Fridge stories. : How Swedish consumers qualify local food in everyday life

• Abstract. A growing group of Swedish consumers has become interested in local food. Various scholars and policymakers laud this development and consider the growing popularity of local food as a development towards a more sustainable food system. However, alongside its growing popularity, recent studies also problematise local food. They emphasise that local food lacks a generally accepted definition, thus inviting different connotations, such as sustainable, short-supply chain, small-scale. Studies also identify an uncritical usage of the concept that leaves unclear what local food and local-food practices entail. This study sets out to clarify what local-food practices are through answering the following question: How do people – interested in local food – source and value their food? Drawing on in-depth interviews, mapping exercises of food sourcing, and a discourse analysis, the study examines local-food choices of Swedish consumers. The central finding is it that though at discursive level consumers’ local-food ideas resemble each other, local-food practices differ widely. Local food is thus an open concept, harbouring many different practices. The study clarifies how consumers actively give meaning to local food and translate it into meaningful values influencing their food choice, a process that is here labelled as ’qualification’. The study furthermore demonstrates how social negotiation, identity work and the logistics of everyday life are key structuring elements in qualification processes of local food.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Övrig annan humaniora (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Other Humanities not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

local food

food practices

food discourse

everyday life

qualification

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)