About-en

The Context

Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean Diet is considered the healthiest and most sustainable dietary pattern in the world. However, in many countries of the Mediterranean region, including Portugal, several changes in eating habits and consumption trends have been observed, with a large increase in the intake of animal and processed products. This makes it urgent to find models to help reverse this nutritional transition, and, at the same time, strategies to reduce food waste by increasing the consumption of fresh, seasonal, and local vegetables and fruits through family farming. This agricultural system plays a fundamental role in self-sufficiency and food security, as it promotes sustainable nutrition, supports territorial development through social innovation, and establishes food systems that preserve biodiversity, the environment and culture.

So, to promote the Mediterranean Diet in our country, and ensure a sustainable diet, the present proposal aims to enhance and differentiate family garden products in both rural and urban environments. This project will develop agroecological activities in family gardens of different regions of the country, but also, in urban and peri-urban gardens in Lisbon, Viseu and Bragança, to enhance the use of sustainable practices in family farming across the entire value chain, from production to the consumers.

The Harvest Project

• Create a food chain that benefits consumers, farmers, and the environment, using Social Innovation tools to help revitalize the family garden.

• Boost the consumption of less caloric products, as an intrinsic part of the Mediterranean Diet food pyramid. Promote the consumption of these products in rural development models, in other to revert the consequences of the rural exodus on Portuguese dietary habits.

• Consolidate and deepen innovative agroecological methods and practices, ensuring a diet in an organic production system, in other to enable consumers to make healthier and more sustainable food choices.