Feeding Tomorrow: Public Attitudes to Food Sustainability

How do you feed 8 billion people? This is one of the biggest challenges facing humankind, and one that will only become more and more urgent as the population rises and climate change takes its toll on our planet and food supplies.

Thinking about this central issue, Peoples Palace Projects do Brasil, in partnership with Flow Associates based in the UK and India, conducted a survey to find out what people in the hubs of Rio de Janeiro, London and Delhi really think about the topic of food sustainability, food availability and supplies, and possible solutions.

The research was developed in two stages, all online due to Covid-19 restrictions. First, an online questionnaire was sent out to the mailing list of Museum of Tomorrow, a PPP-backed museum in Rio de Janeiro. Following this, interviews and focus groups were conducted with public engagement professionals, families, adults, school groups, and teachers.

The Feeding Tomorrow research set out to explore public awareness and attitudes towards efforts pushing for local and global food sustainability, with the aim of identifying ways to increase engagement and understanding of food sustainability within a museum context. The comparative data from the three very different countries will be able to guide interventions that will enable changes in public perceptions and practices in Science Museums all over the world.