Understanding sustainability concepts is the first step. Understanding how they are relevant to you is another. Doing it is very different, and there is no one way to do this. In this Professional Development (PD) Learning Module (LM), we will direct you to resources in the toolkit that help you to answer the following questions:
- What are some of the ways that others have integrated sustainability into practice?
- Are there any tools that I can use and adapt for use in my practice?
- Can I share ideas and collaborate with others in nutrition and dietetics?
What are some of the ways that others have integrated sustainability into practice?
While most dietitians agree that sustainable food systems and diets are important topics for dietetics, we should highlight that not everyone agrees. Some feel that this is an area of specialization. Your career is, of course, your own journey, and we encourage you to think of sustainability as a lens through which you look, rather than a particular set of dietary guidelines or actions you must add to your workload.
To explore the question guiding this section, we ask that you examine a few Case Studies which provides some examples of work that nutrition and dietetic practitioners have been involved in. These might inspire sustainable decision making in your practice. They show a wide variety of types of work, using different roles, and from different regions. We will periodically add to the case studies to refresh examples for you.
Read
Below are 4 examples from our case studies page (or choose others that you find most interesting and relevant).
Reflect
After reading through the case studies, reflect on the following questions:
- Choose 2-3 examples of ways that food systems are unsustainable and impacting nutritional health in your area.
- What solutions do you see that offer synergistic improvements in nutrition and sustainability? Tip, see Learning Module 2 for example role papers for actionable ideas. Ask yourself:
- What are ways that you can help make sustainable and healthy food part of menus where you work?
- What are ways you can help clients make sustainable dietary choices?
- What are ways that you can create or support policy that supports sustainable food systems and diets?
- What will encourage decision makers in your organization or community to see the value of providing healthy and sustainable food?
Keep Learning
Connect with your people in your region to find out if there are any leaders in the field that you can turn to for idea sharing and mentoring.
Are there any tools that I can use and adapt for use in my practice?
A lack of supporting tools can be a barrier. There are few tools specific to nutrition and dietetic practice. You will find some tools developed for other purposes, but that can be adapted to your practice, in the existing resource database. Our team is also developing some tools for practice that are ready-for-use. We will draw from examples of both so that you can practice finding tools useful to you.
Read
To help you answer this question, we highlight a few diverse examples from our existing resources for you to look at.
First, pick one of the following resources, or feel free to search and filter the existing resource database to find others you find more relevant.
- Teaching Food Systems and Sustainability in Nutrition Education and Dietetic Training: Lessons for Educators – This document is compilation of lesson plans from food, nutrition and dietetic educators at universities and food organizations in the US and Canada.
- One Blue Dot: Eating Patterns for Healthy and Sustainable Diets – This web-based toolkit offers a series of downloadable PDF resources outlining healthy eating patterns and sustainable diets in the European context. This includes evidence summaries, infographics, PowerPoint slides and meal swap ideas.
- Marine Stewardship Council – The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) website offers information on the certification process as well as recipes, food guides, educational materials and support for supply chain actors about sustainable seafood in 18 languages.
Second, in response to a demand for short, downloadable, and specific descriptions of “what to do” to get started, our team has also developed a few ideas that you can use in practice. Please take a look one of the following three, or browse the tools for practice to find one more relevant to you.
- Making Institutional Foodservices More Healthy & Sustainable – This activity is meant for those in foodservice and administration roles who are interested in menu and policy change. It is relevant to North America, Europe, Australasia and anywhere else with similar institutional food service models.
- Great Meals for a Change – This activity, based on fun and playful meal-sharing activities, is meant for those with roles in community, education and research who are interested in education, developing their own knowledge and activating change. It is relevant to any region.
- Food Traditions and Cultural Wisdom – This activity is an introductory level suite of discussion-based activities to get community members, fellow professionals, or clients thinking about how their own food traditions and cultural wisdom aligns with sustainability. It is designed for dietetic educators or nutritionists involved in community education and programming.
Reflect
After looking trough examples of the existing and summarized tools for practice, please reflect on the following questions.
- Are any of these resources able to support the the ideas and solutions you came up with in question #2 above?
- If yes, keep a list of practical tools that you can use.
- If not, can you find any helpful resources or tools in the existing resource database?
- Did any of the tools for practice spark new ideas for you about how you can creatively approach sustainability in your practice?
- If yes, what ideas were sparked? Create a brainstorm list or idea map and keep it in your files, or on your office wall to remind you. Write down any tools that might be helpful.
Keep Learning
See the below activities about sharing ideas for continued learning about how to contribute to sustainable food systems in your practice.
Can I share ideas and collaborate with others in nutrition and dietetics?
In this section we encourage learning by doing. We ask you to read, reflect and share stories with your colleagues.
Read
Read a few of the case studies shared by your colleagues that show examples of sustainability in practice. Become familiar with what others are doing, how they are sharing their story.
Reflect
After reading stories from your peers, critically reflect on the following questions.
- Are the stories they are sharing contributing to sustainability and sustainable food systems as you understand them? Tip, revisit the first Learning Module exploring these topics to refresh your understanding of the concepts.
- Can you think of how to adapt their ideas to your own practice and context?
- Can you think of a similar story to share, either about your own work, or that of a colleague in your region which deserves recognition?
Summary
In this Learning Module, you explored resources in the toolkit that help you to answer the following questions:
- What are some of the ways that others have integrated sustainability into practice?
- Are there any tools that I can use and adapt for use in my practice?
- Can I share ideas and collaborate with others in nutrition and dietetics?
You are welcome to explore the other Learning Modules if you have not already.
Or, browse freely through the toolkit to find supports that are helpful to you.
Feedback? Questions? Ideas? Contact the ICDA SFS Coordinator: ICDAsfs.coordinator@acadiau.ca
