Environmental education must address the political, economic, and social factors of food systems to create lasting change

A food system is the path that food travels and includes the growing, shopping, cooking, eating, and disposing of food. Modern food systems face multiple issues. Many people across the world do not have access to a constant supply of food. Additionally, global agriculture is a main driver of human-induced climate change. Environmental education can play a pivotal role in raising awareness around the socially and environmentally unsustainable nature of modern food systems. This article, which was a thought piece that investigated literature, established educational frameworks that support sustainable and just food systems. The authors outlined issues within modern food systems and analyzed the shortcomings of environmental education in addressing the social, economic, political, and environmental factors of food systems.

In this article the authors outlined issues with modern food systems and explained them within the context of current environmental education and food pedagogies. Food pedagogies is a collective term for educational philosophies regarding the role of individuals, communities, institutions, and businesses in food systems. Next, the authors examined the goal of critical food literacy and food systems literacy in creating change in food systems. Critical food literacy is the understanding of the impact of one's food choices on their health, the environment, and the economy. Food systems literacy is the ability of an individual to develop a sustainable relationship with food and navigate, engage, and participate in food systems. Last, the authors explained the role of food systems literacy in developing food citizenship and food sovereignty. Food citizenship is when people view themselves as active and interdependent participants within food systems. Food sovereignty is the concept that food should be a public good, food systems should be participatory, and that production of food should not be environmentally damaging. Collectively these concepts makeup critical food pedagogies, which is a relevant and important area in environmental education.

The authors claimed that current food systems are industrialized and dominated by a few powerful corporations looking to maximize their profit without regard to human health or the environment. They explained that industrialized food systems negatively impact climatic stability, ecosystems, and the health of people. Thus, industrialized food systems are unsustainable because they damage their source of production, the environment. The authors argued that the first step for transformative and lasting change is to raise awareness regarding issues within current food systems. They called for the transformation of food systems in which food producers are valued, ecosystems are not destroyed, and all people have access to healthy and sustainably sourced food.

Environmental education can play a pivotal role in raising awareness around the socially and environmentally unsustainable nature of modern food systems. Yet, the authors note environment education has limitations, such as giving insufficient attention to social issues of power, race, class, gender, and culture and focusing on the individual behavior changes rather than collective behavior change. They pointed out that environmental education in the context of food often promotes healthy eating for the individual, which does not address the social issues that underlie problems with current food systems. Critical food pedagogies, however, seek to address those failings. The authors declared that social movements like food justice, the movement to increase access to healthy and culturally appropriate food for all people, have also given rise to critical food pedagogies that address some of these limitations within environmental education.

The authors argued that environmental education in the form of critical food pedagogies is essential in building an understanding of the current food systems and promoting long-lasting change. They claimed that using critical food pedagogies to develop food systems literacy is the first step in developing food citizenship. They stated that food citizenship will then mobilize mass participation of people to work toward the goal of food sovereignty. Food sovereignty, the ultimate goal, opposes industrialized food systems and instead seeks to emphasize families, communities, and small-scale farmers. Overall, the authors argued that environmental education must utilize critical food pedagogies to develop food system literacy, enable food citizenship, and determine a better food system that values human and ecological health over corporations.

This article was a thought piece, meaning the authors drew claims through analyzing multiple other sources. Therefore, one major limitation of this study is that this is not a direct study of people. There is a possibility for bias in the authors' claims based on the sources drawn upon for this article.

Educators and practitioners should engage in food pedagogy to foster the development of food systems literacy in children and adults. Both informal and formal learning environments can be used to increase food systems literacy and encourage food citizenship. The authors recommend that environmental educators build on the food pedagogies to include racial, social, economic, political, and environmental issues within food systems into their curriculum. This would allow for a deeper understanding of modern food systems and promote systemic and lasting change toward more sustainable food systems.