Øyvind Sæta Sundet

• Korsnes, Marius; Hansen, Arve; Sundet, Øyvind; Volden, Johannes & Loeng, Martin (2026). Bodies in tension: embodied persistence and change in meat-eating. Food, Culture, and Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research. ISSN 1552-8014. p. 22–22. doi: 10.1080/15528014.2026.2740964. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article examines how embodied knowledge contributes to both the reproduction and possible reorientation of meat consumption. Drawing on household interviews and a dietary experiment with consumers in Norway, we analyze three interconnected dimensions of embodied meat-eating: shared cultural understandings of meat as healthy and nutritious; habituated routines of shopping, cooking, and eating; and interpreted bodily experiences of taste, satiety, craving, and discomfort. Together, these dimensions show how meat becomes part of what feels normal, practical, satisfying, and at times necessary in everyday life. They also reveal tensions arising when habituated ways of eating, bodily experiences, and demands associated with health, social expectations, or dietary aspirations do not fully align. Inspired by practice theory, we conceptualize these frictions as “bodies in tension.” Such tensions may reinforce established conduct, be accommodated within familiar routines, or create openings for dietary reorientation. The article contributes to food studies by showing how bio-social bodies shape both the persistence and transformation of meat-eating. More broadly, it demonstrates that dietary transitions depend not only on changing attitudes or intentions but on creating alternative ways of shopping, cooking, tasting, and eating that can become familiar, satisfying, and socially supported.

• Wendler, Morten; Sundet, Øyvind & Volden, Johannes (2025). Who do we talk about when we talk about flexitarians? Appetite. ISSN 0195-6663. 219. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2025.108410. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Flexitarians are becoming increasingly popular to study in social scientific consumer research and flexitarianism is often seen as a potential solution to the sustainability challenges related to high levels of meat consumption in rich countries. The paper examines popular, historical and scientific understandings of the term, and identifies and discusses three central challenges with how the term flexitarian has been applied in empirical research. First, there is no commonly agreed-upon definition of who counts as a flexitarian. This makes it hard to ascertain shares of flexitarians across populations and difficult to assess the accuracy of existing estimations. Second, there is a tendency to operationalize the term in ways that lead to large internal variations. This often leads to the inclusion of frequent meat eaters in the category, which risks leading to overly optimistic accounts of both the prevalence and the transformative potential of flexitarianism. Third, there has been limited scientific discussion about the issues pertaining to the term ‘flexitarian’, which means that it is still unclear whether ‘flexitarians’ can usefully be viewed as a distinct consumer group. The paper contributes with a systematic discussion of the limitations and challenges associated with the term "flexitarian(ism)" and its use in empirical research. It concludes by discussing potential implications and by providing suggestions for future research.

• Sundet, Øyvind; Hansen, Arve & Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn (2023). Performing meat reduction across scripted social sites: exploring the experiences and challenges of meat reducers in Norway. Consumption and Society. doi: 10.1332/ZGZV3476. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Current meat consumption trends are associated with extensive resource use, environmental degradation, and detrimental effects on animal and human health, making meat reduction a core sustainability target. The experiences of meat reducers, often conceptualised as flexitarians, have gradually attracted more academic attention. This literature has shown that in many cases meat reducers do not radically reduce their meat intake and have untangled a complex web of factors contributing to meat consumption, reduction and avoidance. This article contributes to a nuanced understanding of the experiences, approaches and challenges faced by meat reducers. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with 26 self-declared meat reducers in Norway. By framing consumption as embedded in social practices, this article highlights how broader cultural, social and material conditions structure eating and hence meat consumption. A central finding is that through processes of socialisation and habituation, performances of eating often conform to the prevailing conventions inscribed in the socio-material environment in which they are embedded. We thus question the popular depictions of individuals as efficient drivers of dietary changes and highlight the many factors involved in reproducing the ‘normalness’ of meat-intense diets, demonstrating how individual intentions, choices and habits are themselves rooted in, and circumscribed by, prevailing conventions, that is, practices.

• Winther, Tanja & Sundet, Øyvind (2023). Flexibility for whom? Householder and stakeholder perspectives on justice regarding the introduction of dynamic grid tariffs in Norway. Energy Efficiency. ISSN 1570-646X. 16. doi: 10.1007/s12053-023-10153-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract This paper presents the results from a qualitative research project in Norway on a forthcoming change in electricity grid tariffs. As a form of Demand Side Management to avoid capacity constraints in the grid, the new tariff seeks to reduce consumption peaks by incentivising householders to even out electricity use and shift to nighttime. We examine the perspectives of 13 representatives from grid companies as well as 22 householders and study the process of developing the tariffs, in which the researchers took part at certain times. We draw on previous studies on experts’ perceptions of end-users, social practice theory, and energy justice, and we employ the concept of flexibility capital to examine the situation of the participating households. The findings partly confirm results from previous studies showing that experts may have a simplistic view of end-users and by observing an unequal distribution of flexibility capital across the studied households. However, the study contributes to the field by observing a link between householders’ sentiments towards the new tariff and their respective levels of affluence and flexibility capital. Then, we explicitly address justice perspectives related to the tariff’s introduction as perceived by grid companies and householders and find that both groups voice a need to acknowledge the situation of different kinds of end-users. We discuss the results from an energy justice perspective and observe that details in the design of a DSM mechanism may dampen its negative effects.

