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Social Sustainability, Social Capital, Health, and the Building of Cultural Capital around the Mediterranean Diet

Author

Listed:
  • Francesc-Xavier Medina

    (UNESCO Chair on Food, Culture and Development/FoodLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), 08018 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Josep M. Sole-Sedeno

    (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
    Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Edifici PRBB (Campus Mar), 08003 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the importance of taking a broader and more comprehensive (and, above all, social and cultural) approach when problematizing dietary patterns in terms of sustainability. In this regard, the building of cultural capital around a medicalized concept such as the Mediterranean diet, in addition to being used to legitimize the actions carried out from the field of health, allows the highlighting of the value of social capital around this denomination. This article also analyzes how certain actions aimed at valuing the building of cultural capital related to the Mediterranean diet, such as the inscription as intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO, or the value recognition of the social capital constructed around them, have been frequently neglected and considered as subordinate to other perspectives considered more central and focused on both health and the environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesc-Xavier Medina & Josep M. Sole-Sedeno, 2023. "Social Sustainability, Social Capital, Health, and the Building of Cultural Capital around the Mediterranean Diet," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-10, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:5:p:4664-:d:1089026
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Tilman & Michael Clark, 2014. "Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7528), pages 518-522, November.
    2. Efrat Eizenberg & Yosef Jabareen, 2017. "Social Sustainability: A New Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Francesc-Xavier Medina, 2021. "Looking for Commensality: On Culture, Health, Heritage, and the Mediterranean Diet," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-9, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Vesna Vujačić & Eva Podovšovnik & Saša Planinc & Greta Krešić & Marko Kukanja, 2025. "Bridging Knowledge and Adherence: A Cross-National Study of the Mediterranean Diet Among Tourism Students in Slovenia, Croatia, and Montenegro," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Sarah Vivienne Bentley, 2025. "The Application of a Social Identity Approach to Measure and Mechanise the Goals, Practices, and Outcomes of Social Sustainability," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-16, August.

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