Mari Niva
Biographic Data
| ID | 323774 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mari Niva |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mari |
| FAMILY NAME | Niva |
| SIGNATURE | NIVA M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Helsinki |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3288-7163 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 124 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
“In principle I’m vegan, but…” dietary flexibility and the conflicting normativities related to plant-based eating
This study contributes to practice theoretical research on the transition to more plant-based diets as one of the key elements in sustainability transformation. Recent research on sustainable eating has increasingly focused on plant-based oriented diets, such as flexitarianism, in which giving up or reducing the consumption of meat and/or other animal products are less evident compared to practices, such as veganism and vegetarianism. In this art…
Beyond meat reduction in the sociology of sustainable food consumption
While the production of both meat and dairy products is ecologically harmful, the sociology of sustainable food consumption has largely focused on meat reduction. This article addresses that gap by exploring the deeply rooted role of cheese in the everyday lives of consumers. It argues that cheese deserves more critical attention due to the significant environmental impact of its production and the recent increase in cheese consumption in many co…
Does “better” mean “less”? Sustainable meat consumption in the context of natural pasture-raised beef
Livestock production has significant environmental impacts, requiring sustainable dietary shifts with reduced meat consumption. The concept of “less but better” has gained attention as a pragmatic approach to dietary and production changes, advocating for reduced meat consumption while focusing on sustainably produced, high-quality products. We focus on the interplay between “less” and “better” and critically evaluate the approach in the context …
Everyday reconciliations of ‘foodyism’ and meat alternatives
Meat alternatives may play an important role in sustainable food transitions. However, numerous barriers to the increased consumption of these products have been identified. This paper explores the consumption of meat alternatives in relation to ‘foodyism’, understood here as contemporary discourses and practices of gourmet food glorifying ‘exoticism’ and ‘authenticity’. Foodyism can be viewed as a relevant cultural barrier to the increased uptak…
Moral foundations and future pro‐environmental lifestyles choices in the Finnish population
The aim of the study was to examine citizens' perceptions of their preferred pro‐environmental lifestyle choices in the future. We examined how these choices relate to different socio‐demographic factors and moral foundations in a Finnish population survey sample ( N = 1,020). Consistent with previous research, endorsing care and fairness foundations related positively to using plant‐based food and local and natural food, as well as using sustain…
How vegans and vegetarians negotiate eating-related social norm conflicts in their social networks
This qualitative study, framed by social identity theory, examines how self-identified vegans and vegetarians negotiate diet-related social norm conflicts within their social networks. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with 18- to 58-year-old vegans and vegetarians who represented five nationalities were analysed inductively through thematic analysis. According to the results, social norm conflicts occurred in contexts where tense family rela…
Priorities for social science and humanities research on the challenges of moving beyond animal-based food systems
Increasingly high-profile research is being undertaken into the socio-environmental challenges associated with the over-production and consumption of food from animals. Transforming food systems to mitigate climate change and hidden hunger, ensure food security and good health all point to reducing animal-based foods as a key lever. Moving beyond animal-based food systems is a societal grand challenge requiring coordinated international research …
Reconfiguring everyday eating
The shift of society toward sustainable food culture requires collectively challenging meat and dairy-based diets and their role in current practices of eating. This study focuses on how discussions in social media can facilitate reconfiguration in eating. Three practice-theoretical perspectives – practices constituting of elements, eating as a compound practice, and communities of practice – afford us with analytical tools to investigate eating …
Veganism and Plant-Based Eating
In recent years, there has been an increased mobilization around veganism and plant-based diets. This chapter analyzes this mobilization, the evolution of the images and practices of vegan eating, and associated kinds of political consumerism. The chapter demonstrates how vegan eating takes place as an assemblage of several actors and platforms, such as consciousness-raising campaigns, vegan bloggers, pledges and festivals, and new vegan foods ma…
New Nordic upmarket bistros and the practical configurations of artful dining
