ABSTRACT
The last decade has seen a growing pressure for all cultural institutions to embrace sustainability and embed its principles and agendas into day-to-day operations. Within this context, this chapter discusses the potential of food heritage to constitute an interesting interface between environmental and cultural sustainability. Some of the most important developments that have led to the so-called ‘heritage turn’ in food studies and the emergence of the transdisciplinary and global food heritage discourse will be pinpointed and the direct connection between the notion of food heritage and sustainability will be underlined. Drawing from research conducted for the EU-funded BigPicnic project, this chapter will reflect on issues such as traditional knowledge, food memories and food well-being. It is argued that the notion of food heritage can be an important catalyst for discussing global and local challenges to sustainability and promoting food security. This can only be achieved by looking at cultural heritage and environmental sustainability together and by considering food’s tangible and intangible heritage dimensions and values along with its multisensory elements.
