Abstract
As we enter what has been defined as a climate emergency, governments are formulating policy responses that address sustainability through low carbon transitions. This article examines the relationship between policy representation in climate mitigation, business and food policies, and the implementation of sustainable practices in professional kitchens. The restaurant industry is a major consumer of natural resources as many practices throughout the supply chain are carbon intensive. Following Carol Bacchi’s «What is the problem represented to be?» framework, this article examines the extent to which policy representation of sustainability and food governance influences everyday practices in professional kitchens in Glasgow, Scotland, based on research undertaken in 2019. This study revealed that climate change, business and food policies promote the idea that sustainability will be achieved alongside economic growth, without considering the complexities of social inequalities. The policies significantly overlook the private sector responsibility to transform away from unsustainable practices, whilst the potential approaches to improve social and environmental sustainability are obscured. The article concludes by calling for policies to integrate issues of social justice in the representation of the problem to produce more transformative and socially equitable outcomes.
Highlights
Climate change has been described as the «defining moral issue of the 21st century» (Levy and Patz 311) with consensus growing that we are living in a climate emergency (Cretney and Nissen 15; Lenton et al 592; Ripple et al 8-12)
Adele Wylie Climate conscious professional kitchens? Analysing the Scottish food sector through a feminist lens to mitigate these effects through the implementation of policies at both international and country level
Adele Wylie Climate conscious professional kitchens? Analysing the Scottish food sector through a feminist lens gendered professional kitchen and the article explores the discursive ambitions of climate and food policy and the reality of food catering as a business activity
Summary
Climate change has been described as the «defining moral issue of the 21st century» (Levy and Patz 311) with consensus growing that we are living in a climate emergency (Cretney and Nissen 15; Lenton et al 592; Ripple et al 8-12). The Scottish Government are progressive in their climate ambitions and Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon maintains that the environmental and social gains called for within environmental, climate and business policies will be met without compromising the country’s economic growth. This article examines the extent to which the Scottish Government’s climate change, business, and food policies are influencing the environmental conscience and everyday practices of head chefs in Glasgow. This article critically evaluates the way in which climate, business and food policies in Scotland frame and represent the issue of sustainability as a direct response to climate change. This article concludes by calling for governmental climate, business and food policies to integrate issues of social justice more transparently and substantively in the framing and definition of the problem of sustainability
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