ERMeCC Lunch Seminar

Eating for the future: News media framing of sustainable food choices in Germany, USA and India 

Radhika Mittal (ESHCC), Michael Brüggemann (University of Hamburg) 

Food consumption patterns are a critical area of concern, given their contribution to accelerating climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. How societies perceive and consume food also has strong implications for food security, global health and natural resource management. News media play an important role in influencing public behaviour and driving social change. They popularise and legitimise consumption patterns and could contribute to the development of novel food trends to help drive global transformations. 

We examine leading newspapers in Germany, India and USA to fill the space for an up-to-date frame analysis on ‘food choice’, integrating a non-Western economy. An in-depth qualitative content analysis of 60 articles reveals Body and Health and Sustainable Living as salient master frames. Both, the liberal and conservative press go beyond mere acceptance of ‘alternative’ diets such as vegan, vegetarian and organic. They promote these food choices, highlighting health and environmental aspects, while calling for restraint in consuming animal foods. Newspapers also prominently feature reinvented traditional foods, and foods manufactured in the laboratory. The coverage of food choice is driven by the construction of ‘good’ taste, signalling an appetizing, rather than punishing, trend. Our analysis reveals a departure from the sceptical and oppositional news coverage characterizing sustainable diets in past studies. 

If you or someone you know would like to present their research, or if you have any questions about the seminar series, please feel free to contact Daniel Trottier (trottier@eshcc.eur.nl) or Laura Braden (Braden@eshcc.eur.nl).