The norms and practices of eating well: In conflict with contemporary food discourses in Japan

Abstract

In contemporary society, numerous food discourses are being constructed and promoted regarding how and what people should eat. However, such expositions are often too nutrition-centred and contradict each other, leaving contemporary eaters at a loss rather than rescuing them from their gastro-anomic situations. It is therefore necessary to seek an understanding of what ‘eating well’ means to contemporary people and to navigate current food discourses based on such a social consensus. Using a combined method of ethics (capability approach) and the sociology of food, the aim of this study was to arrive at an understanding of the total – spatial to temporal, quality, structural and aesthetic – dimensions of eating well through a web-based questionnaire survey conducted in Japan (n = 973). The norms and practices across all the dimensions were identified, facilitating the creation of a social standard that indicates the parameters of their capability to eat well. Some findings are in conflict with current discourses, in which particular meal structures have been idealised and solo eating has been stigmatised. The analysis also highlights the absence of socio-cultural values in people's dietary mindsets as a consequence of the nutrition-centred food discourses.