Many sociological accounts of life in the 21st century include reflections on the dissolution of distinctions between the public and private sphere, aided by social media and information technology. In this paper, we argue that everyday practices around the consumption of food continue to display strong home/out-of-home divisions, especially regarding the consumption of meat and its deeply rooted social meanings. Using data from a German online survey on food preparation and consumption practices, we report and critically examine empirical evidence of significant differences between public and private food consumption. In addition to divergent meanings, we pay particular attention to environmental impacts related to the resource implications of eating in or out. For many, eating out in a restaurant means to treat oneself to something special. Cultural links between eating meat and the celebration of special occasions, the role of meat as a signifier of hospitality, and meat consumption as an expression of high social status leads to considerable resource implications for the practice of eating out and hosting guests. This, in turn, throws up interesting questions regarding the (in)effectiveness of sustainable food campaigns, many of which have hitherto ignored the distinction between public and private consumption. We conclude by arguing for strategies that connect the consumption of plant-based dishes to already established social practices such as hosting guests, barbecuing or celebrating special occasions.

中文翻译：

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肉类的含义：（不）可持续的在家和户外饮食习惯

在社交媒体和信息技术的帮助下，许多关于 21 世纪生活的社会学描述都包括对公共领域和私人领域之间区别消散的反思。在本文中，我们认为围绕食物消费的日常实践继续表现出强烈的家庭/户外划分，尤其是在肉类消费及其根深蒂固的社会意义方面。使用来自德国食品准备和消费实践在线调查的数据，我们报告并批判性地审查了公共和私人食品消费之间显着差异的实证证据。除了不同的含义外，我们还特别关注与进餐或外出就餐的资源影响相关的环境影响。对许多人来说，在餐厅吃饭意味着给自己一些特别的东西。吃肉与庆祝特殊场合之间的文化联系、肉类作为好客的象征的作用以及肉类消费作为高社会地位的表达，对外出就餐和招待客人的做法产生了相当大的资源影响。这反过来又引发了有关可持续粮食运动（无效）有效性的有趣问题，其中许多运动迄今忽略了公共消费和私人消费之间的区别。最后，我们主张将植物性菜肴的消费与已经建立的社会实践联系起来的策略，例如招待客人、烧烤或​​庆祝特殊场合。肉类消费作为高社会地位的表现，对外出就餐和招待客人的做法产生了相当大的资源影响。这反过来又引发了有关可持续粮食运动（无效）有效性的有趣问题，其中许多运动迄今忽略了公共消费和私人消费之间的区别。最后，我们主张将植物性菜肴的消费与已经建立的社会实践联系起来的策略，例如招待客人、烧烤或​​庆祝特殊场合。肉类消费作为高社会地位的表现，对外出就餐和招待客人的做法产生了相当大的资源影响。这反过来又引发了有关可持续粮食运动（无效）有效性的有趣问题，其中许多运动迄今忽略了公共消费和私人消费之间的区别。最后，我们主张将植物性菜肴的消费与已经建立的社会实践联系起来的策略，例如招待客人、烧烤或​​庆祝特殊场合。