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Short abstract:

Food that's good for you may not be good for me. Based on ethnographic research with neighbourhood initiatives in Amsterdam Southeast, this contribution invites joint exploration of what ‘good food’ may constitute (discursively, materially) and the actions and power dynamics associated therewith

Long abstract:

Transitions around food and its surrounding systems are a hot topic and widely presented as a necessary ground for change (Spaargaren et al., 2012; Béné et al., 2019; Fanzo et al., 2021). However, the direction and concepts on which such change is based differ greatly. Within my research in Amsterdam Southeast, often classified as a vulnerable neighbourhood with many low SES households (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2022; Dekker, 2011), I explore the plurality of different narratives surrounding (‘good’) food that figure therein and how these ideas contrast and/or live in tension with dominant policy norms. Where local policies are often direct towards nutritious and healthy eating, dieting, and controlling what you eat (see also Mol, 2013), Amsterdam Southeast showed me: candy can be healthy, meat can take care of your identity and how and where foodstuffs are produced can define their value. These very different ideas of what food can and should also be, lead to different priorities and hence actions regarding food transitions. Through various ethnographic methods I would like to further explore with you the meaning and different dimensions of ‘good food’. I bring along the stories and ‘data’ from my fieldwork (photo’s, film, sound, dishes, plants?), which we can work with and bring in contrast with existing dominant (governmental/Western) ideas on this topic.