Nordic Workshop on Everyday food consumption

‘Everyday food consumption and dilemmas of sustainability’, Nordic workshop in Helsinki, National Consumer Research Centre, June 12-13, 2008

The global consequences of environmental problems are increasingly recognised in both political agendas and in people’s everyday life. As food consumption forms a significant part of the environmental load of households, the sustainability of what we eat is becoming a topical question. In developed societies there is growing attention to political and ethical consumerism. Citizens are asked to take responsibility for environmental, social and ethical problems through their actions in the market.

This Nordic workshop discussed the complexity of sustainable food consumption from the point of view of consumers and their everyday life. The workshop considered both ecological, cultural and social sustainability of food consumption. In particular, we addressed the notion of consumer responsibility and analysed the interrelations between consumers, markets and other institutions in sustainable food consumption.

The workshop was organised in Helsinki by the National Consumer Research Centre NCRC together with Roskilde University (DK), National Institute for Consumer Research SIFO (NO), and Södertörn University College (SE).

Abstracts and presentations from the workshop

Programme and abstracts

PRESENTATIONS

Towards a sustainable regional food menu
Christine Hvitsand, Telemark Research Institute
Geir Lieblein, University of Life Sciences

Dealing with environmental challenges of food practices
Bente Halkier, Roskilde University, Denmark

Green Consumer Mobilization – A State Responsibility?
Ingrid Sælensminde, University of Bergen

Consumers and citizens perception of meat quality: The relative importance of environmental issues
Jesper Lassen, Department of Human Nutrition, Centre for Bioethics and Risk Assessment, University of Copenhagen

Envisioning sustainable food consumption in practices of everyday life
Johanna Mäkelä and Mari Niva, National Consumer Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland

Organic food as new luxury: A neglected perspective in the strive for sustainable food consumption
Per Østergaard, Department of Marketing & Management, University of Southern Denmark

Coupling of trends in food consumption and environmental impacts, aspects at regional, national and global scale
Sirpa Kurppa, MTT Agrifood research Finland, Ecology of Food Production

Change makers: Who are they?
Laura Terragni, Hanne Torjusen, Gunnar Vittersø, SIFO - National Institute for Consumer Research, Norway

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) – A practical Answer to some Dilemmas of Sustainability?
Maria Bjune: The Royal Norwegian Society for Development (Norges Vel)
Hanne Torjusen: National Institute for Consumption Research (Sifo)

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