SDG 2 : Zero Hunger

Farming needs to maintain food production while responding to challenges including declining soil health, biodiversity loss and dependence on fertilisers and pesticides. But agricultural practices that perform well in controlled research settings do not necessarily translate easily to working farms. University of Limerick is part of AllEcoSys, a European research collaboration that began on 1 May 2025 and is testing farming practices designed to work more closely with natural ecological processes under real farming conditions. 

Living labs bring farmers, researchers and other stakeholders together to co-create, test and improve approaches rather than developing solutions in isolation. The project is exploring practices including flower strips, intercropping (growing different crops together), crop diversification, biological pest control and bio-based fertilisers. Researchers will examine their effects on areas including soil health, biodiversity, natural pest regulation and nutrient cycling, alongside their ability to maintain agricultural production and reduce reliance on mineral fertilisers and pesticides. 

UL researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences and Kemmy Business School are part of the European consortium, which brings together research and farming partners across Ireland, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Romania and France. The project runs until April 2028.

Children experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage can face limited access to fresh food and may find traditional classroom settings difficult to engage with. 

Doon Social Farm's Happy Saplings programme provides a different environment, giving children hands-on experience of growing, preparing and tasting food while building practical food knowledge and confidence. 

In 2025, MSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics students from University of Limerick's School of Allied Health worked with Happy Saplings through the CT6053 Public Health and Community Nutrition module, led by Associate Professor Anne Griffin. The students produced a children's recipe book designed to make healthy food accessible and enjoyable for participating children and families. 

An independent evaluation of Happy Saplings recorded stakeholder-reported improvements in children's food literacy, wellbeing and social skills. Teachers described greater engagement at school, while parents reported increased confidence and independence at home. MasterChef's Pat O'Sullivan sponsored the printing of 100 copies of the resulting recipe book.

Fertilisers are essential to modern food production, but when crops do not use nutrients efficiently, valuable resources can be lost from the soil and contribute to environmental pollution. 

NutriSTORM is investigating whether working with the microorganisms already present in soil could help crops make better use of nutrients while reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers. 

Led by University of Limerick Professor Achim Schmalenberger, the Green ERA-Hub-funded project is studying the balance between carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in soil and how this affects the ability of soil microbes to cycle nutrients and make them available to plants. The research includes field trials on wheat and grassland examining approaches such as returning straw to the soil and applying bio-based fertilisers, including dairy processing sludge and insect frass, the nutrient-rich waste produced by insects. Researchers are also using laboratory techniques to examine the composition and activity of soil microbial communities. 

The project aims to identify the most promising approaches for further testing and application under field conditions, with the longer-term goal of improving nutrient-use efficiency and reducing dependence on synthetic fertilisers while supporting agricultural production.

Food prices, access to information and coordination between producers and buyers influence how a regional food economy works. 

In 2025, Kemmy Business School's Digital Futures Lab brought students together with people working across the Mid-West food system to explore how that economy could become more sustainable, just and rooted in place. 

The intensive, three-week studio-based learning experience centred on the mission Reimagining Market Infrastructures for a Flourishing Mid-West Bio-District. Working in interdisciplinary teams alongside regional food-system stakeholders, students mapped concerns identified by stakeholders, imagined alternative futures and designed practical interventions in response. 

The Lab opened with a workshop involving more than 60 stakeholders. Students went on to develop visual prototypes, policy proposals and other interventions addressing issues including trust, recognition, pricing, traceability and coordination. Their work was presented at a public exhibition and roundtable attended by approximately 20 stakeholders.

The 2025 Lab also contributed empirical material to a paper accepted for publication in the British Journal of Management, Designing Liminal Spaces for Upstream Performativity: Lessons from The Futures Lab.

Can showing diners the carbon footprint of a meal encourage them to choose a more sustainable option? University of Limerick (UL) PhD researcher Tina Kontonika co-led a real-world study testing whether carbon labels on café menus influence what people choose to eat. 

The one-month intervention took place at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) in Estonia, in collaboration with university catering staff and researchers. Foodprint software, developed by Nutritics, was used to calculate the environmental impact of dishes, with selected menu items displaying a traffic-light-style carbon emissions indicator. 

A total of 162 diners were surveyed about their awareness, attitudes, intentions and perceived barriers to sustainable eating. While diners were generally positive and curious about the labels, most reported that the carbon information alone did not change their choices. Taste, cost and convenience remained the dominant influences. The study also identified barriers including the limited availability of labelled options, cost and gaps in knowledge. 

These findings can help inform the design of future food-labelling initiatives and the additional measures that may be needed alongside them.

Labelling, pricing and menu design can all be used to encourage people to make more sustainable food choices. These approaches, often known as ‘nudges’, aim to influence decisions by changing how choices are presented. 

UL PhD researcher Tina Kontonika is examining why they work in some circumstances but fail, or even backfire, in others. 

Her research asks what policy conditions make nudges more effective in restaurants, cafés and other out-of-home dining settings. Rather than simply asking whether an intervention works, the review considers factors such as how policies are designed, whether people are involved in their development, how information is communicated, affordability and equity, social norms and organisations' ability to put interventions into practice. 

The research has developed 10 preliminary explanations of how these interventions may work, for whom and under what conditions. These theories are being brought together into a framework explaining how different conditions can influence behaviour change. 

The next stage will refine the findings with an expert panel involving Irish food sustainability and public health researchers, restaurant and café owners, and consumers, before the framework is tested further.

For postgraduate students managing the cost of living in Limerick, somewhere to have breakfast or pick up a piece of fruit can make a practical difference. UL’s Postgraduate Students’ Union (PSU) provides food and refreshments through Breakfast for Brains in its Common Room. 

The service developed from longstanding tea and coffee provision, with cereals introduced in 2022 and fresh fruit added through Breakfast for Brains in spring 2023. Supplies include cereals, milk and milk alternatives, fresh fruit, soup and cereal bars. Students also have access to microwaves, a refrigerator and hot water. 

The Common Room opens from 8am to 11pm daily, with food supplies replenished Monday to Friday throughout the year, reflecting postgraduate students’ year-round study schedules. The PSU reports average weekly usage of 600–800 and monthly usage exceeding 3,500 during semesters one and two. 

Tables, study space and a sofa provide somewhere to eat, take a break and meet other students. Student feedback highlighted help with food costs, access to fresh fruit and milk alternatives for those who cannot drink cow’s milk. Students also described the Common Room as somewhere to relax between classes and connect with people from other countries.