Students discussed Baltic region environmental issues at international conference in Poland

From 15 to 19 April, an annual Baltic University Spring Students' Conference was held in Rogov (Poland). More than 60 participants from 36 European and Russian universities met to discuss the state of the food industry, environment and agriculture in the Baltic region.

"Feeding the planet without destroying it: can the food production be stable?" has become the topic of the conference this year. The issue of presentations and discussion dealt with the organic farming, relationship between food, climate and landscape, prospects of the food industry development in various regions of the planet.

The conference was initiated within the Baltic University Programme project under the auspices of the Uppsala University Center for Stable Development (Sweden). To date, this program brings together more than 200 educational centers in the Baltic region. According to organizers, the purpose of the project is to demonstrate the key role of universities in the development of comfortable and stable world environment.

Polina Soboleva, the second-year student of the Industrial Ecology Department, presented ITMO University at the event.

"I was interested in the Baltic conference topic and so I applied. Such events give a great opportunity to practice English, meet interesting people and study the questions that will help in further education," Polina says.

Students discussed the topic of food habits and changes in the people's feeding behavior in the current food culture, participated in debates on the prospects for organic farming.

"The food is the topic that is close to all, so I found the The role of the consumer and food consumption lecture very interesting. Participants made lists of everything they ate during the three days. We discussed the food trends: what is consumed, how often and why. In particular, we talked about the demand influencing factors, about the mechanisms that lead the buyer to choose a particular product and about the relationship between the food consumption and the emissions of harmful substances," Polina Soboleva describes her impressions.

According to organizers, the events of similar subjects help students to become aware of their personal contribution in the preservation of the environment, teach the efficient lifestyle and responsible attitude towards the environment.