In the Tension Field of Salutogenesis, Nutrition, and Food Production: Pathways to a Healthier Future

The modern world is at a critical crossroads regarding health, nutrition, and the environment. Global dietary patterns — including in Austria — are increasingly problematic. High consumption of meat and highly to ultra-processed foods (UPFs), coupled with low intake of fruits and vegetables, dominates our plates. The consequences are severe: a sharp rise in diet-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and certain types of cancer. Healthcare costs are rising, and individual suffering is increasing. At the heart of this issue lies an interplay that calls for new perspectives, especially from a salutogenic standpoint.

Salutogenesis: Focusing on Health

Salutogenesis — a concept developed by medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky and further adapted by the Vienna School of Salutology  — does not focus on the origins of disease (pathogenesis) but rather on the creation and maintenance of health. In the context of nutrition, this means moving beyond reactive approaches to risk factors and instead actively shaping environments that support well-being. Nutrition becomes a key lever to strengthen individual and societal resilience.

A salutogenic perspective therefore, asks: How can food systems be designed to enhance people’s ability to maintain and promote health, even under challenging conditions?

Unhealthy Eating Patterns and Their Consequences

Current dietary trends reveal an urgent need for action. In Austria, as in many industrialized countries — consumption of animal products remains high, while fruit and vegetable intake is inadequate. Particularly concerning is the excessive intake of ultra-processed foods, which are often rich in sugar, salt, and saturated fats, but low in fiber and essential nutrients. This kind of diet not only contributes to chronic diseases but also creates an obesogenic environment, especially in urban areas, where unhealthy options are more accessible, affordable, and heavily marketed than healthier choices.

The Environmental Dimension: Food as an Ecological Factor

Beyond health challenges, our current food system also has severe ecological consequences. Around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of biodiversity loss, and 80% of deforestation are linked to conventional food production. Industrial livestock farming and feed crop cultivation in particular consume vast resources. This clearly demonstrates how closely our eating habits are tied to environmental degradation — a stark contradiction to the principles of sustainable health promotion.

New Pathways in Food Production:

In light of these issues, alternative forms of food production are gaining importance — both from a health and environmental perspective. Promising innovations include:

• Vertical farming and urban agriculture: These technologies allow the resource-efficient, pesticide-free cultivation of fruits and vegetables in urban settings, improving access to fresh produce where it’s most needed.

• Fermentation and biotech innovation: Fermented foods support gut health and, through modern technologies like precision fermentation, could one day replace animal proteins with healthier, more sustainable alternatives.

• Plant-based diets and cultured meat: These alternatives to conventional meat offer the potential to reduce environmental impact while also lowering the risk of diet-related diseases.

• Regional and seasonal food systems: Shorter supply chains, less packaging, and support for local agriculture can reduce environmental harm and strengthen trust in food quality.

Outlook: Salutogenic Food Systems as a Guiding Principle

The interaction of salutogenesis, nutrition, and food production shows that health can only be approached holistically when environmental and social conditions are also considered. A salutogenic nutrition policy should go beyond individual education and aim for structural change:

• Incentivizing plant-forward diets through taxation and subsidies

• Transforming obesogenic environments through improved urban infrastructure

• Supporting sustainable production and regional circular economies

Such measures could mark the beginning of a paradigm shift — toward a food system that not only permits health, but actively promotes it.

Salutogenetic Nutrition and Environment: How Community Agriculture Can Heal People and the Planet

In an era defined by ecological degradation, rising chronic disease rates, and social disconnection, new paradigms are emerging that interweave human and planetary health. One such paradigm is salutogenetic nutrition, a concept rooted in the idea that health is not merely the absence of disease but a dynamic process influenced by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors.

A paper by Eva Bayomy explores how Community Made Agricultures (CMAs) — community-based urban farming initiatives — represent a powerful model of salutogenic environments, especially when aligned with Green Social Prescribing (GSP) strategies.

From Pathogenesis to Salutogenesis

Traditional public health models have largely focused on preventing or treating disease — a pathogenetic perspective. Salutogenesis, introduced by Aaron Antonovsky, shifts the focus to understanding the origins of health. It asks: What keeps people healthy? This framework emphasizes individuals’ capacity to cope with stress, find meaning, and sustain well-being through a strong “sense of coherence.”

Bayomy’s work extends this principle into urban nutrition environments, advocating for food systems that nurture rather than compromise health — systems grounded in sustainable, community-led, and nature-connected practices.

Community Made Agriculture: A Salutogenic Model in Practice

CMAs are more than urban gardens. They are living laboratories of resilience and health promotion, where people collectively grow food, reimagine urban spaces, and reconnect with nature. Bayomy’s Vienna-based study reveals that participants in CMAs experienced:

• Improved physical health through regular activity and access to fresh, nutritious food.

• Enhanced mental well-being, with nature and communal engagement serving as buffers against stress and isolation.

• Strengthened social cohesion, as CMAs foster networks of care, purpose, and mutual support.

Crucially, CMAs support sustainable nutrition across five key dimensions: health, environment, economy, society, and culture. Participants shifted toward more plant-based diets, reduced food waste, and developed a renewed sense of food appreciation and sovereignty.

Green Social Prescribing: Bridging Health and Ecology

Green Social Prescribing (GSP) is an innovative healthcare approach where professionals refer patients to nature-based activities — like gardening, conservation, or community farming — to support mental and physical health. It builds on the “Health in All Policies” framework, integrating social, environmental, and health strategies to address complex, chronic issues at their roots.

Bayomy’s thesis outlines how CMAs can serve as effective sites for GSP by offering:

• Low-threshold, inclusive participation opportunities.

• A setting that naturally embeds health promotion into everyday life.

• A platform for tackling social determinants of health, such as food insecurity, loneliness, and physical inactivity.