Mari Niva

University of Helsinki, Economics and Management, Faculty Member

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I am a social scientist with background in economics, sociology and consumer economics. Currently I am professor of consumer studies at the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Helsinki (UH), Finland. Before that, I worked as professor of food culture, university lecturer, and university researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences (UH), and as a researcher and senior researcher at the National Consumer Research Centre in Finland. Recently my research has focused on social practices and cultural aspects of consumption, particularly sustainable consumption and sustainable culinary culture. In international and national projects, I have studied, among other topics, practices of eating in the Nordic countries, the consumption and future prospects of meat and plant-based proteins, and consumer appropriation of food-related innovations. Currently I study veganism, meat eating, political consumption, and sustainability transitions. For details, see https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/mari-niva

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Papers by Mari Niva

A rebalanced discussion of the roles of livestock in society

Nature Food

Uusien innovaatioiden vastaanotto elintarvikeketjussa esimerkkinä geeniteknologian käyttöönotto ja funktionaaliset elintarvikkeet

Veganism and Plant-Based Eating

In recent years, there has been an increased mobilization around vegan and plant-based diets. The... more In recent years, there has been an increased mobilization around vegan and plant-based diets. The chapter will analyze this mobilization, the evolution of the images and practices of vegan eating and what kind of political consumerism they constitute. We show how vegan eating takes place as an assemblage of several actors and platforms, such as consciousness-raising campaigns, vegan bloggers, pledges and festivals and new vegan foods marketed as 'cool' and suitable for everyone. The concepts of boycott and buycott are too narrow to adequately describe veganism as political consumerism. Instead, discursive and lifestyle political consumerism and their interplay characterize the current building of new images and communities. The Internet and social media have a central role in shaping the cultural contents of the 'veggie trend'. Moreover, vegan eating is not always inspired by otheroriented motives, but also by self-regarding motives, such as health, pleasure and distinction.

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The Food We Eat

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Eating and Drinking in Four Nordic Countries: Recent Changes

Springer eBooks, 2020

Tuotteiden ympäristölaadun parantaminen : tuoteketjun osapuolten näkemyksiä

Eating practices and diet quality: a population study of four Nordic countries

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Apr 29, 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Daily practices related to eating are embedded in the social and cultural ... more BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Daily practices related to eating are embedded in the social and cultural contexts of everyday life. How are such factors associated with diet quality relative to motivational factors? And, are associations universal or contextspecific? We analyze the relationship between diet quality and the following practices: social company while eating, the regularity and duration of eating and the activity of watching TV while eating. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based internet survey was conducted in April 2012 with stratified random samples of the populations (aged 15-80 years) in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden (N = 7531, completion rate 9-13%). The questionnaire elicited detailed accounts of one day of eating focusing on social and practical aspects of eating events. The validated Dietary Quality Score was the dependent variable. This measure is based on eight food frequency questions focusing on fats, vegetables, fruits and fish in the diet. RESULTS: Eating activities were associated with diet quality even when motivation to eat healthily and sociodemographic factors were controlled for. The number of daily eating events and eating main meals was positively correlated with diet quality in all countries. Beyond that, activities that were significantly associated with diet quality varied with country. When measured separately, the association between each activity and diet quality was weaker than motivation to eat healthily, but in combinations that are found in parts of the populations, the association was substantial. CONCLUSIONS: Daily practices related to eating are correlated with diet quality. Practices that are important are in part universal but also country-specific. Efforts to promote healthy eating should address not only cognitive factors but also everyday contexts of eating that facilitate or hamper healthy practices.

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From beef to beans: Eating motives and the replacement of animal proteins with plant proteins among the Finnish consumers

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 1, 2015

A better understanding of motives underlying changes in consumers' food choices is needed for des... more A better understanding of motives underlying changes in consumers' food choices is needed for designing more effective interventions toward more sustainable and healthy diets. The aim of the study was to examine how eating motives were associated with self-reported changes in the consumption of beef, beans, and tofu. The study analyzed a nationally representative survey on the adult population living in Finland (N = 1,048). The eating motives were measured with the Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS) that distinguishes between 15 eating motives. Six clusters of consumers based on self-reported changes in food choices were identified with latent class analysis (LCA). ANOVA with planned contrasts revealed that Natural Concerns, Health, and Weight Control were higher, and Convenience and Price were lower higher among those who had an established diet including beans and tofu, as compared to those who consumed only beef. Those undergoing a dietary change expressed a higher endorsement of Natural Concerns, Health, Sociability, Social Image and Price than those with an established diet including beans and tofu. Moreover, those with a past attempt to consume beans and tofu endorsed a higher level of Price than those with an established diet. The results suggest that eating motives are associated with changes toward more sustainable food consumption patterns in which meat/beef is replaced with vegetable proteins.

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Veganism and plant-based eating as political consumerism

Oxford University Press eBooks, 2020

Ostoslistamenetelmän testaus kvantitatiivisessa tuotetutkimuksessa

Kuluttajien näkemyksiä kotimaisuudesta ja kaupan omista merkkituotteista

Curbing unruly objects: the challenge of probiotic innovation to regulation

Everyday reconciliations of ‘foodyism’ and meat alternatives

Consumption and Society

Meat alternatives may play an important role in sustainable food transitions. However, numerous b... more Meat alternatives may play an important role in sustainable food transitions. However, numerous barriers to the increased consumption of these products have been identified. This paper explores the consumption of meat alternatives in relation to ‘foodyism’, understood here as contemporary discourses and practices of gourmet food glorifying ‘exoticism’ and ‘authenticity’. Foodyism can be viewed as a relevant cultural barrier to the increased uptake of meat alternatives, especially due to its adherence to the notion of authenticity. The paper argues that the cultural and symbolic tension between foodyism and meat alternatives must be sufficiently resolved if meat alternatives are to play a key role in sustainable food transitions. Accordingly, inspired by practice theoretical approaches in consumption research, and based on an analysis of qualitative data collected in Finland in 2020 through an online questionnaire (N=448, of which 49 were included in the final analysis), the paper fo...

Moral foundations and future pro‐environmental lifestyles choices in the Finnish population

Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology

The aim of the study was to examine citizens' perceptions of their preferred pro‐environmenta... more