Skip to main content

Hortus Botanicus Leiden newsletters

A school class discussing pulses in the herb garden at the botanic garden, University of Oslo (Credit UiO)

Kristina's story

Partner: Natural History Museum, University of Oslo

"Food security means a lot of different things to different people. For me and my colleagues, because we are biologists and concerned about nature, it's very much about sustainability. But when I was talking to some of our visitors here in the Botanic garden in Oslo, Norway, people are much more concerned about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), and not having groceries that have been treated with herbicides and pesticides and so on. I was really surprised. So for them it was more about the health and quality of the food they were eating themselves rather than the world perspective. Some people may not see the difference between food security and food safety. We want to try and broaden people's understanding, to introduce that global sustainability message, as well as deeper knowledge of the plants they're eating and where they've come from - and how climate change can affect food security."