Hands chopping onions on a wooden board with tomatoes, herbs, and olives nearby.
Many culinary traditions are sustainable by nature and remind us of our ancestral roots. Try cooking recipes that use ingredients native to your region.
Photo:FAO/Benjamin Rasmussen

 

What is Sustainable Gastronomy?

Gastronomy is sometimes called the art of food. It can also refer to a style of cooking from a particular region. In other words, gastronomy often refers to local food and cuisine. Sustainability is the idea that something (e.g. agriculture, fishing or even preparation of food) is done in a way that is not wasteful of our natural resources and can be continued into the future without being detrimental to our environment or health.

Sustainable gastronomy, therefore, means cuisine that takes into account where the ingredients are from, how the food is grown and how it gets to our markets and eventually to our plates.

Source: FAO  

 

How the UN System Works for a Sustainable Gastronomy

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN General Assembly work to facilitate the observance of Sustainable Gastronomy Day, in collaboration with Member States, UN organizations and other international and regional bodies, as well as civil society, to observe the Day in raising public awareness of its contribution to sustainable development.

Some of UNESCO’s initiatives include:

  • Launching the UNESCO Creative Cities Network , created in 2004 to share best practices and develop partnerships in 7 creative fields. As of 2025, 56 cities have been designated Creative Cities of Gastronomy;
  • Promoting clean energy for local restaurants (use gas and electricity instead of coal, use natural gas rather than carbon);
  • Raising public awareness of sustainable gastronomy through TV food channels and gastronomy shows and through food cultural exhibitions, intended for the food industry and farmers.

As for the FAO, the Organization promotes green culture diets that are not only healthy, but sustainable and suggests that countries that already have dietary guidelines should begin to consider a process of incorporating sustainability into them.

From the FAO

 

Focusing on the role of sustainable gastronomy

The UN General Assembly adopted on 21 December 2016 its resolution A/RES/71/246 and designated 18 June as an international observance, Sustainable Gastronomy Day.

The decision acknowledges gastronomy as a cultural expression related to the natural and cultural diversity of the world. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the Earth is facing a triple planetary crisis of climate disruption, nature loss and pollution, sustainable gastronomy - celebrating seasonal ingredients and producers, preserving wildlife as well as our culinary traditions - is today more relevant than ever.

 

Illustration of a meal tray in a school canteen.

Making sure that school meals follow nutrition guidance and are enjoyed by all students is not always an easy task, but a very important one. After all, not only are healthy diets crucial for children's development and wellbeing, but the enjoyment of food is part of the right to food too. FAO asked school foodservice staff around the world to share their top tips and recommendations on how they prepare nutritious meals while ensuring that they are tasty, enjoyed and appreciated by the students. Let's meet some of these hard-working, innovative people and learn from their experiences in the field.

Food: what unites us

Eating is not just a physiological act, it's also a journey through cultures, traditions and history. Behind every dish, every ingredient, lie centuries of exchange, adaptation and cultural blending. How have our eating habits been transformed by globalization and the expansion of the food industry? What are the consequences for our health, our environment and our way of living together? In this issue, The UNESCO Courier explores the many dimensions of food. Because eating is also about sharing, transmitting and dialoguing.

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.