Mapping Sustainable Diets: A Comparison of Sustainability References in Dietary Guidelines of Swiss Food Governance Actors

Ronja Teschner, Jessica Ruppen, Basil Bornemann, Rony Emmenegger and Lucía Aguirre Sánchez
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Ronja Teschner: Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel, Riehenstrasse 154, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
Jessica Ruppen: Sustainability Research Group, Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 14/16, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Basil Bornemann: Sustainability Research Group, Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 14/16, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Rony Emmenegger: Sustainability Research Group, Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 14/16, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Lucía Aguirre Sánchez: Institute of Communication and Public Policy (ICPP), Università della Svizzera Italiana, Via G. Buffi 13, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: With the growing recognition of the food system for a transformation toward sustainability, there is a need for future guidance on food consumption and policy. In particular, dietary guidelines (DGs) have received increasing attention as potential tools for enabling transformative change. This paper analyzes how and to what extent different state and non-state actors in Switzerland incorporate sustainability aspects in their dietary guidelines. It examines how these DGs account for different dimensions at the basis of sustainability thinking, including the classic environmental, economic, and social dimensions as well as issues of health and governance. Our analysis shows the explicit inclusion of sustainability aspects in all DGs of the chosen actors in Switzerland, addressing at least one sustainability category predominantly. Through the analysis of the different stakeholders, different areas of focus become apparent, with each stakeholder covering specific niches of sustainability. On this basis, the transformative role of non-state actors in developing the concept of sustainable diets is discussed.

Keywords: sustainable diet; sustainable dietary guidelines; qualitative content analysis; sustainable food systems; food governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:12076-:d:670018

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