This paper analyzes the blurring boundaries between food and art in the West by examining the contemporary field of upmarket dining. The study adopts a practice theoretical view, conceptualizes artful dining as a large-scale cultural formation (“teleoaffective formation”), and explores the configurations of artful dining in the context of New Nordic Upmarket Bistros (NNUBs). Based on blog texts, chef interview and participant observation at a Fin…
The emergence of the Finnish edible insect arena
Taking a Stand through Food Choices? Characteristics of Political Food Consumption and Consumers in Finland
Elements of practice in the analysis of auto-ethnographical cooking videos
This article analyses cooking videos recorded at home by means of the practice-theoretical approach. It employs two conceptualisations of the elements of practice that have stood out in recent applications of practice theories in sociological consumption and food studies. The first conceptualisation comprises understandings, procedures and engagements and the second materials, competences and meanings. To study cooking as a situationally performe…
Online weight-loss services and a calculative practice of slimming
This study examines the slimming practice produced by Internet-based weight-loss services and their use. Drawing on theories of practice, the study analyses the script of use that is constructed by the services, and the meanings, materialities and competences that are enacted in their use. Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with women who were users of two Finnish online weight-loss services, the study concludes that the services transform fo…
Everyday distinction and omnivorous orientation
Changes in the social context and conduct of eating in four Nordic countries between 1997 and 2012
From beef to beans
Future of sustainable eating? Examining the potential for expanding bean eating in a meat-eating culture
A transition towards more sustainable food consumption requires changes in everyday eating patterns, particularly a substitution of animal protein with plant-based protein sources. However, in many European countries plant protein consumption is low compared to meat consumption. The article explores plant protein consumption frequencies, future intentions to increase bean consumption, and the associations of frequent bean eating with socioeconomi…
Demarcating Social Practices
The concept of weight management has gained currency in present political and social discourses on weight and health, organizing the various efforts to fight obesity and to assist individuals in controlling their weight. In this paper, we ask whether weight management is becoming rooted also in the everyday life of individuals. Adopting a practice-theoretical approach we study whether weight management constitutes an intelligible and distinct ent…
Associations between meal complexity and social context in four Nordic countries
Contemporary eating is often portrayed by images of snacking, solitary grazing, disintegration of sociability, demise of family meals, and increasingly irregular eating patterns -what Claude Fischler has famously described as gastroanomy. Inspired by the concept of eating system, this article contributes to the discussion about the ongoing changes by examining the relation between meal complexity, sociability and the duration of meals in contempo…
Explorations in cross-national comparison of food practices
Lay Understandings of Functional Foods as Hybrids of Food and Medicine
This article examines the lay appropriation of so-called functional foods that are marketed to enhance health and well-being and/or to reduce the risk of disease. Previous research has shown that consumers are skeptical of functional foods and inclined to contrast them with natural and non-technological foods. We argue that taking into account the hybrid nature of functional foods at the borderline between food and medicine provides a useful star…
If I drink it anyway, then I rather take the light one”. Appropriation of foods and drinks designed for weight management among middle-aged and elderly Finns
The modernisation of Nordic eating
On prétend souvent que dans les sociétés post-industrielles l'alimentation est caractérisée par la dissolution des schémas culturels traditionnels concernant les rythmes alimentaires, la structure des repas et le contexte social de la prise des repas. Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude quantitative et comparative menée en Scandinavieen 1997 , fondée sur des interviews de près de 5000 individus de quatre pays nordiques (Danemark, Finla…
Nordic Food Culture
All foods affect health’
One of the recent phenomena in contemporary discussion of eating is 'functional foods', i.e. foods marketed as promoting health or reducing the risk of disease. This article analyses lay understandings of health-promoting foods in Finland by examining the ways in which middle-aged health-oriented consumers make sense of functional foods in the context of healthy eating. The article is based on an analysis of eight focus group discussions held wit…
Future of sustainable eating? Examining the potential for expanding bean eating in a meat-eating culture
