A Game of Choices

On 04 December 2019, World Food System Center staff traveled to Kantonsschule Hohe Promenade in Zürich to engage with 16 motivated students and create awareness about climate change and food security. Braida Thom gave an introduction to the group on the effects of climate change on the world food system, after which Luna Urio explained the Burger Game she developed.

In the role-play game, students played the roles of consumers, producers (farmers), the environment, and the market. The objective of the consumers is to prepare hamburgers from a wide array of food items, while staying within the available budget and taking into account personal nutrient requirements. Through debate, students identify environmentally friendlier diets by acknowledging the motivations used by the different players.

After the game, Braida, Luna, as well as Laura Schnegg and Monika Piessens supplied a tasting of plant-based meat, created at ETH Zurich: Planted. The new product strives to look and taste like chicken, but is made from water, peas, and sunflower oil. During the tasting, the students had the chance to ask questions and reflect on the game. The feedback on the plant-based meat ranged from ‘it tastes different, but it is a good alternative’ to ‘it’s super-tasty, equal to good chicken meat.’

We thank the Kantonsschule Hohe Promenade for the enjoyable opportunity, Luna and Laura for facilitating the fun game, and Planted for the terrific tasting.