Niels Heine Kristensen

Innovation Processes in Large-Scale Public Foodservice—Case Findings from the Implementation of Organic Foods in a Danish County

Abstract Following the declaration adopted at the 1992 World Summit held inRio de Janeiro, many governments have committed themselves to a common political goal of sustainable development. The declaration points out that both production and consumption patterns have to change in order to reach this goal. Since, in social and environmental terms, one of the most important areas is the production and consumption of food, some European governments have drawn up action plans setting out concrete goals for the conversion of arable land from conventional to organic production. One of the notable emerging areas is the idea that large-scale foodservice such as hospital foodservice should adopt a ‘buy organic’ policy owing to their large consumption volume. Whereas the implementation of organic foods has developed quite smoothly in smallerinstitutions such as kindergartens and nurseries, the introduction of organic foods into large-scale foodservice such as that found in hospitals and larger residential homes for the elderly, has proven to be quite difficult. One of the reasons for this is the highly complex planning, procurement and processing procedures pursued by such facilities. Against this background, an evaluation was carried out of the change process related to the implementation of organic foods in largescale foodservice facilities in the county of Greater Copenhagen in order to study the effects of such a change. Based on the findings, a set of guidelines was developed for the successful implementation of organic foods into the large-scale foodservice. However, the findings and guidelines are applicable to other types of innovation processes in foodservice.

Farmers’ reasons for deregistering from organic farming

Every year since 2002, 150 to 200 farmers in Norway have deregistered from certified organic production. The aim of this study was to get behind these figures and improve our understanding of the reasoning leading to decisions to opt out. Four cases of deregistered organic farmers with grain, sheep, dairy or vegetable production were selected for in-depth studies. The cases were analysed from the perspective of individual competencies and the competencies available in the networks of the selected organic farmers. Besides the conspicuous reasons to opt out of certified organic farming, such as regulations getting stricter over time and low income, personal reasons such as disappointment and need for acceptance were also important. This shows that hard mechanisms, such as economic support and premium prices, are not sufficient to motivate farmers for sustained organic management. Support and encouragement, for example from people in the local community, politicians and other spokespersons, would likely contribute to increase farmers’ motivation.

Consumer-oriented innovation in the food and personal care products sectors: understanding consumers and using their insights in the innovation process.

Abstract: In this chapter, we clarify the concept of consumer-oriented innovation in the food and personal products sectors and define it as a process towards the development of a new product or service in which an integrated analysis and understanding of consumers’ wants, needs and preference formation play a key role . We then outline relevant streams of research that may promote the implementation of consumer-oriented innovation in these sectors. We first review research on understanding consumers, notably on quality perception, associated methods, and their application in innovation processes. We then review research on innovation management, emphasizing the use of consumer insight information in innovation processes. We conclude that a better integration of consumer research and research on innovation management would benefit the innovation process.

Food for Kindergarten Children: Who cares? Relations between Food and Care in Everyday Kindergarten Mealtime

This paper discusses mealtime in Danish kindergartens as sites for contested understandings of food, bodies, and care, in an everyday life perspective. Two contesting perspectives on the daily meals are presented, one that highlights the bodily experience of eating, and one that emphasizes the relations between food and health. The coexistence of these perspectives causes tensions in the everyday meals, and in the relations between children and adults. It is argued that adults often downplay the meaning of children’s bodily experiences of eating on behalf of a more rational approach to eating that seeks to construct healthy bodies. The paper builds on empirical material produced in the period from early spring 2011 to winter 2013 as part of a doctoral research project. The production of empirical material took place in three Danish kindergartens through a combination of several qualitative methods, among others participant observation, interviews and creative activities with children.

Striated agency and smooth regulation: kindergarten mealtime as an ambiguous space for the construction of child and adult relations

ABSTRACT Deploying an everyday life approach, this article focuses on the kindergarten meal, defined as a space in which humans, materials and discursive elements interact. The article identifies and discusses two co-existing perspectives on the everyday meals that emphasise children as future beings and here-and-now beings. Through the concepts of smoothing and striation the paper discusses how these perspectives produce different mechanisms of regulation and agency, and position the eaters differently. The paper emphasises kindergarten mealtime as an ambiguous space that does not offer simple discussions about good and bad meal situations. The paper thereby adds to the existing literature within children’s geographies which emphasise interactional, relational and material aspects of children’s lives. It does so by revisiting some concepts, striation and smoothing, that has been used to explore children’s spaces and child–adult relations, but argue that these concepts describe ambivalent and complex processes in children’s and adult’s everyday lives.

Problems of actuality in meal and nutrition care: nurses’ perceptions of transfer of knowledge between different care settings

This study is based on an issue in nurses’ meal and nutrition care, relating to nurses’ perceptions of transfer of knowledge between different care settings. Through the notion ‘problems of actuality’, the aim is to identify how and why different methods in care may complicate preventive effort related to undernutrition among older adults. It is a qualitative study that lends itself to ethnography and ethnomethodology, with data collected through the use of semi-structured interviews and insights into patients’ medical charts. Through explications of nurses’ methods in meal and nutrition care, and how this work is accomplished within each setting, the study identifies that the different methods involved in meal and nutrition care (defined respectively as social-bodily care and text-based care), create problems in the transfer of knowledge between different care settings. Due to disconnection between social-bodily care work and text-based care work, there is a lack of transfer of knowledge, through which important parts of meal and nutrition care work become invisible. The study finds a need for noticing the disjuncture between social-bodily care and text-based care and for both methods of care, to be recognized as methods that support a delivery of care.