The Mediterranean diet is attracting international attention as a healthy and sustainable diet, yet countries in the region are increasingly beset by problems of undernutrition combined with obesity or other food-related diseases. This book highlights the need to consolidate the Mediterranean diet as a lever to improve the sustainability of food systems and consumption in the region.

For almost four decades, the partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) has generated advanced knowledge and expertise in support of achieving food security, sustainable agriculture, and rural development in the Mediterranean. Driven by these shared goals, FAO and CIHEAM have jointly contributed to policy dialogue, the implementation of programs and projects, awareness-raising, and the capacity development of different actors in the region. FAO- CIHEAM collaboration has helped to build important knowledge resources and technical networks, strengthen the focus on gender and youth in agriculture, and promote the sustainable development of rural and coastal areas and sustainable fisheries. In October 2015, both organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reinforcing their partnership. Under the framework of the partnership agreement, FAO and CIHEAM committed to developing a common strategic cooperation agenda to support agriculture, food, and sustainable rural development in the Mediterranean. In June 2019, based on the success of this collaboration the MoU was renewed for another four years. This brochure presents the highlights and successes of the partnership between FAO and CIHEAM.

This book takes a transdisciplinary approach and considers multisectoral actions, integrating health, agriculture, environment, economy, and socio-cultural issues, to comprehensively explore the topic of sustainable diets. Consideration is given to the multi-dimensional nature of diets and food systems, and the book explores the challenging issues connecting food security and nutrition to sustainability, culture, tradition, and a broader range of scientific topics. The first section, 'Grand Challenges' (chapters 1-9), positions sustainable diets in the multi-perspective context of food systems. Within the current international debate, it introduces some overarching wicked problems, resistant to resolution in spite of the dire consequences of inaction. The chapters cover multi-sectoral policy, public health, sustainable food systems, climate change, biodiversity loss, agro-ecology, indigenous peoples, the role of cities, and food and waste. The contributions in the second section, 'Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches' (chapters 10-17) discuss the topic of sustainable diets from different cultural, sectoral and disciplinary angles. The issues are analysed with data and methods derived from social sciences, clinical sciences and experimental sciences. Perspectives and solutions, with evidence, are presented to underpin policies and interventions. The last section, 'Moving Forward' (chapters 18-29) deals with selected innovations, initiatives, projects, case studies and programmes enhancing sustainable diets by linking nutrition to food systems.

This book draws together the perceptions and experiences from a range of international professionals with specific reference to food education. It presents a variety of teaching, learning and curriculum design approaches relating to food across primary, secondary and vocational school education, undergraduate initial teacher education programs, and in-service professional development support contexts. Contributions from authors of a variety of background and countries offer insight into some of the diverse issues in food education internationally, lessons to be learned from successes and failures, including action points for the future. The book will be both scholarly and useful to teachers in primary and secondary schools.

This volume focuses on current demands, challenges and expectations facing African higher education institutions in general, and those in South Africa in particular. Subsequently, transformative curricula, pedagogies and epistemologies that define diverse practices of access and inclusion within the context of transformation and decolonisation are explored.

It is widely known that food markets have a high environmental impact, which needs to be minimized in order to help mitigate climate change. Governments and international institutions can help improve the sustainability of global food production; however, consumers’ decisions have an important role in influencing food market stakeholders’ choices towards sustainable food sources and low-emission practices. Understanding consumers' awareness of the importance of choosing sustainable diets and their capability to adapt their individual decision-making, is pivotal to stimulating or improving consumers’ willingness to move towards choosing climate-friendly food and avoiding food waste. There are many factors that influence people’s food choices from cultural and ethical acceptability, visual attractiveness, taste agreeability, and economic affordability, which change depending on the geographical areas and targeted group of people. Thus, to orient consumers’ food choices many challenges need to be considered, including making consumers aware of organic food health and environmental benefits, nutritional high protein alternatives to meat, and offering affordable solutions. The aim of this Research Topic is to collect different perspectives on consumers’ food choices in relation to the environmental sustainability issue. This would support the decision-makers and food systems stakeholders to move towards sustainable food production. Thus, this collection wishes to highlight the consumers’ point of view on the trade-off between personal habits and food preferences, and climate-friendly choices in geographical areas, including the awareness of the impact that the diet choice may have on the environment. This collection welcomes submissions on the following themes, but are not limited to: • Consumers' perception of the diet’s impact on climate change issue • Consumers' food choice drivers • Cultural acceptability of alternative protein sources • Consumers’ willingness to purchase organic food • Trade-off availability between sustainable and affordable food choice

