IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i18p13548-d1237269.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Meanings of Food Sustainability: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Claudia Troncoso-Pantoja

    (Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS-UCSC), Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción 4090541, Chile)

  • Paola Cáceres-Rodríguez

    (Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago 8370451, Chile)

  • Antonio Amaya-Placencia

    (Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción 4090541, Chile)

  • Claudia Lataste-Quintana

    (School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago 8370451, Chile)

  • Rodrigo Valenzuela

    (Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago 8370451, Chile)

Abstract

Sustainable food combines nutritional, environmental, economic, and social aspects. Considering the need to recognize the Chilean reality in this matter, this study proposes to interpret the meanings that food professionals give to food sustainability, based on the question: What meanings do food and nutrition professionals give to the relevance and measurement of food sustainability in their professional work? To answer this question, qualitative research was carried out using the interpretative paradigm of exploratory scope. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and their responses were analyzed using the content-analysis technique. The results indicate that environmental care is valued in accordance with the local regulations in force. Despite this valuation, its implementation has been complex in developing countries, due to economic aspects and political will. Sustainable culinary preparation is identified, building a definition based on ecology and local identity, highlighting the use of natural foods. In addition, there is a need to standardize the indicators for its measurement and to reinforce communication strategies to improve its knowledge. In conclusion, for professionals in the gastronomic and nutritional areas, the sustainability of food and culinary preparation requires a comprehensive, integrated vision of the different factors, depending on the user and the entities that provide food services.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Troncoso-Pantoja & Paola Cáceres-Rodríguez & Antonio Amaya-Placencia & Claudia Lataste-Quintana & Rodrigo Valenzuela, 2023. "Exploring the Meanings of Food Sustainability: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-14, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13548-:d:1237269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13548/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13548/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ludovica Principato & Alessio Leo & Giovanni Mattia & Carlo Alberto Pratesi, 2021. "The next step in sustainable dining: the restaurant food waste map for the management of food waste," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 189-207, September.
    2. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Miguel Orden-Mejía & Wilmer Carvache-Franco & María del Carmen Lapo & Orly Carvache-Franco, 2022. "Gastronomy Motivations as Predictors of Satisfaction at Coastal Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-13, September.
    3. Dacinia Crina Petrescu & Iris Vermeir & Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, 2019. "Consumer Understanding of Food Quality, Healthiness, and Environmental Impact: A Cross-National Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Eunhye (Olivia) Park & Bongsug (Kevin) Chae & Junehee Kwon & Woo-Hyuk Kim, 2020. "The Effects of Green Restaurant Attributes on Customer Satisfaction Using the Structural Topic Model on Online Customer Reviews," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Leach, Allison M. & Emery, Kyle A. & Gephart, Jessica & Davis, Kyle F. & Erisman, Jan Willem & Leip, Adrian & Pace, Michael L. & D’Odorico, Paolo & Carr, Joel & Noll, Laura Cattell & Castner, Elizabet, 2016. "Environmental impact food labels combining carbon, nitrogen, and water footprints," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 213-223.
    6. Benjamin Saunders & Julius Sim & Tom Kingstone & Shula Baker & Jackie Waterfield & Bernadette Bartlam & Heather Burroughs & Clare Jinks, 2018. "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1893-1907, July.
    7. Aniello Falciano & Alessio Cimini & Paolo Masi & Mauro Moresi, 2022. "Carbon Footprint of a Typical Neapolitan Pizzeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, March.
    8. Ching-Hui (Joan) Su & Chin-Hsun (Ken) Tsai & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Wan Qing Lv, 2019. "U.S. Sustainable Food Market Generation Z Consumer Segments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, June.
    9. Min-Pei Lin & Estela Marine-Roig & Nayra Llonch-Molina, 2022. "Gastronomy Tourism and Well-Being: Evidence from Taiwan and Catalonia Michelin-Starred Restaurants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-24, February.
