Maintaining a sustainable diet, specifically eating predominantly plant-based and homemade foods, is an essential part of reducing one's overall environmental impact. While many people are aware that eating plant-based food is a more sustainable option, they often overlook the direct actions and skills that are needed to increase vegetable consumption. Vegetable preparation skills can support vegetable consumption and lead to a more sustainable diet. Improved cooking skills also contribute to higher vegetable consumption and lower environmental impact. This study determined what food preparation competencies contribute to a diet that includes at least one portion of vegetables per day, and what competencies contribute to a diet poor in vegetables.
In this study, sixteen young adults completed a food skills training program in France. This program introduced culinary preparation skills and means to improve participants' quality of diet through increased vegetable and fruit consumption, and a greater varied and balanced diet. After the training, eleven participants completed two telephone interviews. The first interview was 5-7 months after the course and the second was conducted 8-10 months after the course. Participants were asked about their food consumption and food preparation habits and changes they may have noticed in diet and food preparation during and after training. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed to identify and measure cooking competencies relevant to preparing meals and vegetable consumption.
When transcribing interviews, cooking competences were categorized by frequency of use per month. Vegetable consumption was split into three levels: less than once per week, several times a week, and every day. Competences were then grouped according to their impact on vegetable consumption. High and intermediate vegetable consumption trends included those who purchase fresh vegetables, decreased their meat consumption, and used spices to modify the taste of foods. The main trends of low vegetable consumption were individuals who gave priority to price when buying food, frequently bought processed foods, and placed priority on meals that could be cooked and assembled quickly.
One main finding of this study was that there was no one answer to building competencies that consistently led to higher vegetable consumption. Some promising trends included planning for meal preparation, teaching adaptable skills such as freezing and chopping, and lowering barriers for food preparation. The barriers included cost, time, and examining a diversity of products. These competencies may help encourage vegetable consumption.
This study was limited by the small number of participants. To further increase understanding in future studies, participants need to vary in age, profession, and cultural background. Finally, data collection should include quantitative measurements to explicitly measure vegetable consumption.
In food research, programs tend to overlook the complexity of preparing fresh vegetables. More time is needed to prepare and the price and available of these products fluctuate. The author recommends that when educating about sustainable food choices and how to increase vegetable consumption, emphasis be placed on skills for meal planning including how to select quality products and prepare produce, how to optimize time with cooking techniques, and how to use spices to creatively transform flavor.
The Bottom Line
Although sustainable diets can greatly lower one's environmental impact, it is often a difficult issue to address through environmental education. One way to make one's diet more sustainable is increased vegetable consumption. Vegetable consumption is influenced by seasonality, price, and palatability, which makes it a complex issue to discuss with people trying to live more sustainable lifestyles. This study interviewed eleven participants in a food training class to determine competencies needed to promote vegetable consumption. The researcher found that planning for meal preparation, teaching adaptable skills such as freezing and chopping, and lowering barriers for food preparation helped to build competencies that consistently led to higher vegetable consumption. To increase vegetable consumption, the researcher recommends that programs prioritize teaching how to meal plan, use a variety of cooking skills, reduce time preparing meals, and showcasing ways to creatively cook vegetables.