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The fifth edition of the Umbra Institute’s Biennial Perugia Food & Sustainability Studies Conference entitled, “Food Movements – Moving Food”, will be held from June 9-12, 2022, in Perugia, Italy.

On Friday, June 10, Silvia Wiegel will present the results of her research on food box schemes. Her presentation is entitled "Moving or Being Moved to a Conscious Diet? Food Box Schemes as Dichotomous Constructions".

Research about box schemes has increased significantly recently, showing a dichotomy of research perspectives in countries of the Global North. One strand of research focuses on box schemes whose subscription and consumption are linked to particular values and specific representations of eating habits, e.g. environmentally conscious nutrition, and which are often promoted and constituted by wealthy consumers. The other strand of research examines box schemes designed and promoted by charity organizations to stimulate change in the values and eating habits of deprived people. Silvia's presentation is based on a systematic literature review and analyses these two strands of research and their different understandings and uses of box schemes. While the former use of box schemes suggests exclusivity and is moved by consumers who can afford it, the latter use of box schemes suggests that they are made for consumers who cannot afford it but are to be moved through box schemes to a more conscious diet. In her presentation, Silvia critically analyses the implications of this dichotomy on the reproduction of social disparities and boundaries and reveals how food box schemes are used to construct those who move a conscious diet and those who need to be moved to a more conscious diet.