2025年第42讲总第915讲
题目：The embeddedness of animal foods in China's agri-food system: Connecting production and urban consumption（肉食在中国农业食品系统中的嵌入性：生产与城市消费的联结）
地点：全讯600cc大白菜官网宝山校区D309
时间：2025年10月20日10:00-12:00
主持人：张敦福，600全讯白菜网教授
主讲人：Professor Marius Korsnes，Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; PI of the ERC-project: “A Middle Way? Probing Sufficiency through Meat and Milk inChina”；co-responsible for the Gemini Centre for Post Growth Futures； co-PI of the Nordic Network: Advancing Strong Sustainability in the Nordic Social Science and Humanities (StrongSSH)；co-PI of the RCN INTPART project "Sociomaterial Transformations in Norway and East Asia (SoMaT)".
内容简介：
This presentation explores the evolving roles of meat and milk in contemporary urban food practices in China, examining their embeddedness within the broader agri-food system. As urban lifestyles shift, eating habits are transforming in complex ways that have not yet been systematically studied. Drawing on 34 household interviews and home visits conducted between June and December 2024 in four Chinese cities, in addition multi-sited participant observation of pork, milk, and salmon supply chains, this research captures both generational dietary changes and the material contexts of food consumption in urban China.
Our findings reveal a marked increase in dining out, fast food consumption, online food purchasing, and a transition from fresh to processed foods. These changes are deeply intertwined with symbolic expressions of social status and shaped by government nutritional guidelines promoting lean meat and dairy intake. The surge in animal food consumption is driven by rapid production growth, technological innovation, and a shift toward industrialised farming, supported by policies favouring large-scale operations. Global dynamics, such as soybean cultivation in the Americas for Chinese livestock feed, further complicate the picture.
By adopting a holistic perspective, the presentation highlights how demand for animal-based foods is co-shaped by systems of provision and shifting urban food practices. This understanding is essential for advancing sustainable consumption, offering insights into the structural and cultural drivers behind increased animal food consumption in China.
