ABSTRACT
This book primarily employs ethnographic fieldwork, complemented by semi-structured interviews, desk research, and dialogic conversations to explore everyday food-related practices. Ethnography focuses on understanding social interactions, practices, and perspectives from the participants’ viewpoint rather than the researcher's observations solely. This approach emphasises ‘being naïve’ and reflexivity, encouraging open-mindedness and self-awareness. Researchers worked ‘with’ households rather than conducting research ‘on’ them, engaging directly in daily activities such as shopping, cooking, and eating.
Participant observation played a central role, allowing researchers to experience participants’ lives while acknowledging that their perspective is neither fully objective nor absolute. This hands-on engagement aimed to uncover how households approach food practices, including the use or non-use of Food Quality Schemes, local food, and food waste, as well as the dynamics of purchasing, using, or discarding food. The methodology intertwined various tools, organised around a ‘household and kitchen tour,’ to provide a nuanced understanding of food consumption.
