Paper short abstract:

Shifting from animal-based to plant-based diets has been pinpointed as an effective way for people to combat climate change in their everyday lives. Can an idea of a better future for our grandchildren help us eat more vegetables?

Paper long abstract:

In Iceland, a three-year inter-disciplinary research project was launched in 2020, titled Sustainable Healthy Diets: Filling the Gaps and Paving the Way for a Sustainable Future. It brings together experts in food, nutrition and environmental sciences, engineering, agriculture, ethnology, and economy, to figure out how to facilitate a transition toward sustainable and healthy diets in Iceland.

How can such a change come about in a country where currently only 2% of the population live up to the official recommendations of daily vegetable intake? To explore the cultural aspects of such a shift, an ethnographic inquiry is being made into the food practices of people in Iceland who have already turned to diets considered to be more sustainable, such as vegans, flexitarians, and organic consumers. This paper will take a look at some of the initial empirical material, gathered through a qualitative questionnaire and in-depth interviews, specifically exploring the temporalities at play.

How and why have these people changed their eating habits? How does a perception of the future (in their own lifetime, as well as the more distant future of the next generations) play a part in achieving and maintaining new food practices? What promises do concepts such as 'health' and 'sustainability' hold for the future?