DEVELOPMENT OF “SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY” AS A CROSS CURRICULAR SKILL IN THE SUBJECT GENERAL AND APPLIED DIETETICS IN THE DEGREE OF HUMAN NUTRITION AND DIETETICS

In recent years, Universities have been devoted to adapt their teaching methodologies in order to train students not only in specific competences but also in cross-curricular skills. Among all cross curricular skills described for university degrees there is one related to sustainability and social responsibility. Nevertheless, very few lecturers have worked on this skill till now and thus, there is a deep need to reorganize the Teaching Guides in order to include new methodologies and activities that promote attitudes and behaviors that lead to a sustainable culture.

The aim of the present work was to make students from the subject of “General and Applied Dietetics” (3rd course of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Degree) integrate and interiorize information about sustainability and social responsibility, considering it as a cross curricular skill. The specific objectives were to make students aware of the use of resources and to be conscious about how environmental-, health- and social- sustainability is involved in their daily work and future profession.

For this purpose four activities were carried out with 27 students that coursed the subject. In the first activity a brainstorming about sustainability in foods and diets was carried out. The second activity was related to the importance of the organic foods in the sustainable diet. A review article about organic foods and their role as safer or healthier foods than conventional alternatives was read and discussed. Then labels of organic and conventional foods were compared. Finally, students had to argue their opinion about people following diets with organic foods. In the third activity, students discussed an article about the use of transgenic seeds in organic agriculture and a review about the beneficial and detrimental effects of transgenic foods. In the forth activity students had to design a sustainable diet for a person: they classified sustainable foods and cooking techniques depending on the season and the region, they designed the diet, and they thought what to do with those foods and portions that were left over. The beneficial results of a sustainable diet comparing to a conventional diet were considered by the students.

As general results, students showed a great interest about sustainable feeding and diet. Concepts such as “ecologic agriculture and ranching”, “Fair Trade Market”, “Seasonal and Local products”, “Homemade products”, “Hygienic and nutritional quality” or “foods for everyone at available prices” were related to sustainability and social responsibility. Most of the students considered that organic foods should be included as sustainable foods but only due to their environmental advantages and not because of their health and nutritional benefits. Contrasted opinions about transgenic foods and their inclusion in a sustainable diet were given. Students learnt to classify seasonal and local products and saw that a nutritional balance could be obtained with them. As they stated, this was the first time that activities related to sustainability were carried out in the Degree. With these activities students realized about the importance of sustainability in their future profession.

As a conclusion, a greater effort must be made by the lecturers of the Degree of Human Nutrition and Dietetics in order to make students be aware of the importance of sustainability in the daily life and future profession.