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Devising food consumption : complex households and the socio-material work of meal box schemes

Fuentes, Christian LU orcid and Samsioe, Emma LU (2021) In Consumption Markets and Culture 24(5). p.492-511
Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore how digitally-enabled food provisioning platforms reconfigure households’ food consumption. Taking a market studies approach, and drawing on an ethnographic study of 15 households signing up to meal box schemes, the paper examines how meal box schemes, as market devices, work towards materially-semiotically organising household food consumption. Analysis shows that the process of devising food consumption is demanding, dynamic and complex. While these market devices had to be worked into households, and thus demanded considerable work on the part of consumers, they also worked for consumers, performing an array of material-semiotic tasks for them, making their everyday food practices more convenient,... (More)

The aim of this paper is to explore how digitally-enabled food provisioning platforms reconfigure households’ food consumption. Taking a market studies approach, and drawing on an ethnographic study of 15 households signing up to meal box schemes, the paper examines how meal box schemes, as market devices, work towards materially-semiotically organising household food consumption. Analysis shows that the process of devising food consumption is demanding, dynamic and complex. While these market devices had to be worked into households, and thus demanded considerable work on the part of consumers, they also worked for consumers, performing an array of material-semiotic tasks for them, making their everyday food practices more convenient, adding food variation, and enabling them to pursue multiple food aspirations. During this process, market devices did not govern consumers nor did consumers domesticate market devices. Instead, market devices and consumers were locked in a complex and unstable process of mutual configuration.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Consumption Markets and Culture
volume
24
issue
5
pages
492 - 511
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85089970992
ISSN
1025-3866
DOI
10.1080/10253866.2020.1810027
project
Hållbara livsmedelsplattformar: Att möjliggöra hållbara matpraktiker genom socio-tekniska innovationer (PLATEFORMS)
Service Studies Consumption
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0ae73a88-f838-4551-b355-034d7db98462
date added to LUP
2020-09-24 18:48:55
date last changed
2024-06-12 20:42:15
@article{0ae73a88-f838-4551-b355-034d7db98462,
  abstract     = {{<p>The aim of this paper is to explore how digitally-enabled food provisioning platforms reconfigure households’ food consumption. Taking a market studies approach, and drawing on an ethnographic study of 15 households signing up to meal box schemes, the paper examines how meal box schemes, as market devices, work towards materially-semiotically organising household food consumption. Analysis shows that the process of devising food consumption is demanding, dynamic and complex. While these market devices had to be worked into households, and thus demanded considerable work on the part of consumers, they also worked for consumers, performing an array of material-semiotic tasks for them, making their everyday food practices more convenient, adding food variation, and enabling them to pursue multiple food aspirations. During this process, market devices did not govern consumers nor did consumers domesticate market devices. Instead, market devices and consumers were locked in a complex and unstable process of mutual configuration.</p>}},
  author       = {{Fuentes, Christian and Samsioe, Emma}},
  issn         = {{1025-3866}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{492--511}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Consumption Markets and Culture}},
  title        = {{Devising food consumption : complex households and the socio-material work of meal box schemes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2020.1810027}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/10253866.2020.1810027}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}