Embodied public experiments on sustainable eating: demonstrating alternative proteins in Finnish schools

Abstract

Reducing meat consumption has become a key concern in attempts to respond to climate change. We explore possibilities to empower collectives of people to reflect on their eating preferences by organizing protein demonstrations for Finnish students aged 10‒16. We analyze the protein demonstrations as public experiments – specific arenas allowing people to experience alternative foods and deliberate on sustainable eating. Video recordings of the demonstrations revealed two key interactive modes that were crucial in this undertaking. Tasting as an embodied form of interaction allowed the students to share their experiences about the foods while playful interactions created a more inclusive and informed setting for engagement. Unlike conventional public engagement methods, the protein demonstrations enabled participants to share their emotions and feelings and to express their doubts and concerns about the idea of sustainable eating. The project revealed tensions between visceral experiences and socially constructed ideas of eating that might otherwise remain unaddressed. The protein demonstrations were thus a means of systematically producing conditions that enabled the elements influencing dietary transition to be made visible and discussed. Addressing these elements is crucial in achieving long-term and internally motivated changes in unsustainable eating preferences.

Keywords

• sustainable diet
• food policy
• protein
• public experiment
• visceral experience