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• Sundet, Øyvind (2023). Kjøttforbruk: hvorfor er det vanskelig å redusere – selv for de som ønsker det? Full text in Research Archive
• Hansen, Arve; Sundet, Øyvind; Volden, Johannes & Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn (2023). Friday tacos and outdoor barbeques: Re-configuring ‘institutionalized meals’ towards meat reduction in Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Korsnes, Marius; Hansen, Arve; Sundet, Øyvind; Volden, Johannes & Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn (2023). The Circulation of Meat: How contemporary food practices reproduce the demand for meat in Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Hansen, Arve; Sundet, Øyvind; Volden, Johannes & Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn (2023). Hvorfor er det så vanskelig å spise mindre kjøtt? Full text in Research Archive
• Hansen, Arve; Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn; Volden, Johannes & Sundet, Øyvind (2022). Kjøttskam eller ribbeglede? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hvordan utvikler kjøttforbruket i verden seg? Hvilken rolle vil kjøttet ha i fremtidens matsystem? Hvorfor er det så vanskelig å spise mindre kjøtt? Kan kjøtt bli laget av planter? Vil vi spise melorm istedenfor kjøttdeig i fremtidens fredagstaco? Bli med på en samtale om kjøttproduksjon, kjøttspising, og kjøttkutt i Norge og verden Samtalen vil bli ledet av fire forskere i prosjektet Meatigation – Mitigating climate change through meat https://meatigation.no/

• Sundet, Øyvind (2022). Performing meat reduction: exploring the experiences, approaches and challenges of Norwegian meat reducers. Full text in Research Archive
• Sundet, Øyvind (2022). Performing meat reduction: exploring the experiences, approaches and challenges of Norwegian meat reducers. Full text in Research Archive
• Winther, Tanja & Sundet, Øyvind (2021). Folks betalingsproblemer kan øke. Full text in Research Archive
• Hansen, Arve; Korsnes, Marius; Sundet, Øyvind; Volden, Johannes R. & Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn (2021). Holdningsendring alene gir ikke kjøttkutt. Full text in Research Archive
• Hansen, Arve; Korsnes, Marius; Sundet, Øyvind; Volden, Johannes R. & Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn (2021). Kjøttkutt krever politisk styring! Full text in Research Archive
• Sundet, Øyvind (2021). Husholdningers respons på og holdninger til tiltak for fleksibel strømbruk: resultater fra dybdeintervjuer blant husholdninger i Tromsø og Porsgrunn. Full text in Research Archive
• Sundet, Øyvind (2021). Barrierer og muligheter for redusert kjøttforbruk: erfaringer fra norske husholdninger. Full text in Research Archive
• Winther, Tanja; Inderberg, Tor Håkon Jackson & Sundet, Øyvind (2021). Møte med Troms Kraft. Full text in Research Archive
• Vindegg, Mikkel; Sundet, Øyvind & Winther, Tanja (2023). Strømkunders oppfatninger om ny nettleiemodell: rettferdighet og fleksibilitet. CICERO Senter for Klimaforskning. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Rapporten oppsummerer funn fra kvalitative undersøkelser knyttet til kunders oppfatninger om ny nettleiemodell for strøm i Norge. Samlet viser resultatene at mange av kundene har en viss grad av bekymring for at den nye nettleien kan få uheldige og urettferdige fordelingsvirkninger. Kundene tar hensyn til faktorer (f.eks. husholdningssammensetning) som ligger utenfor nettselskapenes nåværende mandat å inkludere i tariffberegninger. Kundenes uttrykte bekymringer taler for gradvise endringer i nettariffer framover, framfor omfattende endringer som vil kunne gi store utslag som mange vil oppfatte som urimelige.

• Sundet, Øyvind (2021). Performing meat reduction: exploring how existing food practices enable and complicate meat reduced diets in Norwegian households. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Consumers in Western societies are increasingly called upon to reduce their consumption of meat to help alleviate the many environmental consequences of industrial livestock production. Dominant discourses around sustainable consumption, including meat reduction, understand consumption as driven by the attitudes, values and choices of individuals, portrayed as responsible for consuming in unsustainable ways and change to come about when individuals choose to act differently. In contrast, by framing consumption as embedded in social practices, this thesis emphasises how broader cultural, social and material condition’s structure eating and hence meat consumption. A focus on practices shifts attention away from the individualisation of responsibility towards the many actors who has a hand in reproducing and sustaining meat-intense eating. The thesis explores the experiences, approaches and challenges of nine Norwegian meat reducers through in-depth interviewing coupled with structured food diaries. In doing so, it seeks to understand what enables and complicates efforts at meat reduction in Norwegian households. A main finding is how efforts to reduce meat consumption are influenced by social forces of which individuals do not assert much control. The findings suggest that through processes of socialisation and habituation, performances of eating often intuitively conforms to the prevailing conventions inscribed in socio-material environment in which they are embedded, thus, emphasising the influence of social norms and material affordances in enabling and complicating meat reduction. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the dependence on timesaving and hassle-free ways to eat in everyday life, coupled with a meat-intense repertoire of convenient cooking and a foodscape that heavily facilitates convenient meat-eating, pushes people towards meat-dependent convenience. Moreover, the analysis elaborates on the concept of bounded creativity to highlight how informants’ creative and innovative efforts at doing meat reduction are rooted in and circumscribed by bodily, material and social elements – which in essence limit the possible ways in which meat reduction might be carried out. In sum, the research findings in this thesis suggest that a radical change towards meat-reduced diets seems unlikely without fundamental changes to the social, physical and economic structures that reproduce meat consumption as the appropriate, easy and cheapest way to eat.

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