Politics beyond the Plate: Embracing Transdisciplinarity in Addressing the Gastronomic Heritage of Spain

Abstract

Research and initiatives in the emerging field of gastronomy require collaboration among scholars and experts from diverse backgrounds. Transdisciplinarity has been indicated as an effective approach allowing stakeholders from a variety of disciplines and professional practices to better understand and plan interventions in complex gastronomy-related issues and challenges. However, the actors collaborating in such transdisciplinary processes often represent different priorities, values, and needs, as well as varying levels of power and access to financial means. This is particularly evident when it comes to gastronomic heritage. Its identification, support, and promotion require cultural, social, and political negotiations among a great number of stakeholders. Using a pilot workshop organized in March 2023 in Madrid as a case study, this articles suggests that participatory design methods can offer instruments to ensure the effective transdisciplinarity required in gastronomy and to address the political tensions that underlie many of its aspects.

Climate change may threaten the production of Bettelmatt cheese: environmental and regulatory challenges

“…The trend slightly decreases along the years as the one of the total annual precipitations. The results of this analysis are in substantial agreement with other recent studies [11,18]. Based on the analysis of the meteorological data from 2000 to 2022 we can conclude that the effect of climate change is observed on the mean annual temperature trend.…”

“…To this aim, a sample of Bettelmatt cheese producers from the Ossola valley was interviewed and climate date are analysed. The study aim to be an example of the transdisciplinary approach which can be adopted in gastronomic and food sciences [11].…”

Climate Change May Threaten the Production of Bettelmatt Cheese: Environmental and Regulatory Challenges

“…The trend slightly decreases over the years as one of the total annual precipitations. The results of this analysis are in substantial agreement with other recent studies [11,18]. Based on the analysis of the meteorological data from 2000 to 2022, we can conclude that the effect of climate change is observed on the mean annual temperature trend.…”

“…To this aim, a sample of Bettelmatt cheese producers from the Ossola Valley was interviewed, and climate data were analyzed. The study aims to be an example of the transdisciplinary approach that can be adopted in gastronomic and food sciences [11].…”