um shifting towards different farming techniques and different farming methods um whether that be organic and other Associated practices that um limit the uses of certain fertilizers and pesticides um and then can have beneficial effects on the environment
Around us so those are those are just some strategies that we could use yeah thank you so what are your personal proposals for the future uh how do you think your studies could influence in a positive way uh if you have the power to effectively uh improve
The impact of the climate from which piece um of the puzzle of a sort of puzzle will you start what do you think is is the first specific and fundamental piece from which everything starts yeah I mean I’m yeah I I guess I would answer this
In two ways one one piece that is fundamental is the idea of consumption um and the drive to consume um uh I mean everything from our desires to consume different products and Foods um to traveling and going to different places by airplane um and using heavier uses of of um
Transportation versus you know using planes to get places instead of trains or or um uh by bike or on foot um we have as a society in the last decades really shifted to just consuming more and more and more and that creates a higher and higher impact on the
Environment and if we can shift towards less consumption would have a much lower environmental impact now granted there’s a large disparity in consumption in higher income countries and especially among wealthier um people there’s a higher consumption than you know there are in low middle inome countries but um
Generally the trend has just been increased consumption and increased burden on the side of if we’re talking specifically in terms of Food Systems the piece that I would start with is Shifting towards plant-based diets this is one of the factors that has the potential to have the largest impact on
Reducing the environmental impact of our food system so there are a number of different strategies from reducing food waste to um improving agricultural techniques to eating more plant-based diet so there are different strategies to reduce the impact of our food system on our planet but the one that really
Has the strongest potential that I think we should Implement immediately if um in whatever way that we can is to shift people towards more plant forward diets so this doesn’t mean that we’re necessarily not eating any meat not eating any animals products but that we’re drastically reducing the
Consumption of those um for the benefit of our planet and also for our health yeah you say society that produce more depending of uh how they can afford it how how could you explain uh this yeah I I would say that we’re um we’re producing and we’re consuming
More um just in terms of time trajectory from several decades ago to now we’re producing and consuming more food we’re producing and consuming more energy um we have higher requirements because we’re we’re um using um electricity for lots of things um for everyday functions you know with our technology you energy for everything
Um we driving more we’re going to more places we’re going on vacations we are um you know whether that be we’re also you know commuting commuting to work or we’re flying across the country or whatever or or the world we’re just continually um as a population consuming
More than we did um um than previous generations and this creates a much heavier and higher burden on the world it’s like we are thinking only about the present that we are living and uh we are excl excluding the perspective of the future like um consuming everything just
Now because we need it and didn’t imagine that maybe in a future H there will not be nothing more to to use I think that is one of the challenges of climate change is one um it’s a lot of these scenarios of climate change and of of certain
Temperature thresholds whether it be 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius these kind of benchmarks that we set and the predictions of what the world will look like when we hit those um is is very hard to imagine and I think we are very predisposed to live um kind of thinking
About uh our our own life our the way that we’re comfortable what makes us comfortable right now what do I kind of want right now it’s hard or kind of delayed gratification is quite poor and so to act now in a different way which maybe makes me less comfortable so that
The future generation is more comfortable or I mean more comfortable being relative has a livable planet is is incredibly challenging for most people to conceptualize I think um and to do it’s I think that’s one of the fundamental challenges of climate change is that we can’t we can’t really see what
It’s going to be like for future Generations we have these predictions and we can see some of it already I mean climate change is already happening around us um but making choices to change our Behavior now for the benefit of future generations for the benefit of the
Planet in whether it be 50 20 years or 50 years or 100 years is is is a real challenge okay so thank you thank you very much Natalie now our interview is over but still thank you very much for uh your time for your willingness to tell me your experience
And to share with me your point of view yeah absolutely so much thank you we say thank you to Patricia boy and Natalie lamra for allowing us to share their interview in the educast series