Sustainable Consumption and Everyday Food Practices in Europe

Presenting contemporary case studies of everyday food practices, this book examines food habits and the ways they are evolving or resisting change.

The book draws on primary research with families, examining consumer practices and perceptions of food sustainability. It amplifies the voices of ordinary people, exploring how they experience and navigate everyday food practices. The concept of narrative provides a robust foundation for a dynamic and coherent conceptual approach while combining a social practice perspective which examines the interplay between routines, norms, ethics, and reflexivity with pragmatic sociology. This allows the analysis to follow food practices through adjustments and justifications. Focusing on food quality schemes as institutional tools for improving sustainable food systems, it includes diverse case studies from France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Serbia, the UK, as well as Sweden and Australia. Authors employ multi-method qualitative approaches to capture the interplay of discourses, practices, and materialities. The volume proposes research tools and methods for sustainable food, offering insights into how everyday food practices can contribute to socio-ecological food transitions.

This book will appeal to students, researchers, and policymakers interested in sustainable food systems and consumption, and their intersections with sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and sustainable development.