Integrating novel foods, such as insect-based products and cultured meat, with
innovative energy strategies like agrivoltaics represents a significant
advancement in the transition to sustainable agri-food systems. Novel foods
provide high-protein solutions with a reduced environmental impact compared to
traditional livestock farming, helping to alleviate the strain on water resources,
soil, and greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, agrivoltaics effectively
combine agricultural production with solar energy generation, optimizing land
use and enhancing climate resilience.
However, the widespread adoption of these innovations requires thorough
psychosocial analysis to understand consumers' perceptions, cultural
resistance, and behavioral dynamics. Public acceptance of novel foods and new
production technologies is crucial for their success. This acceptance hinges on
factors such as trust in institutions, effective communication of environmental
benefits, and overcoming emotional barriers associated with changing food
habits.
The synergy between sustainable technologies and effective management of
social change processes can promote circular models, whereby-products from
insect agriculture are reused as fertilizer and the excess energy generated by
agrivoltaics supports cultivation efforts.
This integrated approach, which combines technological innovation with social
awareness, offers a concrete response to global challenges related to food
security, sustainability, and energy transition. As part of this symposium, the
proponent's research results from 2020 to the present will be presented and
discussed, serving the mixed methods approach specific to the social
representations paradigm.