Our relationship with food during the Covid-19 pandemic

It has been clear for many years that policies and strategies are needed to transform towards more sustainable food systems. Now during the Covid-19 pandemic, food production, processing and distribution systems have been put under severe pressure. As consumers, most people are also being required to change both their behaviour and attitudes to food: how they plan, obtain and purchase food as well as how they prepare and eat food. Many are also reconsidering their diets and the ingredients they use. There seems currently to be much turmoil as well as both complementary and contradictory trends. These are perhaps related to differences in local and national conditions but possibly just as much if not more to existing household, community and social cultures as well as to economic systems and cultures. The objectives of this project are thus fourfold, to: 1. Map and analyse how individuals, households, communities, localities and countries, primarily across Europe but also globally, are changing their behaviour and attitudes to food during the spread of Covid19 and beyond, and how this might be associated with their perceptions of the risks the pandemic brings. 2. Show how this is currently impacting, as well as being influenced by, the rest of the food value chain (specifically food production, processing and distribution) and how it is responding to local and national regulations and market dynamics, as well as influencing these. 3. Investigate the extent to which we can we expect these changes to continue, adapt and/or disappear over the medium- to longer-term and what are the consequential impacts on society, the economy and the environment. 4. Establish a strong scientific evidence base that provides lessons and advice to public authorities, market players, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, as well as to the research community.