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The shift of society toward sustainable food culture requires collectively challenging meat and dairy-based diets and their role in current practices of eating. This study focuses on how discussions in social media can facilitate reconfiguration in eating. Three practice-theoretical perspectives - practices constituting of elements, eating as a compound practice, and communities of practice - afford us with analytical tools to investigate eating and how the constituting elements are negotiated and recrafted in social media discussions across the compound practice. As empirical data, we use altogether 14,250 social media messages on the Finnish Vegan Challenge campaign. By combining qualitative content analysis with topic modeling, we capture the various themes occurring in these discussions and their relation to changes in eating practices. The results show that within these discussions, social learning among peers covered the whole sphere of eating-related practices from production and distribution to purchasing and cooking vegan food, and to sharing stories and experiences of veganism. Our findings illustrate how these discussions can be seen as forming a reconfigurative community of practice, which can potentially support and facilitate social change of eating toward sustainability also outside the Vegan Challenge community.

Introducing and increasing the use of insect-based foods as an alternative source of protein has recently aroused academic and commercial interest in Europe. In this research, we examined Finnish consumers’ intentions to consume insect-based foods in the near future. As a theoretical background we used Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour (TPB), where individuals’ intentions to change their behaviour are affected by their attitude (A), subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC). The data was obtained by using an online questionnaire and convenience sampling. For measuring TPB-components a self-administered 58-item Likert-type questionnaire was used. Food neophobia (FN) was measured by using the food neophobia scale. Respondents’ (n=564) intentions to consume insect-based foods were explained significantly (80%) by their A (β=0.749, P

Tämä esitys tarkastelee kestävyyttä ja kestävyysmurrosta kuluttaja- ja kulutustutkimuksen näkökulmasta. Taustoitan teemaa tarkastelemalla lyhyesti kulutuksen kasvua ja kulutusyhteiskuntaa, minkä jälkeen esittelen erilaisia lähestymistapoja kulutukseen ja paikannan oman tutkimukseni tähän kokonaisuuteen. Pohdin, miksi ja millaisia muutoksia kestävyysmurros edellyttää kulutuksen tavoissa sekä sitä, miten kestävää kulutusta voidaan ymmärtää arjen käytäntöjen näkökulmasta. Lopuksi nostan esiin ruoan kulutuksen esimerkkinä siitä, millaisia jähmeyksiä kestävyysmurrokseen liittyy.

Julkais on avoimesti saatavilla: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2021.108635 This study investigated consumers' self-reported past changes and future intentions to change the consumption of beef and alternative, plant- or insect-based protein products. A survey of 18-79-year-old consumers in Finland (N = 1000) was analysed with latent class analysis, and five consumer clusters were identified. The largest cluster (37%) consumed beef, but no alternative protein products; three clusters incorporated alternative protein products in their diets in different ways (in total 55%); and one cluster did not consume beef or alternative proteins (8%). In total 27% of the respondents intended to reduce the consumption of beef in the future, whereas 26% planned to increase the consumption of plant-based and 24% planned to increase the use of insect-based protein products. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that the use of alternative proteins was associated with higher health and sustainability motives, and lower food neophobia. The results suggest that demand for new, more sustainable proteins and protein innovations will grow in the future.

COVID-19-pandemian aikaiset rajoitustoimet muuttivat ihmisten arkisia käytäntöjä monin tavoin. Tarkastelemme artikkelissamme, millaisia muutoksia kevään 2020 rajoitustoimet aiheuttivat ruokavalinnoissa ja aterioiden valmistamisessa käyttäen terveellisiä raaka-aineita sekä miten sosioekonomiset ja muut taustatekijät, kuten koettu psyykkinen rasitus ja etätyö, olivat yhteydessä tapahtuneisiin muutoksiin. Analysoimme kansainvälisessä Corona Cooking Survey -hankkeessa Suomessa kerättyä syömistä ja ruoanlaittoa tarkastelevaa kyselyaineistoa. Sosiaalisessa mediassa jaettuun kyselyyn vastasi touko-kesäkuussa 2020 yhteensä 744 Suomessa asuvaa 19–85-vuotiasta. Kyselyn vastaajat eivät ole väestöä edustava otos, sillä suurin osa vastaajista oli naisia (91 %) ja korkeakoulututkinnon suorittaneita (81 %). Kuvaamme vastaajien raportoimia muutoksia yhteensä 19 ruoka-aineen käytön useudessa sekä aterioiden valmistamisessa terveellisistä raaka-aineista. Multinomiaalisissa logistisissa regressiomalleissa tarkastelemme terveellisistä raaka-aineista tehtyjen aterioiden valmistuksessa sekä viiden erilaisen ruoka-aineen käytössä tapahtuneisiin muutoksiin yhteydessä olevia tekijöitä. Kaikkien ruoka-aineiden osalta yli puolet vastaajista raportoi, ettei kulutus ollut muuttunut. Eniten lisääntyi makeiden naposteltavien (29 % raportoi syövänsä aikaisempaa useammin) ja suolaisten naposteltavien (21 %) sekä valkoisen leivän, pastan ja viljojen (21 %) käyttö ja harventui liha-, siipikarja-, kala- tai kasvisjalosteiden (34 %), palkokasvien (29 %) ja pähkinöiden (27 %) käyttö. Regressiomallien tulosten mukaan useimmilla taustatekijöillä ei ollut yhteyttä muutoksiin ja selittävät tekijät vaihtelivat eri ruoka-aineissa. Koettu psyykkinen rasitus oli yhteydessä todennäköisyyteen kuluttaa aiempaa useammin makeita naposteltavia, sokeroituja juomia ja alkoholijuomia. Etätyö oli yhteydessä todennäköisyyteen syödä aiempaa harvemmin kasviksia ja useammin suolaisia naposteltavia, mutta myös todennäköisyyteen valmistaa aiempaa useammin aterioita terveellisistä raaka-aineista. Tulokset viittaavat siihen, että pandemia on lisännyt välipalaistumista. Jatkotutkimusta tarvitaan väestöä edustavilla otoksilla syömisrutiinien pidempiaikaisista muutoksista ja niiden mahdollisesta muuttumisesta terveellisemmiksi tai epäterveellisemmiksi tottumuksiksi eri väestöryhmissä.

