Coproducing “Planetary” Eating Futures from Dakar

Abstract

Reform of the global food system needs to be initiated and coordinated on a global level to meet the challenges of sustainably producing sufficient food within planetary boundaries. The EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet sought to establish a set of “planetary” eating norms that would constitute “healthy and sustainable” diets “for all.” In this article we present the findings from a co-production workshop held in Dakar that examined dilemmas of defining “healthy and sustainable” diets and “planetary” eating norms from a Senegalese perspective. We describe the concrete strategies for negotiating dietary change that emerged from the workshop, including interdisciplinarity, reciprocity, reparation and substitution, and collective reflection on eating histories. By working within the fraught project of planetary dietary design in a manner that resists an imperial logic that we designate as “dietary diffusionism,” we argue that theories of “planetarity” can be used to leverage deliberative approaches to the design of more just, inclusive, and effective food policy.