{"id":390160,"date":"2022-08-03T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?post_type=selected&p=390160"},"modified":"2022-08-03T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T09:00:00","slug":"blockchain-based-app-provides-information-about-food-impact","status":"publish","type":"selected","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/selected\/blockchain-based-app-provides-information-about-food-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Blockchain-based app provides information about food impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aalto researchers have developed and tested a pilot app to help consumers evaluate their food choices. The study is part of the\u00a0EU-ATRACA<\/a>\u00a0project which aims to create and promote \u2018anti-rival tokens\u2019, a blockchain-based technology that encourages the sharing of digital goods, writes Aalto University in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental and health impacts of their food choices, many people are unsure what changes they should make. People often feel that they don\u2019t have enough information to guide their decisions, and it\u2019s also hard to see the impact of individual consumption habits. The\u00a0Food Futures research project<\/a>, led by Visiting Researcher\u00a0S. M. Amadae\u00a0of the Department of Communications and Networking, addresses these challenges by providing clear information on costs and benefits, and aggregating individual choices so their combined effect becomes apparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Wellbeing Index<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Design researchers from Aalto\u2019s Creative Sustainability Programme developed a Food Wellbeing Index to capture the social, environmental, health, and economic consequences of food choices. The index integrates several variables to give a holistic overview which reflects the sustainability impact of a dietary choices. In the long run, the integrity and transparency of this information can be supported through the use of blockchain throughout the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building this information into an app gives consumers clear and easily actionable information, as was seen in a pilot study at the University of Helsinki\u2019s Unicafe restaurants. \u2018For vegan-curious participants, the index influenced rethinking their meal choice after viewing the impact on various variables, making them feel empowered to make a positive change,\u2019 says\u00a0Shreya Sood, who developed the index together with\u00a0Ruta Jumite. \u2018Vegan participants, on the other hand, got a sense of being appreciated for their default choices.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insights on food impact <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For some users, the app provided new insights about the impact of certain foods. \u2018For example, many participants said the app was an eye-opener about the high emissions associated with cheese,\u2019 says Sood, noting that the app helped people begin to question their assumptions about certain protein sources.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Consumers must be willing to change in order to make the transition to more sustainable food<\/div>
When it comes to our food system, we are not innovating fast enough. That is the overarching feeling during the seventh edition of F&A Next. This annual event brings together start-ups and investors in the field of agriculture and food. <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Measuring and aggregating choices <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to giving users information to guide their individual decision, the app also uses anti-rival blockchain tokens and a distributed ledger to measure and aggregate choices, showing users how individual actions add up to a collective effect. Because the aggregated data reflect the food choices and aspirations of the community, they can be used to identify gaps and shortcomings that need to be addressed by policy-making in to order to meet sustainability goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blockchain tools are also used to reward individual choices. In the long run, the researchers say these tools could provide policy-makers with a means to recognise individuals\u2019 constructive sustainability impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Overall, users in the pilot project felt that it could help translate sustainability goals into actions. It motivated them to consistently make sustainable choices and created incentives to eat in a climate-friendly way,\u2019 says Sood. The Food Futures research team is planning to run a second pilot experiment in the autumn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":516259,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":""},"categories":[69111],"tags":[57008,29282,38175,128327],"location":[53484],"internal_archives":[],"class_list":["post-390160","selected","type-selected","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agrifood","tag-aalto-university","tag-blockchain-en","tag-co2-emissions","tag-food-impact","location-finland-nl"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/R1A0601.jpg","coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/","display_name":"Mauro Mereu"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 4 years ago","modified":"Updated 4 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on August 3, 2022","modified":"Updated on August 3, 2022"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on August 3, 2022 11:00 am","modified":"Updated on August 3, 2022 11:00 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","tax_additional":{"category":{"linked":["Agrifood<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Agrifood<\/span>"],"slug":"category","name":"Categories"},"post_tag":{"linked":["Aalto University<\/a>","Blockchain<\/a>","CO2 emissions<\/a>","food impact<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Aalto University<\/span>","Blockchain<\/span>","CO2 emissions<\/span>","food impact<\/span>"],"slug":"post_tag","name":"Tags"},"language":{"linked":["EN<\/a>"],"unlinked":["EN<\/span>"],"slug":"language","name":"Tags"},"post_translations":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"post_translations","name":""},"location":{"linked":["Finland<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Finland<\/span>"],"slug":"location","name":"Locations"},"internal_archives":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"internal_archives","name":"Internal Archives"}},"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/selected\/390160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/selected"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/selected"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390160"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=390160"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=390160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}