This qualitative study, framed by social identity theory, examines how self-identified vegans and vegetarians negotiate diet-related social norm conflicts within their social networks. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with 18- to 58-year-old vegans and vegetarians who represented five nationalities were analysed inductively through thematic analysis. According to the results, social norm conflicts occurred in contexts where tense family relations or boundaries between in-group and out-group were salient. The results also show that in order to manage norm conflict situations, the interviewees used strategies towards the dominant social norms, such as adapting, challenging, and weakening. In particular, adapting to the dominant social norms was used in relationships that were not close, whereas challenging and weakening were used within close relationships. The interviewees had developed practical solutions to resolve social norm conflicts, such as eating what was served, actively providing information, or acting as an example to others. The results enhance understanding of the challenges entailed by practising vegan or vegetarian diet in an omnivorous society. This qualitative study, framed by social identity theory, examines how self-identified vegans and vegetarians negotiate diet-related social norm conflicts within their social networks. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with 18- to 58-year-old vegans and vegetarians who represented five nationalities were analysed inductively through thematic analysis. According to the results, social norm conflicts occurred in contexts where tense family relations or boundaries between in-group and out-group were salient. The results also show that in order to manage norm conflict situations, the interviewees used strategies towards the dominant social norms, such as adapting, challenging, and weakening. In particular, adapting to the dominant social norms was used in relationships that were not close, whereas challenging and weakening were used within close relationships. The interviewees had developed practical solutions to resolve social norm conflicts, such as eating what was served, actively providing information, or acting as an example to others. The results enhance understanding of the challenges entailed by practising vegan or vegetarian diet in an omnivorous society.

openaire: EC/H2020/741677/EU//InSPIRES Increasingly high-profile research is being undertaken into the socio-environmental challenges associated with the over-production and consumption of food from animals. Transforming food systems to mitigate climate change and hidden hunger, ensure food security and good health all point to reducing animal-based foods as a key lever. Moving beyond animal-based food systems is a societal grand challenge requiring coordinated international research by the social sciences and humanities. A ‘selective openness’ to this range of disciplines has been observed within multi-discipline research programmes designed to address societal grand challenges including those concerned with the sustainability of food systems, inhibiting the impact of social sciences and humanities. Further, existing research on animal-based foods within these disciplines is largely dispersed and focused on particular parts of food systems. Inspired by the ‘Sutherland Method’ this paper discusses the results of an iterative research prioritisation process carried out to enhance capacity, mutual understanding and impact amongst European social sciences and humanities researchers. The process produced 15 research questions from an initial list of 100 and classified under the following five themes: (1) debating and visioning food from animals; (2) transforming agricultural spaces; (3) framing animals as food; (4) eating practices and identities; and (5) governing transitions beyond animal-based food systems. These themes provide an important means of making connections between research questions that invite and steer research on key challenges in moving beyond animal-based food systems. The themes also propose loci for future transdisciplinary research programmes that join researchers from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and stakeholders from beyond academia to develop cooperative research and implementation initiatives. The experiences gained from the prioritisation process draw attention to the value of spending time to discuss and collaboratively steer research enquiry into emergent and controversial matters of concern. Fundamental, ethical questions around the continuation or complete cessation of the use of animals for food was a key tension. The positioning of research towards these questions affects not only the framing of the research area but also the partners with whom the research can be carried out and for whom it may be of benefit.

