01/09/2026
Anyone with children will recognise it. They are asking questions about things many of us barely considered at their age.
They are reading food labels. They want to know what is in the products they put on their skin. They have opinions about fast fashion and its environmental cost. Ingredients, processing, packaging, waste and sustainability are already part of their vocabulary.
Their interest extends well beyond food. Younger consumers have helped drive the growth of second-hand fashion, while ingredient awareness increasingly influences choices in skincare, cosmetics and household products.
They are part of a much bigger generational shift.
A study of 733 Gen Z consumers found that the majority were already contemplating or preparing to change their behaviour across all 15 sustainable eating behaviours examined. Food literacy, understanding food and the system behind it, was one of the strongest predictors of action.
There is something worth building on here.
Young people show a strong interest in how crops grow, how food is produced and how the natural systems around them work. We've all seen how well young people respond to gamification, participation and being part of the experience itself.
Food provides an extraordinary route into agriculture, science, health, business and the environment.
Grow something and agriculture has context. Cook with it and ingredients have context. Follow produce from the farm to the shelf and you begin to understand the food system behind it. Build an eco-brick and the amount of plastic we discard becomes physically difficult to ignore.
A recent programme involving children aged five to twelve found that participation in a food sustainability festival broadened their awareness of gardening, food consumption, waste management and natural ecosystems.
That is a direction I would like us to explore more at Jackson's.
We are looking at eco-brick initiatives, competitions around food and other ways of getting younger people involved. Gamifying the process gives them a reason to participate, compete, experiment and learn along the way. The knowledge becomes part of the experience rather than the object of it.
There is already curiosity. There is already awareness. Our opportunity is to give young people more opportunities to engage with food, agriculture and the environment for themselves.
If children grow up knowing and appreciating nature, they begin to understand it. And what they understand, they are far more likely to protect.
GARY JACKSONS