A transition towards more sustainable food consumption requires changes in everyday eating patterns, particularly a substitution of animal protein with plant-based protein sources. However, in many European countries plant protein consumption is low compared to meat consumption. The article explores plant protein consumption frequencies, future intentions to increase bean consumption, and the associations of frequent bean eating with socioeconomi…
Reconfiguring everyday eating
The shift of society toward sustainable food culture requires collectively challenging meat and dairy-based diets and their role in current practices of eating. This study focuses on how discussions in social media can facilitate reconfiguration in eating. Three practice-theoretical perspectives – practices constituting of elements, eating as a compound practice, and communities of practice – afford us with analytical tools to investigate eating …
The modernisation of Nordic eating
On prétend souvent que dans les sociétés post-industrielles l'alimentation est caractérisée par la dissolution des schémas culturels traditionnels concernant les rythmes alimentaires, la structure des repas et le contexte social de la prise des repas. Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude quantitative et comparative menée en Scandinavieen 1997 , fondée sur des interviews de près de 5000 individus de quatre pays nordiques (Danemark, Finla…
From beef to beans
Changes in the social context and conduct of eating in four Nordic countries between 1997 and 2012
Everyday reconciliations of ‘foodyism’ and meat alternatives
Meat alternatives may play an important role in sustainable food transitions. However, numerous barriers to the increased consumption of these products have been identified. This paper explores the consumption of meat alternatives in relation to ‘foodyism’, understood here as contemporary discourses and practices of gourmet food glorifying ‘exoticism’ and ‘authenticity’. Foodyism can be viewed as a relevant cultural barrier to the increased uptak…
How vegans and vegetarians negotiate eating-related social norm conflicts in their social networks
This qualitative study, framed by social identity theory, examines how self-identified vegans and vegetarians negotiate diet-related social norm conflicts within their social networks. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with 18- to 58-year-old vegans and vegetarians who represented five nationalities were analysed inductively through thematic analysis. According to the results, social norm conflicts occurred in contexts where tense family rela…
Elements of practice in the analysis of auto-ethnographical cooking videos
This article analyses cooking videos recorded at home by means of the practice-theoretical approach. It employs two conceptualisations of the elements of practice that have stood out in recent applications of practice theories in sociological consumption and food studies. The first conceptualisation comprises understandings, procedures and engagements and the second materials, competences and meanings. To study cooking as a situationally performe…
Everyday distinction and omnivorous orientation
If I drink it anyway, then I rather take the light one”. Appropriation of foods and drinks designed for weight management among middle-aged and elderly Finns
New Nordic upmarket bistros and the practical configurations of artful dining
This paper analyzes the blurring boundaries between food and art in the West by examining the contemporary field of upmarket dining. The study adopts a practice theoretical view, conceptualizes artful dining as a large-scale cultural formation (“teleoaffective formation”), and explores the configurations of artful dining in the context of New Nordic Upmarket Bistros (NNUBs). Based on blog texts, chef interview and participant observation at a Fin…
The emergence of the Finnish edible insect arena
Online weight-loss services and a calculative practice of slimming
This study examines the slimming practice produced by Internet-based weight-loss services and their use. Drawing on theories of practice, the study analyses the script of use that is constructed by the services, and the meanings, materialities and competences that are enacted in their use. Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with women who were users of two Finnish online weight-loss services, the study concludes that the services transform fo…
Demarcating Social Practices
The concept of weight management has gained currency in present political and social discourses on weight and health, organizing the various efforts to fight obesity and to assist individuals in controlling their weight. In this paper, we ask whether weight management is becoming rooted also in the everyday life of individuals. Adopting a practice-theoretical approach we study whether weight management constitutes an intelligible and distinct ent…
Associations between meal complexity and social context in four Nordic countries
Contemporary eating is often portrayed by images of snacking, solitary grazing, disintegration of sociability, demise of family meals, and increasingly irregular eating patterns -what Claude Fischler has famously described as gastroanomy. Inspired by the concept of eating system, this article contributes to the discussion about the ongoing changes by examining the relation between meal complexity, sociability and the duration of meals in contempo…
Moral foundations and future pro‐environmental lifestyles choices in the Finnish population
