Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to share insights from a critical socio-cultural perspective on school food systems in Denmark and Greenland. The countries are connected financially and historically, but school food systems still differ to a high degree. This chapter represents an attempt to explain these differences based on critical discourse analysis of documents, reports and interviews. The Self Rule and Greenland municipalities have conducted two public health programs, Inuunaritta I and II. Based on recommendations from HBSC Greenland and critical reports from UNICEF these reforms included a free school meal program. In Denmark, there is no national school food system and the responsibility for school food is parents’ responsibility. The Danish legislation states that municipalities must consider voluntary meal schemes, which has led to some municipalities deciding to establish meal schemes, but none of them offer free school meals as they do in Greenland municipalities. Instead, commercial companies and charities have gained influence, financially supported by powerful networks in the Danish Food industry. In order to get a deeper understanding of the motives and drivers behind the current school food systems, this analysis applies a critical discourse analysis on central texts that constitutes the school foodscapes respectively in Greenland and Denmark. Neoliberal and individualized discourses seem to alternate with socialist discourses of the caring welfare state in a complex hyper-textual, dynamic. Finally, the disturbing implications of large public-private partnerships across food, health and educational sectors in Greenland and Denmark are discussed, especially with regard to equity and social justice for children and youth.
Published Version
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