From kitchen to climate: multimedia interventions on social media as science tools for sustainability communication among food business actors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to hypothesize that tailored multimedia interventions using the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Behavior Change Techniques via social media platforms have the potential to effectively disseminate scientific information regarding food sustainability to food professionals. The objective is to evaluate the extent of the influence of these interventions on social media in enhancing the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of food professionals about food sustainability, with a specific focus on next-generation professional chefs. Design/methodology/approach A total of 121 students majoring in gastronomy and culinary arts volunteered to participate in the study. A 5-min multimedia intervention was explicitly tailored for their backgrounds and designed for social media platforms. It covered food sustainability topics and related factors using a diverse range of multimedia elements, such as video, still images, text and audio narration. Furthermore, researchers developed a validated questionnaire that covered the same topics as the multimedia intervention. In a quasi-experimental design, participants were administered the questionnaire both before and after watching the tailored multimedia intervention. Findings The results of this study revealed significant improvements in participants’ knowledge and attitudes of key concepts, including greenhouse gases and their relation to climate change, climate change and meat-based menu items relation, inequality in the distribution of natural resources, primary sources of food loss, the significance of implementing new technology in agricultural activities and the role of the next generation. The multimedia shifted participants’ attitudes, prioritizing climate change as the most critical and strengthening the perception of local food production as the least critical factors. Moreover, it strengthened participants’ attitudes toward the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as the primary actor in sustainability. Research limitations/implications Although culinary students may be seen as a subset of a targeted food professional group, they are the future leaders of the global food system. Chefs have substantial influences in a broad range of settings and sectors, including institutional food service, chain restaurants, the food and beverage industry and home cooking via books and television programs, among others. Chefs increasingly adopt sustainable menus and business practices to promote sustainable food systems and reduce climate change associated with the food sector. In addition, they use their community power to advocate for legislation that promotes the long-term sustainability of food systems. Practical implications Chefs and restaurant owners can use the results to tailor multimedia about food sustainability topics for their staff training programs and daily sharing on their social media platforms. Government organizations and policymakers can use the results to develop effective communication plans with food professionals. Non-governmental organizations dedicated to the environment and food sustainability can tailor multimedia campaigns on social media that address the food professionals directly to encourage them to adopt sustainable practices. Professional teams producing content on social media platforms can use the results to create engaging and informative scientific multimedia interventions targeting food professionals. Social implications In a broader societal context, enhancing the scientific knowledge, attitudes and behavior of the professional chefs toward food sustainability will, in turn, lead to widespread adaptation of sustainable practices, not only within their professional domains but also in wider community settings. This will significantly contribute to the major goal of advancing food sustainability and addressing global challenges like food inequality and food insecurity. Originality/value The impact of various variables and the roles of different food sectors and their actors in food sustainability have been extensively studied. Furthermore, a wide range of research has examined diverse consumer groups’ food sustainability knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. However, developing an effective method for communicating and advocating scientific facts about food sustainability-related topics has been a challenge. Traditional environmental education is insufficient for fostering sustainable change. As social media are the fastest-growing science communication tool, this pioneering research suggests multimedia interventions on social media to improve food professionals’ food sustainability knowledge, attitudes and behaviors to fill the literature gap.