The long road to conscious consumption practices: The origin of food as key to raise awareness for sustainable local food in the Danish canteen: The origin of food as key to raise awareness for sustainable local food in the Danish canteen
Authors
Höfte, Matthijs Henricus Bernardus ; Rodriguez Pariza, Ines ; Ageitos Lantigua, Luis Jose
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-06-07
Pages
110
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan bevidste forbrugsvaner opstår i danske kantiner, med praksisteori som ramme til at forstå hverdagsrutiner. Vi bruger lokale fødevarer som et konkret eksempel på bæredygtigt, bevidst forbrug og introducerer en "design-ting"—en iterativ prototype, der skal skabe dialog blandt forbrugere og indirekte andre interessenter. En litteraturgennemgang gav overblik over kompleksiteten i fødevareforbrug og pegede på varers lokalitet som fokus. Tidligere forskning peger på, at køb af lokale fødevarer kan støtte den lokale økonomi, skabe social forbindelse mellem producent og forbruger og for nogle produkter reducere miljøpåvirkningen. Aktører som EU og FN efterspørger større gennemsigtighed, så forbrugere kan træffe oplyste valg; nyere EU-regler kræver for eksempel tydelig angivelse af hovedingrediensers oprindelse. For at forankre dette i praksis gennemførte vi interviews med cateringfagfolk samt observationer og spørgeskemaer i tre kantiner og kortlagde praksissen "at spise frokost i kantinen". Det afdækkede barrierer og muligheder for forandring inden for danske kantiners rammer. Herefter udviklede og afprøvede vi design-tingen i én konkret kantine. Med information om fødevarers oprindelse som afsæt faciliterede den samtaler mellem forbrugere og kantinen om lokalitet. Refleksioner over udviklingsprocessen og dokumenterede interaktioner viser, at tilgangen effektivt satte gang i drøftelser om, hvad man vil spise, og de miljømæssige konsekvenser af kantinemaden. En helhedsorienteret tilgang fungerede bedst: forbrugerne blev mere bevidste, når engagerende aktiviteter (som at medskabe en kantineopskrift) blev kombineret med klare, letforståelige mærkater om miljøpåvirkning.
This thesis examines how conscious consumer practices develop in Danish canteens, using practice theory to understand everyday routines. We focus on local food as a concrete example of sustainable, conscious consumption and introduce a "design thing"—an iterative prototype designed to spark dialogue among consumers and, indirectly, other stakeholders. A review of the literature helped map the complexity of food consumption and guided our focus on product locality. Prior research suggests that buying local can support the local economy, reconnect producers and consumers, and, for some products, lower environmental impact. Policy bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations call for greater transparency so consumers can make informed choices; recent EU rules, for example, require that the origin of main ingredients is clearly stated. To ground this in practice, we conducted interviews with catering professionals and carried out observations and questionnaires in three canteens, building an overview of the practice of eating lunch in the canteen. This revealed obstacles and opportunities for change within the constraints of Danish canteens. We then developed and tested the design thing in one canteen. Using information about food origin as the starting point, it facilitated conversations between consumers and the canteen about locality. Reflections on the design process and documented interactions indicate that the approach successfully initiated discussions about what people want to eat and the environmental implications of canteen food. A holistic setup worked best: consumers became more aware when engaging activities (such as co-creating a canteen recipe) were combined with clear, easy-to-understand labels about environmental impact.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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