Kestävyyden näkökulma ohjaa yhä vahvemmin koulujen toimintaa, ja on laajalti jaettu näkemys, että opetuksen tulisi edistää oppilaiden kestävyysosaamista. Ruokakasvatuksen kestävyyttä on aikaisemmin tutkittu kotitalousopettajien kestävyysasenteiden, ruokahävikkiin suhtautumisen sekä kestävyysopetuksen esteiden ja mahdollisuuksien näkökulmista. Vähemmälle huomiolle on jäänyt se, miten kotitalousopettajat toteuttavat sisällöllisesti kestävää ruokakasvatusta kotitaloustunneilla. Tutkimme kotitalouden kestävyysopetusta kyselyllä (n = 153), joka sisälsi myös avokysymyksen (n = 107) ympäristön huomioimisesta opetuksessa ruoan avulla. Määrällisen ja laadullisen analyysin tulosten mukaan opettajat suosivat kasviksia ja kasviproteiineja, pyrkivät vähentämään lihan käyttöä kotitalouden tunneilla ja kiinnittävät huomiota ruokahävikkiin sekä veden ja energian säästämiseen. Lihansyönti on kuitenkin sukupuolittunut käytäntö, mikä luo jännitettä oppilaiden ja opettajien välille. Hävikkikasvatuksella edistetään oppilaiden ympäristökansalaisuutta erilaisten toimijuutta tukevien opetusmenetelmien avulla. Tulokset osoittavat myös, että opettajien henkilökohtainen sitoutuminen kestävyyteen on yhteydessä siihen liittyvien teemojen opetukseen. Tutkimuksen johtopäätös on, että perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelmatyössä kotitalousopetusta koskien on painotettava nykyistä enemmän kestävyyskasvatusta edistävää pedagogiaa sekä kestävän syömisen sisältöjä. “The whole cooking process is full of climate action!” Home economics teachers' views on sustainable food education in basic education Abstract Sustainability is increasingly steering the activities of schools, and there is a widely shared view that basic education should promote pupils' sustainability skills. Prior studies on sustainable food education have focused on home economics teachers' sustainability attitudes and views on food waste as well as the obstacles and opportunities related to sustainability education. However, the way in which home economics teachers carry out sustainable food education in practice in their home economics lessons has received less attention. We explored sustainability education among Finnish home economics teachers through a questionnaire (n = 153), which also included an open-ended question (n = 107) about how they use food in their teaching on environmental issues. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis showed that teachers favoured vegetables and plant proteins and aimed to reduce the use of meat in their lessons. They also paid attention to reducing food waste as well as saving water and energy. However, eating meat is a gendered practice that creates tensions between pupils and teachers. Food waste education promotes pupils' environmental citizenship through a variety of teaching methods that support their agency. Further, the results show that teachers' personal commitment to sustainability is linked to their teaching of sustainability-related themes. The study concludes that the Basic National Core Curriculum (NFBE) for home economics education needs to place more emphasis on pedagogy that promotes sustainability education and sustainable eating (e.g. the climate impact of food ingredients). Keywords: home economics education, sustainability, food education, basic education

This article analyses cooking videos recorded at home by means of the practice-theoretical approach. It employs two conceptualisations of the elements of practice that have stood out in recent applications of practice theories in sociological consumption and food studies. The first conceptualisation comprises understandings, procedures and engagements and the second materials, competences and meanings. To study cooking as a situationally performed mundane practice, auto-ethnographical videos of cooking were filmed using the first author’s family. To analyse the practice of cooking as a composition of doings and sayings, the videos were coded with a video analysis program, Interact, into visual charts, and the discussions related to cooking performances were transcribed. The analysis suggests that the cooking practice involves interplay among the elements of the two conceptualisations: procedures join materials with competences, engagements link competences with meanings and understandings connect meanings with materials. This is visualised as a triangle in which understandings, procedures and engagements represent the sides of the triangle between the apexes of materials, competences and meanings. By combining an auto-ethnographical perspective with a video method and by analysing the practice of cooking as a situational and embodied performance, the study contributes to the current understanding of the elements of practice and introduces a novel empirical application of practice theory.

Introducing the sociology of food & eating / Anne Murcott. London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.

This paper analyzes the blurring boundaries between food and art in the West by examining the contemporary field of upmarket dining. The study adopts a practice theoretical view, conceptualizes artful dining as a large-scale cultural formation (?teleoaffective formation?), and explores the configurations of artful dining in the context of New Nordic Upmarket Bistros (NNUBs). Based on blog texts, chef interview and participant observation at a Finnish NNUB, the study demonstrates how the local restaurant enthusiasts adopted and adjusted artful dining in a specific, ?everyday? context of upmarket dining. The study presents dining at NNUBs as one of the many practices that have substantially expanded the art-oriented dining ideals beyond modernist cuisine. It discusses artful dining within the contemporary (gourmet) food culture and encourages further diversification of approaches in studies examining artful dining and the intersection of food and art.

In recent years, there has been an increased mobilization around veganism and plant-based diets. This chapter analyzes this mobilization, the evolution of the images and practices of vegan eating, and associated kinds of political consumerism. The chapter demonstrates how vegan eating takes place as an assemblage of several actors and platforms, such as consciousness-raising campaigns, vegan bloggers, pledges and festivals, and new vegan foods marketed as “cool” and suitable for everyone. The concepts of boycott and buycott are too narrow to adequately describe veganism as political consumerism. Instead, discursive and lifestyle political consumerism and their interplay characterize the current building of new images and communities. The internet and social media have a central role in shaping the cultural contents of the “veggie trend.” Moreover, vegan eating is not always inspired by other-oriented motives but also by self-regarding motives, such as health, pleasure, and distinction.

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0016718519303148?token=80EA642832BB09888559F75CAF0575341032ACE19ABD370D1F5ADB51E57A51F3235D6640AFF497520E856DD4A16D936F In the current debates on sustainability of food edible insects have been suggested as one alternative source of protein that could respond to the urgent need to decrease global meat consumption. However, in many countries rearing of insects for human food has been restrained by regulatory measures, such as the EU Novel Foods Regulation. This paper analyses the emergence of the edible insect arena in Finland. In spite of the official compliance to the existing EU regulations, a lively startup scene has grown around edible insect production since 2014. The analysis is based on interviews of the central actors of the insect scene and media data. The performances of actors, such as producers, retailers, authorities, researchers, newspaper articles, insects, regulations, and technologies, constituted a network connecting different geographical locations on a common arena of development. The emergence of an innovative arena is shown to be a result of conflicts and negotiations, resumed in three strategies used by the network-builders in order to normalize a forbidden product: media promotion, trials, and consumption. These strategies gathered actors and networks around an ‘active obstacle’, formed by the authorities’ interpretation of the EU law, which, as we argue, has influenced the dynamics of the arena in its formative stage. Implications for the debates concerning technological transitions are discussed.

The concept of weight management has gained currency in present political and social discourses on weight and health, organizing the various efforts to fight obesity and to assist individuals in controlling their weight. In this paper, we ask whether weight management is becoming rooted also in the everyday life of individuals. Adopting a practice-theoretical approach we study whether weight management constitutes an intelligible and distinct entity to people problematizing their weight. By analysing data generated by focus group discussions with Finnish consumers we investigate the ways in which people understand the concept of weight management, what kinds of techniques they use in order to manage their weight, and what kind of emotional and normative positions they take with respect to weight management. We analyse weight management in relation to eating, but acknowledge the role of another practices, such as exercising. We conclude that weight management is not a clearly defined entity, but located at the intersection of more established practices, healthy eating and slimming. We end our article by discussing the policy-implications of our findings.

Building on the theoretical framework provided by sociological research on eating practices, family meals, self‐cooked meals and time use, this study examines national differences and similarities in the use of convenience food in Northern Europe. The study draws on two quantitative sets of data, the primary data set (N = 8248) collected in 2012 in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and the complementary data set (N = 800) collected in St. Petersburg area in 2013. In general, consumers’ attitudes towards convenience food were negative. Time saving was an important motivator for convenience consumption in all countries. The effects of other attitudes were diffuse and factors such as low cost, health effects, and taste of convenience food, affected convenience consumption differently in different countries. In the four Nordic countries women used less convenience food than men. In Finland and in Norway older respondents used convenience food less often than the young. Generally, the use of convenience food was most frequent among those living alone. The effects of education and occupation were small, implying that the phase of life is more important than social stratification in explaining convenience food consumption. In the St. Petersburg data, there were no differences related to social background.

This chapter focuses on the complexities and contexts of a proper meal by analyzing its contents, ingredients, and commensality. The starting point is that meals matter because in addition to offering substance, meals are symbols, rituals, arenas for commensality, and markers of both similarities and differences. Everyday patterns of eating are embedded and intertwined in the cultural, social, and economic contexts and conditions of societies. First, the chapter introduces various definitions of proper meals. Second, based on Nordic data, it analyzes what elements are regarded as essential in a proper meal before exploring why sharing a meal with other people is important. Finally, the chapter ponders how the idea of properness of eating is changing.