The aim of the study was to examine citizens' perceptions of their preferred pro‐environmental lifestyle choices in the future. We examined how these choices relate to different socio‐demographic factors and moral foundations in a Finnish population survey sample ( N = 1,020). Consistent with previous research, endorsing care and fairness foundations related positively to using plant‐based food and local and natural food, as well as using sustain…
Lay Understandings of Functional Foods as Hybrids of Food and Medicine
This article examines the lay appropriation of so-called functional foods that are marketed to enhance health and well-being and/or to reduce the risk of disease. Previous research has shown that consumers are skeptical of functional foods and inclined to contrast them with natural and non-technological foods. We argue that taking into account the hybrid nature of functional foods at the borderline between food and medicine provides a useful star…
All foods affect health’
One of the recent phenomena in contemporary discussion of eating is 'functional foods', i.e. foods marketed as promoting health or reducing the risk of disease. This article analyses lay understandings of health-promoting foods in Finland by examining the ways in which middle-aged health-oriented consumers make sense of functional foods in the context of healthy eating. The article is based on an analysis of eight focus group discussions held wit…
The modernisation of Nordic eating
On prétend souvent que dans les sociétés post-industrielles l'alimentation est caractérisée par la dissolution des schémas culturels traditionnels concernant les rythmes alimentaires, la structure des repas et le contexte social de la prise des repas. Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude quantitative et comparative menée en Scandinavieen 1997 , fondée sur des interviews de près de 5000 individus de quatre pays nordiques (Danemark, Finla…
Nordic Food Culture
Lay Understandings of Functional Foods as Hybrids of Food and Medicine
This article examines the lay appropriation of so-called functional foods that are marketed to enhance health and well-being and/or to reduce the risk of disease. Previous research has shown that consumers are skeptical of functional foods and inclined to contrast them with natural and non-technological foods. We argue that taking into account the hybrid nature of functional foods at the borderline between food and medicine provides a useful star…
If I drink it anyway, then I rather take the light one”. Appropriation of foods and drinks designed for weight management among middle-aged and elderly Finns
Associations between meal complexity and social context in four Nordic countries
Contemporary eating is often portrayed by images of snacking, solitary grazing, disintegration of sociability, demise of family meals, and increasingly irregular eating patterns -what Claude Fischler has famously described as gastroanomy. Inspired by the concept of eating system, this article contributes to the discussion about the ongoing changes by examining the relation between meal complexity, sociability and the duration of meals in contempo…
Explorations in cross-national comparison of food practices
Everyday distinction and omnivorous orientation
Changes in the social context and conduct of eating in four Nordic countries between 1997 and 2012
From beef to beans
Future of sustainable eating? Examining the potential for expanding bean eating in a meat-eating culture
A transition towards more sustainable food consumption requires changes in everyday eating patterns, particularly a substitution of animal protein with plant-based protein sources. However, in many European countries plant protein consumption is low compared to meat consumption. The article explores plant protein consumption frequencies, future intentions to increase bean consumption, and the associations of frequent bean eating with socioeconomi…
Demarcating Social Practices
The concept of weight management has gained currency in present political and social discourses on weight and health, organizing the various efforts to fight obesity and to assist individuals in controlling their weight. In this paper, we ask whether weight management is becoming rooted also in the everyday life of individuals. Adopting a practice-theoretical approach we study whether weight management constitutes an intelligible and distinct ent…
Online weight-loss services and a calculative practice of slimming
This study examines the slimming practice produced by Internet-based weight-loss services and their use. Drawing on theories of practice, the study analyses the script of use that is constructed by the services, and the meanings, materialities and competences that are enacted in their use. Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with women who were users of two Finnish online weight-loss services, the study concludes that the services transform fo…
Taking a Stand through Food Choices? Characteristics of Political Food Consumption and Consumers in Finland
Elements of practice in the analysis of auto-ethnographical cooking videos
