Browsing by Subject "Ruokakulttuuri"

In recent years insect food has attracted interest in Western countries. The discussion on insects has picked up since FAO published a report on edible insects in 2013. Previous studies have focused on exploring the potential of insect food in Finland. There is also a lot of international consumer research on insect eating. The purpose of this study is to highlight the aspect of media discussions that has not yet been explored, but which is relevant to highlighting a novel food culture phenomenon. The aim of the study is to find out what kind of image of the insect food is transmitted through media texts. The results of the study are based on articles on insect food published in five most widely circulated Finnish newspapers (Helsingin Sanomat, Aamulehti, Turun Sanomat, Kaleva, Keskisuomalainen), which are published seven times a week. The material has been compiled using the search engine of each newspaper's own website. The search has made by using the Finnish equivalents of the terms: insect food, insect nutrition and insect eating as keywords. The material under review is limited to 2015-2018. As a method of analysis, I use discourse analysis. Five different discourses representing insect eating were identified in the data: (1) insects as ecological and ethical food, (2) insects as meat substitute, (3) consumers’ attitudes are decisive, (4) interest in insect food and (5) insects as a potential. Insects as ecological and ethical food -discourse emphasized the benefits of insect nutrition and environmentally friendly. The discourse submits insects as a lasting solution to food production. Insects as meat substitute -discourse gave a picture of insects as an alternative to meat. The discourse makes eating insects possible by automating insect production. Consumers’ attitudes are decisive -discourse placed stress on changing consumer attitudes and habits. The discourse submits opportunities for it by providing to consumers more information about insects. Interest in insect food -discourse emphasized that Finnish consumers to be mainly positive about insect food. The discourse submits sufficient domestic production promote the transition of consumers to insect food. Insects as a potential –discourse emphasized the easy of production and presents opportunities for insect nutrition in Finland.