Glocal food and transnational identities: The case of the Mediterranean diet

In 1958 the physiologist Ancel Keys discovered that a specific nutritional regime was associated with lower rates of coronary heart disease and mortality. This was the origin of the “Mediterranean diet”, namely a dietary pattern defined by a high intake of vegetables, fruits, bread, legumes and unsaturated fats, a moderate intake of fish, and a low intake of dairy products and meat (Keys 1980; Nestle 1995). Since Keys’ discovery, interest in the Mediterranean diet has increasingly grown, making it extend beyond the simple definition of healthy rules regulating nutrition and embrace the social and cultural implications of a specific “lifestyle” (UNESCO 2013; Moro 2014; Stano 2015a). Building on these premises, we aim to analyse the processes of “translation” (Stano 2015b) of the Mediterranean diet into different foodspheres: which changes affect the material and structural dimension of food? And what happens at the sociocultural and symbolic level? The analysis of relevant case studies will lead to general conclusions on the transition of the Mediterranean diet from a merely “scientific” to a predominantly “cultural” paradigm. Furthermore, it will help shed new light on the processes of identity-building and the ideological implications of food traditions and their transnational adaptations.