This article analyses cooking videos recorded at home by means of the practice-theoretical approach. It employs two conceptualisations of the elements of practice that have stood out in recent applications of practice theories in sociological consumption and food studies. The first conceptualisation comprises understandings, procedures and engagements and the second materials, competences and meanings. To study cooking as a situationally performe…
Veganism and Plant-Based Eating
In recent years, there has been an increased mobilization around veganism and plant-based diets. This chapter analyzes this mobilization, the evolution of the images and practices of vegan eating, and associated kinds of political consumerism. The chapter demonstrates how vegan eating takes place as an assemblage of several actors and platforms, such as consciousness-raising campaigns, vegan bloggers, pledges and festivals, and new vegan foods ma…
New Nordic upmarket bistros and the practical configurations of artful dining
This paper analyzes the blurring boundaries between food and art in the West by examining the contemporary field of upmarket dining. The study adopts a practice theoretical view, conceptualizes artful dining as a large-scale cultural formation (“teleoaffective formation”), and explores the configurations of artful dining in the context of New Nordic Upmarket Bistros (NNUBs). Based on blog texts, chef interview and participant observation at a Fin…
The emergence of the Finnish edible insect arena
Priorities for social science and humanities research on the challenges of moving beyond animal-based food systems
Increasingly high-profile research is being undertaken into the socio-environmental challenges associated with the over-production and consumption of food from animals. Transforming food systems to mitigate climate change and hidden hunger, ensure food security and good health all point to reducing animal-based foods as a key lever. Moving beyond animal-based food systems is a societal grand challenge requiring coordinated international research …
Reconfiguring everyday eating
The shift of society toward sustainable food culture requires collectively challenging meat and dairy-based diets and their role in current practices of eating. This study focuses on how discussions in social media can facilitate reconfiguration in eating. Three practice-theoretical perspectives – practices constituting of elements, eating as a compound practice, and communities of practice – afford us with analytical tools to investigate eating …
How vegans and vegetarians negotiate eating-related social norm conflicts in their social networks
This qualitative study, framed by social identity theory, examines how self-identified vegans and vegetarians negotiate diet-related social norm conflicts within their social networks. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with 18- to 58-year-old vegans and vegetarians who represented five nationalities were analysed inductively through thematic analysis. According to the results, social norm conflicts occurred in contexts where tense family rela…
Everyday reconciliations of ‘foodyism’ and meat alternatives
Meat alternatives may play an important role in sustainable food transitions. However, numerous barriers to the increased consumption of these products have been identified. This paper explores the consumption of meat alternatives in relation to ‘foodyism’, understood here as contemporary discourses and practices of gourmet food glorifying ‘exoticism’ and ‘authenticity’. Foodyism can be viewed as a relevant cultural barrier to the increased uptak…
Moral foundations and future pro‐environmental lifestyles choices in the Finnish population
The aim of the study was to examine citizens' perceptions of their preferred pro‐environmental lifestyle choices in the future. We examined how these choices relate to different socio‐demographic factors and moral foundations in a Finnish population survey sample ( N = 1,020). Consistent with previous research, endorsing care and fairness foundations related positively to using plant‐based food and local and natural food, as well as using sustain…
Beyond meat reduction in the sociology of sustainable food consumption
While the production of both meat and dairy products is ecologically harmful, the sociology of sustainable food consumption has largely focused on meat reduction. This article addresses that gap by exploring the deeply rooted role of cheese in the everyday lives of consumers. It argues that cheese deserves more critical attention due to the significant environmental impact of its production and the recent increase in cheese consumption in many co…
Does “better” mean “less”? Sustainable meat consumption in the context of natural pasture-raised beef
Livestock production has significant environmental impacts, requiring sustainable dietary shifts with reduced meat consumption. The concept of “less but better” has gained attention as a pragmatic approach to dietary and production changes, advocating for reduced meat consumption while focusing on sustainably produced, high-quality products. We focus on the interplay between “less” and “better” and critically evaluate the approach in the context …
Sociology (17 works) · Culinary Culture and Tourism (15 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Social science (11 works) · Business (10 works) · Organic Food and Agriculture (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact (9 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Economics (7 works)