The Need for A Multidisciplinary Approach to Face Challenges Related to Food, Health, and Sustainability: The Contribution of CRC I-WE

Abstract

The importance of the impact of the food system not only on human health but also on planet health is gaining growing attention, and there is now an urgent call to action for developing multi-stakeholder strategies able to end poverty and maintain prosperity and health for people and for the planet. To provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between food, well-being and environment, it is pivotal to generate multidisciplinary knowledge on the promotion of human well-being in relation to multiple interconnected factors such as diet and nutrition, environment, economic, social, and legal aspects. Based on these premises, the present paper aims at describing the proposed role of the Joint Research Center “Innovation for Well-Being and Environment” (CRC I-WE) that was brought to light in 2019 with a strong interdisciplinary nature at the University of Milan, Italy. In 2021, the Center hosted its first annual conference aimed at identifying case studies from the food, health, and sustainability fields particularly deserving an interdisciplinary approach, and which may provide the basis for opening a wider discussion with the scientific community.

Crossmodal Correspondence

“…In this context, a question arises as to whether this could be a tool not only to help understand the correspondence between different senses, but also as a tool to meet future challenges in regard to food communication and ultimately food waste (Uiterkamp and Vlek, 2007;Rosen, 2009;Adams, 2010;Hopton et al, 2010;Stock and Burton, 2011;De Soete, 2016;Rinaldi, 2017;Dondi et al, 2020;Martini et al, 2021). As mentioned already, there is a need to implement new strategies to decrease the climate footprint, both in the wine industry as well as beyond .…”

The Evolutionary Characteristics and Interaction of Interdisciplinarity and Scientific Collaboration under the Convergence Paradigm: Analysis in the Field of Materials Genome Engineering

“…To extend engineering application scenarios, attention should be paid to increasing crossover between core and peripheral disciplines, particularly in the middle and late stages of the field's development. (2) Particular attention needs to be paid to research institutions that combine both core and peripheral disciplines, which are an important vehicle for disciplinary convergence and an engine for the continued development of convergence fields. (3) The emphasis should be on encouraging knowledge diffusion in convergent topics and research collaboration between core and peripheral disciplines, for example, through the organization of academic lectures, academic alliances, and technical training activities in related fields; the improvement of the mechanism for evaluating and rewarding contributions in interdisciplinary research collaboration; and the introduction of supporting scientific and technological management measures to encourage the strong association of research institutions.…”

“…Climate change, ecological security, food security, resource scarcity, and other issues that endanger humanity's long-term growth have become increasingly apparent and pressing in recent years. Convergence has been proposed as a new scientific research paradigm in this context, which supports merging theories and methodologies from various fields to find creative answers to difficult problems in order to address the challenges of the complex reality [1,2]. It helps to fully release society's collective invention potential, support the formation of a new development pattern through innovation, and to contribute to the sustainable development of humankind.…”

Using crossmodal correspondences as a tool in wine communication

“…In this context, a question arises as to whether this could be a tool not only to help understand the correspondence between different senses, but also as a tool to meet future challenges in regard to food communication and ultimately food waste ( Uiterkamp and Vlek, 2007 ; Rosen, 2009 ; Adams, 2010 ; Hopton et al, 2010 ; Stock and Burton, 2011 ; De Soete, 2016 ; Rinaldi, 2017 ; Dondi et al, 2020 ; Martini et al, 2021 ). As mentioned already, there is a need to implement new strategies to decrease the climate footprint, both in the wine industry as well as beyond ( Christ and Burritt, 2013 ; Galbreath et al, 2020 ).…”