Eco-gastronomy

Eco-gastronomy is an approach to alternative consumption that stresses the importance of the interaction between humans and food and the effect produced by that.

The Latin term eco refers to how organisms relate to their environment, while gastronomy, according to food philosopher Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, is the intelligent knowledge of whatever concerns man's nourishment.

What these phenomena have in common is the belief that consumers can, and should, use their power of choice to modify market relations, in order to make them fairer and more conducive to a good life for all.

Regarding the scope, the eco-gastronomic approach tries to find alternative forms of integration in the capitalist culture, based on the attention given to the quality of food and on the relations between humans and their impact on the environment.

[4] In 2005, Carlo Petrini provided a theoretical perspective of eco-gastronomy stating that "agriculture and ecology are part of gastronomy because they help us understand where our food comes from and produce it in the best possible way – by simultaneously observing the principles of taste, respect for the environment and biodiversity".

But an ecologist who is not a gourmet is ... well, he's just boring" (Petrini 2007 : 68) [8] In a context made of a growing spread of movements, ideologies and approaches which promote critical consumption, the concept of eco-gastronomy has prepared the ground to a variety of projects.

[citation needed] As shown below, the key players are not only consumers and producers, but also, at a lower level, students, families and researchers.