Stephanie Assmann
Projects
Project |
Monograph
Food Education and Rural Resilience in Contemporary Japan: Nourishing National Identity. (under contract with Amsterdam University Press)
Rising obesity rates have drawn attention to the questions about what a 'healthy' diet should be. Also in Japan, the issue of lifestyle-related health conditions has drawn attention to food education, a concept with historical roots in the Meiji period. Repackaged as a guide towards 'proper' nutrition and eating, a governmental food education campaign currently advocates the consumption of a national diet as a way towards healthy eating. Drawing from the Foucauldian approach of governmentality, this book examines the mechanisms of reinforcing a 'proper' diet in an age of globalization and culinary nationalism.
Project 2
Research Project funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2019-2023
Reducing Food Waste in Japan: An Analysis of Governmental Campaigns and Consumer Behavior Patterns
I am the principal investigator of this research project on food waste in Japan. According to estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), almost one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. This corresponds to 1.3 billion tons of food per year. Also in Japan, food waste is a prevalent problem. This research project investigates governmental measures to reduce food waste and behavior patterns of consumers.
In 2013, the Japanese government initiated the No-Foodloss Project, which is related to the food education campaign, with the aim to reduce food waste in private households and in restaurants. This research project investigates governmental efforts to reduce food waste and examines whether efforts to educate consumers about the reduction of food waste have yielded successful results.