Comparative eating practices in late modernity

 
 
 

PIs

Claudia Giacoman, P. Universidad Católica

Nicklas Neuman, Uppsala University

 
 

Participants

Anna Stubbendorff, Lund University

Gislaine Granfeldt, Universidad de Concepción

Yvonne Granfeldt, Lund University

Daniel Egaña, Universidad de Chile

María Jesús Vega, P. Universidad Católica

Eva Warensjö Lemming, Uppsala University

Francisca Santana, P. Universidad Católica

Jonas Bååth, Lund University

Cristóbal Quezada, P. Universidad Católica

 

Results

The aim of this workshop was to explore the food practices of Chileans and Swedes from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective to examine their state in late modernity characterized by significant social, environmental, and health crises.

Each day, researchers from both countries presented the results of empirical studies for their own studies, providing data and/or theoretical reflections to contrast food practices in Chile and Sweden.

The presentation and discussion was organized in three topics:

  • Cultural and historical aspects of food, social identity, social differentiation, politics, and social movements

  • Change and stability in meal routines and dietary intakes – focused on national dietary surveys, time-use analyses, and other forms of food-consumption data

  • Policy, production, and purchases of food in relation to health and environmental sustainability

The key consensus was as follows: There is agreement on the possible stability of eating practices in both countries (e.g., persistence of commensality). Food consumption shows different trends in both countries (e.g., Sweden is consuming less meat, while Chile has increased its relative consumption). These trends are linked to health problems in the population (e.g., obesity).

Structural factors are key in understanding both eating practices and food consumption: social stratification, food environments and cultural/material frameworks. More data is available in Sweden than in Chile, mainly longitudinal data. In both countries there is a clear social gradient in healthy diets, despite different levels of social stratification and food environments of socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods.