Research Fellow at University of Aberdeen

This interdisciplinary project will explore the use of plant-based convenience foods (e.g. ready meals) to achieve realistic environmentally sustainable and healthy diets. Current diets in the UK are unhealthy and contributing to environmental damage, with recommendations to move towards plant-based diets and reduce meat consumption (‘sustainable diets’). However, changing diets is notoriously difficult and proposed sustainable diets are often idealistic and do not consider the true cost, accessibility, convenience and appeal of these types of diets in the realities of modern living. The aim is to determine the potential use of plant-based convenience food to achieve realistic sustainable diets to influence the development of policies to be consistent with modern lifestyles.

We will quantify and model multiple attributes of sustainable diets, including nutrition, carbon footprint and social aspects to explore the inclusion of plant-based convenience foods and trade-offs as part of a sustainable diet, which if nutritionally adequate, healthy and appealing, with a low carbon footprint, could provide an opportunity to accelerate the transition to realistic sustainable diets. Scenarios will be co-created with young women and modelled to illustrate trade-offs between nutrition, carbon footprints, cost, convenience and appeal. The focus is on young women because they are more likely to adopt plant-based diets using convenience foods and are at higher risk of micronutrient deficiencies, such as iron. Visuals and narratives of the scenarios will be created depicting real-life sustainable diets to increase ease of use of scientific evidence by policy makers and practitioner. The project takes an interdisciplinary approach to developing realistic sustainable diets and provide the insights into what needs to be fully accounted for in the policy development and decision-making process to be successful to achieve actionable climate change mitigation polices with health co-benefits.

Salary will be at the appropriate point on the Grade 6, £37,099 – £40,521 per annum and negotiable with placement according to qualifications and experience.

Informal enquiries should be made to Professor Jennie Macdiarmid, Interdisciplinary director for Health, Nutrition and Wellbeing (j.macdiarmid@abdn.ac.uk).

To apply online for this position visit www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs

Job Reference Number: ROW118R

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 16^th October 2023

The School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition embraces a diverse working environment and recognises the many benefits this can bring. Applications from individuals from across all of the equality protected characteristics are encouraged.