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Research

Food Sociology at the University of Giessen researches and explains individual and collective actions in the context of institutional structures and processes of the food system. The special focus is on multi-dimensional dynamics of social practices and forms of political organisation towards the transformation to more sustainable food systems. The research is based on sociological perspectives, but often works inter- and transdisciplinary and empirically with a variety of social science approaches, concepts and methods.

Food Sociology at the University of Giessen researchers sustainable food systems with particular focus on two areas and fields of interest:

 

1. Food practices and food cultures

Our research in Food Sociology on sustainable food systems often takes eating and food cultures as a starting point, as these refer to social contexts. We use cultural sociological approaches to understand how world views, beliefs, cultural affiliations and social structures influence dietary practices.

In recent years, theories of social practices have provided important insights into routines and habits, such as the implicit structures of meaning and the performativity of eating styles. One example of this is the staging of protein supply as something special in social media. However, the role of physicality and gender in shaping nutrition as a social practice, which is closely interwoven with other social and structural factors, is also of particular interest.

 

Selected publications

  • T Diewald, J Yildiz & S Wahlen (im Erscheinen) Exploring transgender transition and food socialization. Food, Culture and Society, online first  https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2024.2329431
  • F Forno, M Laamanen, S Wahlen (2022) (Un-) sustainable transformations: everyday food practices in Italy during COVID-19. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy 18 (1), 201-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2022.2037341 (open access)
  • M Plessz & S Wahlen (2022) All practices are shared, but some more than others: Sharedness of social practices and time-use in food consumption. Journal of Consumer Culture, 22(1):143-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540520907146

 

2. Socio-political organisation of food provisioning and consumption

Research at the Chair of Food Sociology examines the institutions, organisations and policies that influence sustainable food systems. Different actors and interest groups influence daily nutrition in different ways. Nutrition is a complex and multi-layered phenomenon that must be considered at different levels: local, regional, national and global. At these levels, there are different food supply regimes that are often shaped by globalised and industrialised agri-food industries. At the same time, there are local and community initiatives such as community gardens, solidarity agriculture and food councils.

Community initiatives seek, for example, to promote direct interactions between producers and consumers and to address the opportunities and challenges of promoting health and sustainability. A key question in this context is the role of diversity in alternative food systems: How can diversity in food systems be described and what contribution do diverse actors and diets make to more sustainable development? We are currently investigating these questions as part of the European research project FOOdIVERSE.


Selected publications

 

Contact

Prof. Dr. Stefan Wahlen

Senckenbergstr. 3

35390 Gießen, Germany