Aikaisemman tutkimuksen perusteella kotimaisen ruoan arvostus on noussut 2000-luvun kuluessa ja on hinnan, maun ja terveellisyyden ohella kuluttajille tärkeä tekijä ruokaa koskevissa valinnoissa. Kuluttajat liittävät alkuperään laatuun, turvallisuuteen, eläinten hyvinvointiin ja taloudellisiin olosuhteisiin liittyviä merkityksiä. Tässä artikkelissa tarkastelemme, missä määrin kuluttajat arvostavat kotimaista ruokaa, missä tuoteryhmissä ja mistä syistä. Tutkimus perustuu vuonna 2014 kerättyyn väestöä edustavaan internet-pohjaiseen kuluttajakyselyyn (N=1021), joka kerättiin osana Ruokamarkkinoiden toimivuus ja elintarvikemarkkinoiden hinnanmuodostus -hanketta (2013–2016). Tarkastelemme kuluttajien asenteita liittyen elintarvikkeiden kotimaisuuteen ja selvitämme, miten eri tuoteryhmät eroavat toisistaan siinä, missä määrin kuluttajat suosivat kotimaisia ja ulkomaisia tuotteita. Lisäksi tutkimme varianssianalyysia (ANOVA) käyttäen sukupuolen, iän, elämänvaiheen, asuinpaikan ja koulutuksen sekä syömistä koskevien motivaatiotekijöiden, kuten ruoan edullisuuden ja valmistuksen paikallisuuden, merkitystä kotimaisen ja ulkomaisen ruoan valinnassa. Tulosten mukaan jopa 87% vastaajista ilmoitti ostavansa kotimaista ruokaa hyvin mielellään ja 11% melko mielellään. Yli yhdeksän kymmenestä vastaajasta oli täysin tai melko samaa mieltä siitä, että kotimaista ruokaa ostamalla voi tukea Suomen taloutta, että kotimaista elintarviketuotantoa tarvitaan huoltovarmuuden ylläpitämiseksi kriisitilanteissa ja että suomalaisen ruokakulttuurin ylläpitäminen edellyttää kotimaista ruoantuotantoa. Lähes yhtä moni uskoi, että kotimaista ruokaa kannattaa suosia ympäristösyistä. Kotimaisen ja ulkomaisen ruoan suosiminen vaihteli eri tuoteryhmissä. Vastaajat ilmoittivat ostavansa kotimaisia vaihtoehtoja erityisesti tuoretuotteissa, kuten maidossa, jogurtissa, leivässä, lihassa ja lihatuotteissa, mutta myös margariinissa ja esimerkiksi hiutaleissa. Esimerkiksi hedelmissä, makeisissa ja kekseissä ostettiin usein myös ulkomaisia tuotteita. Valintojen analyysissa löydettiin sosiodemografisten taustatekijöiden perusteella joitakin eroja. Varsinkin yli 60-vuotiaille kuluttajille kotimaisuudella oli suuri merkitys ruoan valinnassa. Samoin naiset, pariskunnat ja pienillä paikkakunnilla asuvat painottivat ruokavalinnoissaan muita enemmän kotimaisuutta. Kotimaista ostavat arvostivat muita enemmän tuotteiden tuttuutta, paikallisuutta, ympäristöystävällisyyttä ja sitä, ettei tuotannossa ole käytetty geenitekniikkaa. Tulokset kertovat, että suomalaiset kuluttajat suosivat kotimaista ruokaa niin asenteellisella kuin valintojen tasolla. Sosioekonomiset erot kertovat siitä, että kotimaisen ja ulkomaisen ruoan arvostus voi olla muuttumassa, sillä nuoret ja kaupungeissa asuvat suhtautuvat ulkomaiseen ruokaan muita myönteisemmin. Non

In recent years studies on cultural consumption have experienced a Bourdieusian renaissance. This is indicated by a growing body of research analysing distinctions in different areas of culture, and numerous studies on the homology thesis applying the concepts of distinction, field and capital. Concurrently, however, it has been argued that instead of distinctive tastes, distinction and class status are increasingly manifested by cultural omnivorousness. For a good part studies focussing on distinction in food have analysed eating out and stylization through restaurant preferences, rather than everyday food choices. In this article we investigate everyday food choices from the perspective of distinction and omnivorousness. Our analysis draws on cross-sectional quantitative data collected in 2012 among 15-64-year-old Finns (N = 2601). The article maps out the relationship between food choice frequencies, dispositions and social background with Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). The results show that the consumption of fruit and vegetables, ready-meals and convenience foods were among the most divisive food choices. The first structuring dimension juxtaposed processed, fatty and sugared foods with unprocessed foods and fresh ingredients. This dimension was associated with healthiness and weight control as dispositions. On the second structuring dimension there were differences in the valuation of taste, pleasure and sociability, and a contrast between moderate and restrictive choices. Particularly the first dimension was associated with educational, occupational, and gender differences. Distinction within everyday food choices was manifested in the use of healthy and unprocessed foods and 'moderate hedonism' in contrast to more restrictive tastes.

Dietary fat has long been a target of several Finnish policy sectors with conflicting interests. Changes in fat use from animal to vegetable fats have often been characterized as “a public policy success story”, in which policy interventions have led to healthier diets. The aim of this paper is to elaborate the picture of the developments in the consumption of different fat products, and to explore whether and what kind of other developments there may have been besides the general change from animal to vegetable fats. Based on population statistics between 1978 and 2014, the study shows that instead of a uniform transformation from animal to vegetable fats, there have been multiple developments simultaneously, and not all of them unambiguously agree with the "success story" discourse. The changes were related to novel fat products, health policy interventions, cultural trends, public debates on dietary fats, and fad diets.

