University Students as Change Agents for Health and Sustainability: A Pilot Study on the Effects of a Teaching Kitchen-Based Planetary Health Diet Curriculum

In this episode, we dig into a pilot course that turns a teaching kitchen into a lab for healthier and more sustainable eating. You will hear how seven sessions blend student led talks with hands on cooking, carbon footprint checks, and honest taste tests. We unpack what planetary health diet literacy means in plain language, and why confidence to explain food topics can be a powerful lever for change. We also look at what worked, what students said about the course, and where the biggest knowledge jumps appeared. Then we slow down for the caveats. Small, self selected sample. Short term, self reported outcomes. No control group. You will come away with a clear sense of how this approach works, what it can and cannot claim yet, and how universities might replicate it to grow practical skills and better conversations about food, health, and climate.