Twelfth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

In the gastronomy industry, concern about structural problems related to environmental pollution, animal exploitation, workers’ mistreatment and unfair supply chains has given rise to the ethical eating approach. This perspective aims to transform the industry so as to reduce these negative outcomes and to foment more sustainable practices. This approach has been adopted in a much slower way in developing countries, considering additional barriers related to the scarce interest of restaurateurs, regulatory weaknesses and limited social pressure. In Peru, the recent gastronomy boom has led to an expansion in the number of restaurants, but this growth has not been accompanied by structural changes in the industry. Despite this, there is a group of leading entrepreneurs and chefs that have struggled to improve their ethical standards. The purpose of this research is to examine the main trends of ethical eating in top restaurants in Peru. The mixed approach included structured observations of websites and social media of the top 50 restaurants and in-depth interviews with key sectoral actors. The cluster analysis allowed to differentiate three groups of restaurants characterized by their high commitment, contradictory approach and indifferent stance on the subject. In turn, the qualitative analysis helped to deepen the contrasts and to understand the rationale of this grouping. On this basis, this study contributes to understand and differentiate the level of adoption of the ethical eating approach in the country. This information may also be useful for the design of public/private policies aimed at promoting these practices in the sector.