FoodStories: Heritagisation for sustainable value creation

Project period: 2025-2028
Funding: The Research Council of Norway
Contact person in Østfoldmuseene:
Marianne Løken, research director, marianne.loken@ostfoldmuseene.no

 

• Project Website

The research project Heritagisation for Sustainable Value Creation focuses on revitalizing and modernizing Norwegian food cultural heritage. FoodStories aims to explore and highlight Norway's culinary heritage insightfully and innovatively, providing knowledge and tools to help address societal challenges such as sustainable development, increased competitiveness in primary industries, recruitment to the food value chain, and social inclusion.

The interdisciplinary consortium consists of researchers from various academic backgrounds, including sociology, museology, archaeology, cultural history, history, economics, gastronomy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and consumer studies. The project also includes partners from the broader cultural sector and professionals working with various forms of food culture, and food industries, as well as selected farmers and chefs.

FoodStories is led by Annechen Bahr Bugge at OsloMet and builds on FoodLessons: Culinary Heritage as a Resource in Building the Food Nation Norway 2030 (2021-2024). The project is funded by the Research Funds for Agriculture and Food Industry (FFL/JA) via the Research Council.

Overall, FoodStories aims to increase understanding of Norway’s food and drink heritage and its potential for value creation, sustainability, and cultural enrichment.

Maihaugen and Østfoldmuseene are responsible for work package 4, focusing on museums as arenas for learning about sustainable cultural heritage. Together with our partners, we will document cultural heritage, develop knowledge about green cultural heritage, and inspire innovation. The work package leaders are Kristina Skåden at Maihaugen (lead) and Marianne Løken at Østfoldmuseene (co-lead).

Research Questions in FoodStories

• How can food stories and heritage processes, be used for knowledge and business development in the agriculture and beverage industries?
• In what ways can food stories and heritage processes contribute to an increased share of Norwegian-produced food and drink consumption?
• How can food stories and heritage processes optimize the use of local resources and reduce food waste?
• How can food stories and heritage processes be creatively interpreted and adapted to develop new, culturally enriched culinary products that resonate with today's consumer preferences while preserving their historical essence?

The knowledge creation of food history and culinary cultural heritage inspires creativity and innovations, which in turn can drive political changes and respond to crucial societal challenges. The project's main hypothesis is that food traditions and heritage processes have significant potential to inspire creativity and innovation, thus providing substantial opportunities for product and service development in the Norwegian food value chain. This can, in turn, enhance income opportunities for local food producers and suppliers and contribute to the efficient, profitable, and sustainable utilization of local resources.

The deliverables in work package 4 include a peer-reviewed research article, a book, 2-3 popular science articles, a master's thesis, 8 presentations/lectures, exhibition production, and knowledge contributions to the other work packages. The results are registered in the National Knowledge Archive (NVA) as they are published.

FoodStories also has its own Facebook page, where we share results along the way.