Exploring the use of game-based experiential workshops to complement focus group discussions toward more sustainable food systems

Abstract

The potential of game-based experiential workshops to complement focus groups in identifying drivers/barriers to environmentally sustainable food systems was explored. Sixty adults from an Italian bio-district answered to a questionnaire; among them, nineteen and twenty-one people participated in a game-based experiential workshop and in a focus group, respectively. The experiential workshop involved games, image theater, and on-the-spot feedback. The body language recorded during the workshop captured information on the transparency of producers and on the oppression from public institutions as perceived by citizens. Experiential workshops may have advantages over focus groups in terms of diagnostic potential.

Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to Loredana Bertelli for her support in designing the questionnaire, to the coordinator of the bio-district Anna Cedrini for the hospitality at farmhouse Poggio Nebbia, to Parteciparte’s facilitators and to all participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In this study, the term “food producers” refers to all citizens who earn their living at any stage of the food supply chain i.e. from growing, raising, processing, preparing, manufacturing, distributing or adding value to food products. All other citizens living or working in the area are considered “Food consumers.”

2 All participants and facilitators signed a photo release form.

3 This study was carried out in agreement with the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA, 2013) and national and international regulations. Personal information was anonymous. This study did not require the approval of an ethics committee since the sensitive personal data of participants could not be tracked.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the European Sensory Network (ESN), under Grant [2021 - 48235].

Notes on contributors

Catherine Leclercq

Catherine Leclercq, PhD degree in Nutrition, research director at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy. She has been working for 35 years to serve public research, academia, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. She has been for decades a member of scientific committees of the European Food Safety Authority and of United Nations. Her areas of work have been nutrition epidemiology to assess diet adequacy, dietary exposure to food chemicals, and assessment of food’s environmental impact. Since 2016 she has developed and used game-based experiential workshops as a social learning approach. Her recent focus is on involving actors of the food system to move toward more sustainable food systems.

Anna Saba

Anna Saba, senior researcher at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy. She has been carrying out research on a range of topics related to understanding factors influencing food choices aimed at deepening the processes involved in consumer decision-making related to general food-related topics, and to specific categories of foods and segments of the population. She taught Statistical Methodologies and Mathematical Models at the University of Pavia and Sociology of Food Behavior at the University “La Sapienza” in Rome.

Elisabetta Moneta

Elisabetta Moneta, research specialist at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy with more than 30 years of experience in sensory and consumer sciences. She has been collaborating in the design and implementation of national and international research projects concerning studies on the organoleptic quality of food, including analysis of the role of the hedonic component in consumer preferences and food choices. She has developed methodologies in consumer preference research, with emphasis on emotional, genetic, and purchase/consumption contexts;. She teaches Sensory Analysis of Food at Roma tre University.

Nicoletta Nardo

Nicoletta Nardo, research specialist for 30 years at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy. She participated in numerous research projects, both European and national. She has dealt with the development and implementation of methods for the determination of chemical (nutritional and organoleptic-related compounds) composition of food products.

Fausta Natella

Fausta Natella, graduated in Biological Sciences, Ph.D. in “Cellular and Molecular Physiopathology,” senior scientist at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy. Her research activities focus on the role of different components of the diet (bioactive molecules/food/meal) in the modulation of health status.

Marina Peparaio

Marina Peparaio, research specialist in sensory and consumer sciences at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy. For over 30 years, she has been involved in studies on the organoleptic quality of food and their consumer perception, the development, standardization, and application of sensory methodologies, and the correlation between sensory and analytical data using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis techniques.

Eleonora Saggia Civitelli

Eleonora Saggia Civitelli, research specialist at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy. She has been involved in sensory analysis, in particular studies on the organoleptic quality of food, the development, standardization, and application of sensory methodologies, research on the factors of variation of the organoleptic perception of the consumer, and correlation studies between sensory and analytical data using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis techniques.

Elisabetta Toti

Elisabetta Toti, Master’s degree in Human Nutrition Science, research specialist at the Center for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AN) of Rome, Italy. Her areas of research include nutritional epidemiology and micronutrient bioavailability, in both high-income countries and middle-income countries. She has over 30 years of professional experience focused on dietary intake, body composition, antioxidant status in humans and their subsequent impact on health. She has recently been involved in studies on the evaluation of the impact of food waste and on the assessment of the environmental impact of food.

Fiorella Sinesio

Fiorella Sinesio is a senior researcher, expert in sensory and consumer research, with a focus on the influence of food factors (sensory properties and extrinsic characteristics) in the formation of consumers’ perceptions, preferences, and food choices. She investigates impact of consumer factors (attitudes, psychological and physiological factors) on preference and behavior. Her activity is also focused on development and implementation of novel methods for sensory and consumer research. Representative in the European Sensory Network (ESN) of which she has been chairman from 2005 to 2007.