This article examines sustainable food consumption in the Nordic context, studying to what extent people in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have food consumption patterns that are in the current discourse promoted as sustainability enhancing. The article analyses the association of sustainable food consumption to attitudinal support for environmental policy measures, interest in cooking, and healthy eating practices as well as sociodemographic background factors. The comparison of four countries enables an analysis of the importance of the national context in sustainable food consumption. The study is based on data from a 2012 Nordic Web survey (N = 8248). The results show that carrying out sustainable activities was not very widespread. Buying local food was the most popular, eating meat less often the most unpopular sustainable activity. The level of participation in sustainable practices varied across the four countries. Swedish respondents were the overall most active, Norwegians the least. However, results from analysis of variance (anova) indicated that the individual explanatory factors of sustainable food consumption were relatively similar in the four countries. Healthy eating patterns, interest in cooking, and supporting environmental policy measures were all positively correlated to sustainable food consumption. Women and the elderly were more active in sustainable practices than were men and the young. Education and occupational position played a role, too, but their effect was not totally systematic across countries. The findings suggest that sustainable food consumption is not a strongly socially stratified phenomenon, but it is related to other practices of eating regarded as “proper,” such as interest in cooking and healthy eating. Broader and more inclusive policies are needed to better engage people in sustainable activities.

Growing concern over the environmental impacts and other credence characteristics of food has resulted in increasing interest in the quality attributes of meat products in Finland. The aim of this study was to provide information on the relative preferences of consumers for minced meat attributes. Using a choice experiment, we examined whether the meat type, method of production, fat content, price and presence of carbon footprint information have an impact on consumer choice. A low fat content was found to have a particularly positive effect on the choice of a minced meat product. The carbon footprint information had a significant impact on the meat type-specific consumer preferences: the popularity of beef products decreased and of pork products increased when the footprint information was presented to the consumers. Six heterogeneous consumer classes were identified with latent class analysis: price-conscious (23% of the respondents), fat content-conscious (23%), ideological but passive (17%), content with conventional (14%), beef-preferring (12%) and method of production -conscious consumers (11%). Consumers were generally willing to pay more for a low fat content, but the relative willingness to pay estimates were largely dependent on the consumer groups: premiums for organic and animal welfare-oriented production methods also existed. These attributes could thus represent good means for differentiating minced meat products. The impact of carbon footprint information on the willingness to pay estimates was relatively low.

This article examines everyday ideals of eating for weight management as described by middle-aged and elderly Finns with varying experiences of managing their weight. The paper draws on the theoretical approach of appropriation and looks at the meanings, understandings and use of foods for weight management in the context of the practices of eating. The article is based on an analysis of eight focus group discussions with 68 people (47 women, 21 men, aged between 38 and 77) conducted in Helsinki in autumn 2009. The findings of the study suggest that lay understandings of foods suitable for weight management rest not only on simple measures such as energy, fat and sugar, but also on a complex set of generalised food ideals. These include a conflict between foods described as natural against artificial, moral judgements of the necessity of foods designed for weight management, and the overall emphasis on moderation as a basic ideal. The results indicate that people employ two perspectives in assessing foods suitable for weight management: in the context of the whole of diet the products are dismissed as unnecessary, but in specific situations they can replace ‘normal’ products if the latter are deemed more harmful.

This article examines the lay appropriation of so-called functional foods that are marketed to enhance health and well-being and/or to reduce the risk of disease. Previous research has shown that consumers are skeptical of functional foods and inclined to contrast them with natural and non-technological foods. We argue that taking into account the hybrid nature of functional foods at the borderline between food and medicine provides a useful starting point for an analysis of lay appropriation, i.e. understanding and adoption of the new products. We first present results from earlier studies on lay conceptions of healthy eating and of medicines, and then analyze the role of these in the lay appropriation of functional foods. In this analysis, we make use of findings from both our own studies and those of other researchers, and give consumers a voice by presenting quotations from a qualitative study carried out in Finland in 2004. We claim that the food–medicine dichotomy can in many respects explai...

To better understand the conditions for increasing plant protein consumption globally and in particular in those food cultures in which plant proteins are a less culturally embedded part of the cuisine, this chapter examines the barriers to a transition to more plant-based diets. Here, barriers refer to both individual and structural issues that make it difficult for people to increase their use of plant proteins and to decrease that of meat and dairy products. The chapter reviews the current meat and pulse consumption trends in Western countries, the intentions that consumers already have for changing their diets to include less meat, and the different kinds of barriers to increasing the use of plant proteins. In the final section, potential solutions are discussed, and future directions are outlined for food research and policies aiming at enhancing plant protein consumption in Western food cultures.

