Dietary guidelines are a key policy instrument in guiding the way people
eat in many countries. Traditionally, the guidelines focus on the
public health aspects of diets. During the last decade, sustainability
has increasingly been incorporated into dietary guidelines, emphasizing
that sustainable diet benefits both health and the environment. This
article analyses the integration of sustainability into dietary
guidelines in Finland. The analysis is situated within the ontological
turn in social theory, understanding food as ontologically multiple. We
employ Annemarie Mol’s concept of ontonorms in analyzing the Finnish
dietary guidelines. Currently, in Finland, there seems to be a situation
of institutional ambiguity regarding where and by whom sustainable food
policy is being made and what does it constitute. We claim that the
ontological multiplicity of food is partly constituted by, and at the
same time constitutive of, the institutional ambiguity, and as a result,
the guidelines do not yet provide clear guidance for sustainable food
practices. As the guidelines fail to coordinate the multiplicity, they
increase the normative burden on consumers to make responsible choices.
In the latest Finnish guidelines targeted for children, however, steps
are taken towards a more inclusive, caring understanding of sustainable
dietary guidance.