How can meals aid societal transformation?

The Beijer Institute’s partner, the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) at Stockholm University, will host a new Swedish research centre for resilient meals, named PLATE. PLATE will conduct research and foster collaboration to explore the role of meals in enhancing Sweden’s preparedness, sustainability, and competitiveness. The Beijer Institute is one of the collaborating partners.

“Meals are central to the food system and bring together a wide range of elements and actors, from production to consumption. Through new interdisciplinary research and collaboration with stakeholders across society, we aim to increase knowledge about how meals can strengthen preparedness, sustainability, and competitiveness,” says Line Gordon Director of SRC, who led the PLATE application.

PLATE is funded with SEK 60 million over four years by Formas, a Swedish research council for sustainable development. SRC will host the centre, in direct collaboration with researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and the Beijer Institute.

Ready or not?

One of the five work packages, titled “People and Their Food,” will be led by the Beijer Institute through programme director Therese Lindahl.

This work package will examine the ‘readiness gap’ among Swedish citizens. The readiness gap refers to the difference between the changes needed and the changes people are currently willing to make in their food consumption habits to align with sustainability, resilience, and contingency planning. Postdoc Noah Linder will also be part of the team, which will investigate the role public and private food service actors can play in bridging this gap.

The research will explore Swedish consumers’ willingness to change dietary habits, accept policy interventions, and contribute personally to contingency planning—for example, by keeping food stocks.

Putting solutions to the test

In collaboration with food industry and policy partners, including Compass Group (a major supplier of meals to schools and hospitals), Max Burgers, municipalities, WWF, Axfoundation, and the Swedish Food Agency, the team will co-create, implement, and test interventions. These interventions will aim to support private and public food sector actors in driving the desired changes.

“I am excited about this research programme as we will work closely with private and public sector actors. Through co-creating knowledge, I believe we can establish the conditions necessary for a green transition in the food system while enhancing the capacity for contingency planning,” says Therese Lindahl.

Read more about PLATE