While undernutrition persists, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases rise, including in low- and middle-income countries. What is wrong with our food systems? How will we feed a growing and urbanizing world population with natural resources that are more and more limited and depleted? In June 2019, a two-day symposium brought together academics, researchers, policymakers, representatives from civil society and private sector, parliamentarians and government agencies to discuss these questions (and many more), and explore pathways to a sustainable future of food and healthy diets for all. These proceedings report the presentations and discussions that recolved around the four main areas of (1) Research, Knowledge Gaps and Needs for Sustainable Food Systems and Healthy Diets; (2) Governance of food systems for healthy diets; (3) Building Consumer Confidence in Food Systems; and (4) Transforming Food Systems: What does it take?

The 2012 edition of Mediterra takes the mobilising potential of the Mediterranean Diet as a basis and proposes a multidimensional itinerary involving sociodemographics, health, ecology, enterprise, geo-economics and citizens' initiative. Consumers in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin have progressively changed their dietary practices as they have gradually become caught up in the dynamics of urbanisation and the globalisation of agricultural trade. They are adhering less and less to the Mediterranean Diet, despite the fact that it is the basis of their identity and one of the major assets of the region. Pressures on natural resources and the emergence of new private actors are compounding the complexity of diet-related issues. Already the subject of widespread sociocultural and scientific debate and research, the Mediterranean Diet merits reconsideration from the political point of view given the growing awareness of the strategic dimension of agriculture and the crucial role played by food production in the stability and development of societies. This diet, whose health-promoting virtues are widely recognised and which UNESCO has now listed as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, is now raising questions in the fields of environmental responsibility and political action to promote greater regional cooperation.

This text is an especially timely new text as the number of studies focusing on the impact of the Mediterranean diet on disease prevention increases every year. The fundamental question addressed in this text is how food components and behavior of the Mediterranean diet reduce the risk of chronic diseases. In-depth chapters provide an overview of preclinical and clinical studies on Mediterranean dietary patterns, food components and lifestyle and their impact on health and disease. Large-scale “omic” approaches are highlighted to educate the reader about the molecular mechanisms through which specific components of the Mediterranean diet improves health and the opportunities and challenges for translating into practice the food recommendations of the Mediterranean pyramid. The volume concludes with information about the nutritional adequacy of Mediterranean foods and provides selected recipes. Mediterranean Diet: Impact on Health and Disease will be of great interest to students, clinicians, and scientists engaged in promoting health through nutrition and physical activity.

'Here's a work arriving just at the right moment and contributingnew insights at precisely the time when public opinion remains sceptical of the not very promising future we are preparing for our children, when governments balk at explaining to their electorates the vital but unpopular decisions that have to be taken and when civil society, with few ways and means, is finally becoming involved. This remarkable work will help all actors to understand the inter-linkages between economic activities and the environment in the Mediterranean Basin and take concerted, effective action to build a positive, sustainable future' Mohamed Ennabli, former Minister of the Environment and Land Use Panning, Tunisia 'The Blue Plan has carried out a remarkable assessment of the serious environmental probems and insufficiently targeted cooperation in the Mediterranean, and also of new financing systems to be implemented, which would increase the capacities of local authorities and economic and social partners' Georges Corm, former Minister of Finance, Lebanon The Mediterranean Basin and its surrounding countries is a microcosm of the environmental and sustainability challenges facing people across the world. Depending on the development path it takes in the future, the region can either become a positive model for the regional regulation of globalization, or, more onerously, it might reinforce global instability. This unique volume is the definitive, authoritative assessment of the environment and development of the Mediterranean Basin and its 22 countries and territories, spanning five decades from 30 years in the past to 20 years into the future. Produced by the Blue Plan within the framework of UNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan and backed by the EU and national governments, it brings together the work of more than 100 researchers from dozens of national, regional and local governments and research groups into the only comprehensive insight into sustainable development issues in the region. Core coverage includes water, energy, transport, cities, rural and coastal areas, as well as related issues such as climate change, population growth, geopolitical changes, unemployment and poverty, pollution, economic and environmental policies, regional cooperation and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Information is clearly presented through hundreds of full-colour maps, graphs, tables and a wealth of case studies. This is a must-have reference for all levels of government, NGOs and libraries, as well as practitioners, academics and businesses involved in economics, natural resource management, land and maritime transport, water, energy, infrastructure, urban and rural development, agriculture, fishing and aquaculture, tourism and coastal management. Countries and territories covered: Spain, France, Italy, Monaco, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Preface by Lucien Chabason, Chairman of the Blue Plan.