Introducing Sustainable Food Policies: The Case of the Norwegian Armed Forces

Abstract

This thesis sets out to explore the factors that have challenged the introduction of Meat-Free Monday in the Norwegian Armed Forces. The need to address the unsustainable levels of meat consumption, especially in the West, is related to environmental and health concerns of meat production, especially in regard to the high intake of red meat. This thesis examines the challenges that arise from the military s meat reduction initiative in order to uncover how individuals react to such a dietary change project. By examining the factors that have challenged the implementation of the initiative, this thesis seeks to understand the motivations and dilemmas related to addressing and reducing meat consumption as well as understand the underlying attitudes. The questions guiding the empirical research process were: What are the factors that have challenged the implementation of Meat-Free Monday in the Norwegian Armed Forces? To support my main question, I ask: i. Why and how is Meat-Free Monday being introduced in the military? ii. What are the various attitudes towards reducing meat consumption among soldiers and how can these attitudes be explained? Data has been collected by qualitative and quantitative research methods, including in-depth interviews and focus group interviews with administrative staff, cooks and soldiers, and a survey distributed to all conscripts in the Norwegian military. Findings were analysed from the perspectives of power and cultural meanings. Throughout the analysis I demonstrate the importance of meat in the everyday lives of the informants in relation to cultural meanings, perceptions, nutrition, masculinity, comfort and alienation. The difficulties in the implementation of the initiative are connected to structural and contextual features, cultural meanings, information and knowledge, social expectations and notions of comfort. I found the biggest constraints to reducing meat consumption in the military to be its cultural associations with protein, muscular power and comfort. These associations were largely interconnected with deficient communication and insight into the problem.