Kasvanut huolestuneisuus muun muassa ruoan ympäristö- ja terveysvaikutuksista on lisännyt kuluttajien kiinnostusta elintarvikkeiden tuotantomenetelmistä ja muista ominaisuuksista. Aiempien tutkimusten mukaan erityisesti ruoan turvallisuus, luonnonmukainen tuotanto, eläinystävällisyys ja kotimaisuus ovat olleet toivottuja piirteitä lihatuotteilla. Useat tutkimukset ovat korostaneet kuluttajien heterogeenisuuden huomioimisen tärkeyttä, mutta hiilijalanjälkitiedon vaikutusta kuluttajien lihatuotteiden valintaan ei tietääksemme ole tutkittu. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus on tuottaa tietoa kuluttajien suhteellisista preferensseistä jauhelihatuotteiden ominaisuuksien suhteen, eli paljastaa mitkä tuoteominaisuudet luovat heille eniten lisäarvoa. Tutkimme ensinnäkin vaikuttavatko lihalaji (sika, sika-nauta ja nauta), tuotantotapa (tavanomainen, luonnonmukainen, eläinystävällinen ja tuoteturvallisuuteen ja terveyteen panostava), rasvaprosentti ja hiilijalanjälkitieto kuluttajien valintoihin ja onko näillä tuoteominaisuuksilla yhteisvaikutuksia kuluttajan valintatodennäköisyyteen. Toisekseen tutkimme löytyykö kuluttajista preferenssiensä suhteen toisistaan poikkeavia ryhmiä ja miten nämä ryhmät eroavat toisistaan vastaajien taustatietojen (sosio-demografiat, kulutustottumukset, asenteet) perusteella. Viimeisenä tutkimme kuinka paljon ominaisuudet vaikuttavat kuluttajan halukkuuteen maksaa erilaisista tuotteista ja kuinka maksuhalukkuus poikkeaa ryhmien välillä. Kuluttajien suhteellisia preferenssejä mitattiin valintakokeella. Aineisto kerättiin internet-pohjaisella kyselylomakkeella, johon vastasi 1623 suomalaista. Valintoja mallinnettiin ehdollisella logistisella regressiolla (conditional logit model) ja kuluttajien heterogeenisuus huomioitiin käyttämällä latenttia luokkamallia (latent class model). Matalalla rasvaprosentilla oli erityisen positiivinen vaikutus kuluttajien valintaan. Tuotantomenetelmistä luonnonmukaisella tuotannolla oli suurin positiivinen vaikutus verrattuna eläinystävälliseen, turvallisuuteen ja terveyteen panostavaan ja tavanomaiseen tuotantoon. Naudan jauhelihaa suosittiin enemmän kuin sika-naudan tai sian jauhelihaa. Naudan jauhelihalla on suurempi hiilijalanjälki kuin sian jauhelihalla, ja tämän hiilijalanjälkitiedon mainitsemisella oli selvä vaikutus lihatyypin valintaan: naudan jauhelihan suhteellinen suosittuus pieneni hiilijalanjäljen koon mainitsemisen yhteydessä. Analyysissa paljastui kuusi toisistaan eroavaa kuluttajaluokkaa: hintatietoinen (23% vastaajista), rasvaprosenttitietoinen (20%), tiedostava mutta passiivinen (17%), indifferentti (17%), naudanlihaa arvostava (13%) ja tuotantotapatietoinen (11%) kuluttajaryhmä. Kuluttajat olivat valmiita maksamaan erityisesti matalasta rasvaprosentista, mutta heidän maksuhalukkuutensa lihasta ei muuttunut suuresti hiilijalanjälkitiedon mainitsemisen vuoksi. Suhteellinen maksuhalukkuus vaihteli kuitenkin huomattavasti kuluttajasegmenttien välillä.

A transition towards more sustainable food consumption requires changes in everyday eating patterns, particularly a substitution of animal protein with plant-based protein sources. However, in many European countries plant protein consumption is low compared to meat consumption. The article explores plant protein consumption frequencies, future intentions to increase bean consumption, and the associations of frequent bean eating with socioeconomic factors and bean-related meanings, material issues and competence. A population web-based survey was conducted in 2013 among 15–64-year-old Finns (n = 1048). The results showed that beans and soy-based plant proteins were infrequently consumed. A fifth of the respondents intended to increase their bean consumption in the future, intention being the greatest among those who already included beans in their diets. Frequent bean consumption was most likely among persons aged 25–34, living around the capital district, with education higher than comprehensive or vocational school, and who were vegetarian. Perceiving beans as culturally acceptable and good-tasting, and having competence in preparing bean meals were positively associated with the frequent eating of beans. The results suggest that for plant proteins to replace meat, new meanings and competences related to preparing and eating pulse-based dishes are needed. Based on our results, we build alternative future scenarios for plant protein consumption and the related requirements for changes. Several actor groups, such as NGOs, politicians, celebrity chefs and teachers of home economics have a central role in the developments.

PurposeConsumers are sometimes unexpectedly resistant toward radically innovative product concepts, and it is often argued that this is due to their difficulties in understanding the novel products. Thus, marketing research has focused on new ways to make consumers familiar with new product concepts. The purpose of this study is to present the argument that educating consumers may not solve all problems, and may sometimes even address the wrong question.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' previous research on consumer responses to new product concepts for the purchasing and consumption of food is drawn upon to explore the reasons for consumers' acceptance of and resistance to radical product innovations.FindingsIgnorance about radical product concepts is not the sole reason for consumers' resistance to novelties. In many cases, consumers understand the product concepts fairly well. Their lack of enthusiasm stems from other reasons, including the innovation's instrumentalism, its impact on consumers' autonomy, as well as its organizational complexity and systemic effects.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that companies introducing new product innovations may need to take consumers' resistance more seriously. They might need to reconsider the acceptability of new product innovations, and integrate these considerations at earlier stages of the innovation cycle. A more open‐ended approach to concept testing is suggested, encouraging users to evaluate concepts more critically. Concept testing should not be used as a pass/fail screen, but as an opportunity to learn more about potential impacts of the innovation on everyday life and society.Originality/valueThe paper reconsiders resistance to innovations, and demonstrates the value of consumer research for product development.

