What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation

There is increasing recognition that sustainable diets need to be ‘culturally appropriate’. In relation to food consumption, however, it is often unclear what cultural appropriateness–or related terms, such as cultural or social acceptability–actually means. Often these terms go undefined, and where...

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Main Authors: House, Jonas, Brons, Anke, Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid, van der Horst, Hilje
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155247
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author House, Jonas
Brons, Anke
Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid
van der Horst, Hilje
author_browse Brons, Anke
House, Jonas
Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid
van der Horst, Hilje
author_facet House, Jonas
Brons, Anke
Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid
van der Horst, Hilje
author_sort House, Jonas
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description There is increasing recognition that sustainable diets need to be ‘culturally appropriate’. In relation to food consumption, however, it is often unclear what cultural appropriateness–or related terms, such as cultural or social acceptability–actually means. Often these terms go undefined, and where definitions are present, they vary widely. Based on a systematic literature review this paper explores how cultural appropriateness of food consumption is conceptualised across different research literatures, identifying six main themes in how cultural appropriateness is understood and applied. The paper then critically analyses these themes in relation to sustainable food system transformation. We explore how the themes conceptualise change, finding that cultural appropriateness is viewed in two main ways: either as a relatively static obstacle to be overcome, or as a dynamic and negotiated process. Both perspectives, we argue, entail different scientific, practical and political effects. Each perspective offers particular affordances for understanding and governing sustainable food system transition, although between perspectives there is likely to be a trade-off between theoretical sophistication and practical operationalizability. Based on this analysis we argue that researchers, policymakers and practitioners should be explicit about their commitment to a particular understanding of cultural appropriateness, as this will have implications for scientific and societal applications of their work. This is particularly the case, we suggest, in relation to the transdisciplinary collaborations necessary to effectively address the ‘wicked problem’ of food system sustainability. We conclude by offering a tentative general definition of cultural appropriateness as it relates to food consumption.
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spelling CGSpace1552472025-12-08T09:54:28Z What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation House, Jonas Brons, Anke Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid van der Horst, Hilje sustainability diet food consumption cultural behaviour food systems There is increasing recognition that sustainable diets need to be ‘culturally appropriate’. In relation to food consumption, however, it is often unclear what cultural appropriateness–or related terms, such as cultural or social acceptability–actually means. Often these terms go undefined, and where definitions are present, they vary widely. Based on a systematic literature review this paper explores how cultural appropriateness of food consumption is conceptualised across different research literatures, identifying six main themes in how cultural appropriateness is understood and applied. The paper then critically analyses these themes in relation to sustainable food system transformation. We explore how the themes conceptualise change, finding that cultural appropriateness is viewed in two main ways: either as a relatively static obstacle to be overcome, or as a dynamic and negotiated process. Both perspectives, we argue, entail different scientific, practical and political effects. Each perspective offers particular affordances for understanding and governing sustainable food system transition, although between perspectives there is likely to be a trade-off between theoretical sophistication and practical operationalizability. Based on this analysis we argue that researchers, policymakers and practitioners should be explicit about their commitment to a particular understanding of cultural appropriateness, as this will have implications for scientific and societal applications of their work. This is particularly the case, we suggest, in relation to the transdisciplinary collaborations necessary to effectively address the ‘wicked problem’ of food system sustainability. We conclude by offering a tentative general definition of cultural appropriateness as it relates to food consumption. 2024-06 2024-10-08T13:42:50Z 2024-10-08T13:42:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155247 en Open Access Springer House, Jonas; Brons, Anke; Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid; and van der Horst, Hilje. 2024. What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation. Agriculture and Human Values 41: 863-882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-023-10515-6
spellingShingle sustainability
diet
food consumption
cultural behaviour
food systems
House, Jonas
Brons, Anke
Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid
van der Horst, Hilje
What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation
title What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation
title_full What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation
title_fullStr What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation
title_full_unstemmed What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation
title_short What is culturally appropriate food consumption? A systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation
title_sort what is culturally appropriate food consumption a systematic literature review exploring six conceptual themes and their implications for sustainable food system transformation
topic sustainability
diet
food consumption
cultural behaviour
food systems
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155247
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