Sustainable food systems: an interdisciplinary perspective on challenges and possible solutions
On Wednesday, 19th of March 2025, ASEF organised the first ASEF Tutorial Program roundtable 2024/25 in the Prešeren Hall of the ZRC SAZU. The hybrid event entitled “Sustainable Food Systems: an interdisciplinary view on challenges and possible solutions” was moderated by Petra Jerič, journalist at RTV Slovenija.
The audience was addressed by Dr. Jože Rožanec, Head of ASEF Tutorial Program, who stressed the importance of critical interdisciplinary collaboration, especially on current societal issues. He highlighted the topic of sustainable nutrition and hunger eradication, which is being addressed by the ASEF Junior Fellows in this year’s tutoring groups, and applauded the new thoughts and ideas of the tutorees in the field of food security and sustainable agriculture. Dr. Rožanec also stressed the importance of interdisciplinary roundtables, which offer young people the opportunity to learn and openly exchange views, and praised the dedication and professionalism of the tutors.
This was followed by the introduction of the ASEF 2024 Junior Fellows, representatives of the tutor groups, who participated in the roundtable:
- Jernej Birk, Biochemistry and Chemistry group (tutor prof. dr. Alen Krajnc),
- Črt Rozman, Physics and Engineering group (tutor assoc. prof. dr. Sašo Grozdanov),
- Jerneja Koren, medicine group (tutor prof. dr. Janez Žibert),
- Matej Igličar, Law and Social Sciences group (tutor associate prof. Petra Weingerl),
- Martin Jurkovič, Computer Science group (tutor prof. dr. Ivan Bratko) and
- Lana Nastja Anžur, Environmental Protection and Tourism group (tutor prof. dr. Miha Humar).
Junior Fellows first presented the key findings of their research. They presented the issue of biodiversity loss, touching upon the advantages and disadvantages of introducing and cross-breeding natural species with genetically modified organisms. They highlighted the problem of antimicrobial resistance and touched upon the difficulties scientists face when growing plants in space.
Next, they looked at the limitations of the hunger indexes used to assess hunger at global and regional level. Data collection for the indexes is most limited in the countries where hunger is the biggest problem. The Fellows analysed the data to find out which nutrients are most effective in preventing the worst effects of hunger.
They also discussed the huge amount of food wasted annually in the European Union and what can be done to help reduce it. More than half of all food is wasted in households because of poor planning of purchases and inadequate storage of foodstuffs.
Junior Fellows stressed the importance of preserving the autonomy of bees and apiculture, and the importance of beekeeping for Slovenia’s cultural heritage. They also presented the benefits of using artificial intelligence to automate pollen analysis and other aspects such as optimising food processing and handling, minimising food waste and improving the effectiveness of humanitarian aid in crisis situations.
In the second part of the roundtable, the Fellows discussed the feasibility of restricting antibiotics in agriculture, data availability, honey adulteration and interdisciplinary solutions to fight hunger. The event ended with an in-depth discussion between the guests and the Fellows.
The next ASEF Tutorial Program roundtable will take place on 18th of June 2025.
The event was organised with the support of the Slovenian Youth Office and the Office for Slovenians Abroad.