Changing Food Practices: Exploring the Dynamics of Social Practices for Sustainable Food Innovations in Cotonou’s Food System Lab

Abstract

The current food system fails to ensure food security and nutrition for millions. In Benin, 83% of households cannot afford a nutritious diet, and only 18% are food secure. In response, pathways towards more sustainable food systems are emerging, including Living Labs (LLs). They are defined as user-centered, open innovation ecosystems integrating research and innovation within real-life communities. Yet, little research has examined the impact of the innovation developed within LLs on expected beneficiaries. This study addresses this gap by analyzing beneficiaries’ ability to adopt the food innovations promoted by the LL of Healthy Food Africa (HFA) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin. HFA tackles Benin’s prominent issue of food insecurity and malnutrition by improving households’ food consumption practices. Embedded in the framework of social practice theory (SPT), thisstudy focuses on how changes in social practices—materials, competencies, and meanings—can enable sustainable and healthier food habits at home. Through semi-structured interviews and participant observations, this qualitative study explores: “What elements of social practice need to change to respond to the introduction of an innovation in creating more sustainable food practices at a household level?” The findings provide insights for both academia and development, offering recommendations for innovations tailored to people's capabilities and willingness to embrace change. This research serves as a pilot study for the Incubator project “From Lab to Mouth: Enhancing the capacities of households to adopt innovations from living labs in the food sector across Africa”, which is part of the Pathways to Sustainability Incubator grant (2024)