Link to Session Platform

Chairs(s):

Arve Hansen, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo

; Sophia Efstathiou, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Description:

The significant ecological footprint of global meat production makes the possibility of reducing high levels of meat consumption, particularly in affluent societies, a central means of mitigating some of the adverse effects of environmental destruction and climate change. Issues surrounding resource use and environmental degradation, coupled with animal welfare and animal and human health place meat at the core of global unsustainability. This session focuses on dynamics of meatigation, referring to transforming meat-use in food practices with the goal of mitigating climate change and harm to animals and the environment . Approaches to meatigation may include the reduction of meat in one’s diet, replacing animal-based proteins with plant-based or insect-based ones in food production, or refining the use of meat to match nutritional needs versus wants.

Research suggests that changing the role of meat in consumers’ diets is vital in delivering environmental benefits on a scale not achievable by producers. However, reducing meat consumption is a challenging endeavor, facing significant social and cultural barriers. Even when positive to climate action, people tend to be reluctant to reduce their meat consumption. The demand for animal protein is high. Especially in the global North and West meat takes “center plate” in everyday food practices while cultural practices, landscapes and identities are linked to what is perceived as a long tradition of animal farming. Meat is thus a contested issue politically and involves strong economic and cultural interests. Moreover, while the market for plant-based alternatives is growing, meat is still a dominant foodstuff in the foodscapes most consumers encounter in daily life. Through everyday food provisioning and eating practices, consumers are entwined with these political and social geographies of meat production and now of meatigation. Meat thus appears as a particularly stubborn domain of food consumption.

This session explores the tensions between meat production, meat consumption and meat reduction, as well as potentials for transitioning towards more sustainable food systems, mainly through the case of Norway. As a country that over recent decades has seen a dramatic increase in meat consumption, and where meat reduction is both highly contested and increasing in popularity, Norway provides an interesting case for understanding the challenges of meat reduction in mature capitalist societies. The session consists of papers presenting and analysing preliminary findings from the interdisciplinary research project MEATigation: Towards sustainable meat-use in Norwegian food practices for climate mitigation. The papers explore the complexities of meat reduction through studying the embeddedness of meat in contemporary foodscapes and practices, as well as in perceived culinary histories. Furthermore, the papers discuss the potentialities in meat replacements and the role of biotechnology in changing the meaning of meat itself.

Non-Presenting Participants Agenda