    10. Freya Higgins-Desbiolles & Emily Moskwa & Gayathri Wijesinghe, 2019. "How sustainable is sustainable hospitality research? A review of sustainable restaurant literature from 1991 to 2015," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(13), pages 1551-1580, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pedro Alexander Velasquez-Vasconez & Danita Andrade-Diaz & Maria Iveth Zambrano-Díaz & Juan S. Chiriví-Salomon, 2024. "Assessment of the Sustainability of Productive Systems in Nariño, Colombia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Wen-Shen Yen & Wen-Hwa Ko & Hsiang-Han Huang & Min-Yen Lu & Fu-Yuang Tung, 2025. "Exploring Carbon Reduction Culinary Expertise in the Foodservice Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-18, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Patcharaporn Mahasuweerachai & Chompoonut Suttikun, 2022. "The Effect of Green Self-Identity on Perceived Image, Warm Glow and Willingness to Purchase: A New Generation’s Perspective towards Eco-Friendly Restaurants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-13, August.
    2. Vivian Welch & Christine M. Mathew & Panteha Babelmorad & Yanfei Li & Elizabeth T. Ghogomu & Johan Borg & Monserrat Conde & Elizabeth Kristjansson & Anne Lyddiatt & Sue Marcus & Jason W. Nickerson & K, 2021. "Health, social care and technological interventions to improve functional ability of older adults living at home: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), September.
    3. Jennifer Tartaglia & Michelle McIntosh & Jonine Jancey & Jane Scott & Andrea Begley, 2021. "Exploring Feeding Practices and Food Literacy in Parents with Young Children from Disadvantaged Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Karina Soubra & Camilla Tamworth & Zeast Kamal & Clare Brook & Dawn Langdon & Jo Billings, 2023. "Health and social care workers experiences of coping while working in the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic: One year on," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(4), pages 1-27, April.
    5. Şahika Simsek-Cetinkaya & Simge Evrenol Ocal, 2023. "“Psychological Injuries Are Not Visible†: Experiences and Perceptions of Midwives and Nurses about Domestic Violence during Pregnancy," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 32(8), pages 1115-1123, November.
    6. Zdenka Gyurák Babeľová & Augustín Stareček & Kristína Koltnerová & Dagmar Cagáňová, 2020. "Perceived Organizational Performance in Recruiting and Retaining Employees with Respect to Different Generational Groups of Employees and Sustainable Human Resource Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Silvia Scaramuzzi & Sara Gabellini & Giovanni Belletti & Andrea Marescotti, 2021. "Agrobiodiversity-Oriented Food Systems between Public Policies and Private Action: A Socio-Ecological Model for Sustainable Territorial Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-32, November.
    8. Rund Awwad & Scott Dwyer & Andrea Trianni, 2025. "Unpacking Market Barriers to Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies: Policy Insights and a Business Model Perspective from Jordan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-26, June.
    9. Tongyu Meng & Jamie Newth & Christine Woods, 2022. "Ethical Sensemaking in Impact Investing: Reasons and Motives in the Chinese Renewable Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1091-1117, September.
    10. Annette Peart & Virginia Lewis & Chris Barton & Grant Russell, 2020. "Healthcare professionals providing care coordination to people living with multimorbidity: An interpretative phenomenological analysis," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(13-14), pages 2317-2328, July.
    11. Oriana Gava & Fabio Bartolini & Francesca Venturi & Gianluca Brunori & Angela Zinnai & Alberto Pardossi, 2018. "A Reflection of the Use of the Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Agri-Food Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    12. Soo-Yong Shin & Eun-Ju Lim, 2021. "Clinical Work and Life of Mid-Career Male Nurses: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-10, June.
    13. Fatoumata Fofana & Pat Bazeley & Antoine Regnault, 2020. "Applying a mixed methods design to test saturation for qualitative data in health outcomes research," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-12, June.
    14. Daniela Argento & Özgün Imre & Michael Johansson & Kari Rönkkö, 2025. "Facing sustainable city challenges: the quest for attra-chment," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 31-43, March.
    15. Chaojun Li & Xinjia Huang, 2022. "How Does COVID-19 Risk Perception Affect Wellness Tourist Intention: Findings on Chinese Generation Z," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    16. Nuchjarin Intalar & Yasushi Ueki & Chawalit Jeenanunta, 2024. "Enhancing Competitiveness: Driving and Facilitating Factors for Industry 4.0 Adoption in Thai Manufacturing," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, August.
    17. Thomas Dax & Oliver Tamme, 2023. "Attractive Landscape Features as Drivers for Sustainable Mountain Tourism Experiences," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-16, June.
    18. Dimitrios Gouglas & Kendall Hoyt & Elizabeth Peacocke & Aristidis Kaloudis & Trygve Ottersen & John-Arne Røttingen, 2019. "Setting Strategic Objectives for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations: An Exploratory Decision Analysis Process," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(6), pages 430-446, November.
    19. Robertson, Jeandri & Botha, Elsamari & Oosthuizen, Kim & Montecchi, Matteo, 2025. "Managing change when integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the retail value chain: The AI implementation compass," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    20. José Alberto Martínez-González & Carmen D. Álvarez-Albelo, 2021. "Influence of Site Personalization and First Impression on Young Consumers’ Loyalty to Tourism Websites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13548-:d:1237269. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.