This study examines the slimming practice produced by Internet-based weight-loss services and their use. Drawing on theories of practice, the study analyses the script of use that is constructed by the services, and the meanings, materialities and competences that are enacted in their use. Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with women who were users of two Finnish online weight-loss services, the study concludes that the services transform food into quantitative depictions of calories and nutrition. They configure slimmers as calculative agents and slimming as a practice based on incessant recording and monitoring. For online slimmers, the services acted in the double role of a control device with a focus on calorie restriction, and a learning device used to develop a skill of healthy eating. In the latter role, online slimming was hoped to result in an internalisation of a lifestyle change that would make calculation and constant monitoring unnecessary and the services redundant for their users. The results suggest that for its practitioners, online slimming is temporary rather than long-standing, but it may and is expected to act as a mediary in establishing other practices related to healthy lifestyles.

How have eating patterns changed in modern life? In public and academic debate concern has been expressed that the social function of eating may be challenged by de-structuration and the dissolution of traditions. We analyzed changes in the social context and conduct of eating in four Nordic countries over the period 1997-2012. We focused on three interlinked processes often claimed to be distinctive of modern eating: delocalization of eating from private households to commercial settings, individualization in the form of more eating alone, and informalization, implying more casual codes of conduct. We based the analysis on data from two surveys conducted in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 1997 and 2012. The surveys reported in detail one day of eating in representative samples of adult populations in the four countries (N = 4823 and N = 8242). We compared data regarding where, with whom, and for how long people ate, and whether parallel activities took place while eating. While Nordic people's primary location for eating remained the home and the workplace, the practices of eating in haste, and while watching television increased and using tablets, computers and smartphones while eating was frequent in 2012. Propensity to eat alone increased slightly in Denmark and Norway, and decreased slightly in Sweden. While such practices vary with socio-economic background, regression analysis showed several changes were common across the Nordic populations. However, the new practice of using tablets, computers, and smartphones while eating was strongly associated with young age. Further, each of the practices appeared to be related to different types of meal. We conclude that while the changes in the social organization of eating were not dramatic, signs of individualization and informalization could be detected.

A better understanding of the motives underlying the adoption of sustainable and healthy diets is needed for designing more effective policies. The aim of the study was to examine how eating motives were associated with self-reported changes in the consumption of beef, beans, and soy products, i.e., changes related to reducing animal and increasing plant proteins. The study analysed a survey of an adult population living in Finland (N = 1048). The eating motives were measured with the Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS), which distinguishes between 15 eating motives. Six clusters of consumers based on self-reported changes in food choices were identified with latent class analysis (LCA). Four clusters had established food consumption patterns ("Beef only", "Beef and beans", "Beef, beans, and soy products", and "No beef"), one was undergoing a change, and one had attempted a change earlier. ANOVA with planned contrasts revealed that the motives relating to natural concerns, health, and weight control were higher, and convenience and price lower, among those who had an established diet including beans and soy products, as compared to those who consumed only beef. Those undergoing a dietary change expressed a higher endorsement of natural concerns as well as health, sociability, social image, and price motives than those with an established diet including beans and soy products. The results suggest that eating motives play an important role in changing towards more sustainable food consumption patterns in which meat/beef is replaced with plant proteins.

Background: Healthy eating has a social pattern, with women and those in high socioeconomic positions most likely to follow dietary guidelines. However, little is known about the association of sociodemographic and health factors with the use of health-promoting functional foods. Objective: The study examined the use of functional foods in Finland. Four widely used product types were examined in detail with respect to sociodemographic factors and personal efforts to promote health. Design: Data were obtained by computer-assisted telephone interviews of 1210 respondents representing the Finnish population above 15 years of age. Logistic regression analysis was applied to analyse the predictors of use of functional foods. Results: Sociodemographic variables were associated with the use of functional foods. The role of gender and age varied. In most cases, high education or high occupational position predicted use. Use was also associated with viewing healthy eating as important and consuming other functional foods. Efforts to lower cholesterol levels predicted the use of cholesterol-lowering spreads. Conclusions: Both sociodemographic factors and personal health efforts play a role in the adoption of functional foods. High socioeconomic position predicts use, whereas age and gender remain product specific. An important aspect is the connection of functional foods with efforts to lead a healthy life. For healthorientated consumers, functional foods may represent a complementary health practice. Keywords: consumers; eating; functional foods; health; sociodemographics