Food in a polycrisis: Can tourism help for a sustainability transition?

Abstract

The paper highlights the challenges of the current global polycrisis as they relate to food, including decreasing life expectancies, climate change, biodiversity loss and geopolitical tensions. It then explains the dietary transition that has occurred globally and in Bulgaria with increased intake of animal-based foods, such as meat and dairy, emphasising the links with obesity and non-communicable diseases. Better dietary choices based on plant-based sources can help alleviate the pressures on the natural environment, improve human health and contribute towards finding solutions for the polycrisis. People in wealthier countries need to be able to make decisions conscientiously to reduce the presence of animal-sourced foods in their diets. Tourism experiences in the new category of wellness tourism can expose people to attractive plant-based dishes and act as an intervention and nudging tool for encouraging a sustainability transition in food.