The food we eat in the Nordic countries: stability and change

Together with Nordic colleagues, Mari Niva and Nina Kahma from the CSCR contributed to an article called The Food We Eat in the Nordic Countries. The authors show that from 1997 to 2012, Nordic food culture is characterized by stability but also some change. Core elements in traditional Nordic national food cultures persist, such as the existence of two different lunch cultures based on hot and cold meals respectively, the dominant position of meat in dinner dishes, and the rather simple meal formats of both hot lunches and dinners, as ‘platefuls’. But many changes can be identified too, such as the marked tendency that water is becoming the most popular everyday drink for all meal types, the radical decline in cake served as an in-between, the apparent increase in vegetarian hot lunches and dinners, the introduction of fruit and vegetables at breakfast and lunch, and the rise in cereals and yoghurts for breakfast.

Full article:  Holm, L., Skov Lauridsen, D., Gronow, J., Kahma, N., Kjærnes, U.,Bøker Lund, T., Mäkelä, J. & Niva, M. (2015). The food we eat in Nordic countries – some changes between 1997 and 2012. In Bergström, K., Jonsson, I.M., Prell, H., Wernersson, I, Åberg, H. (Eds.)  MAT ÄR MER ÄN MAT. Samhällsvetenskapliga perspektiv på mat och måltider. Vänbok till Marianne Pipping Ekström. Göteborgs Universitet, Institut for Idrotts- och kostvetenskap. Online:https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/39007/2/gupea_2077_39007_2.pdf