Preserving Tradition Amidst Modernity: The Hybridity of Food Practices

Abstract

Traditional socio-cultural practices surrounding food, vital for cultural preservation and continuity, are increasingly contested due to modern influences such as globalisation and economic growth. These shifts can significantly impact consumption routines and disrupt long-held traditions. While such lifestyle and food-practice shifts can threaten consumers’ sense of ontological security, more attention is needed to understand how these contestations are negotiated and managed. Drawing on theories of practice, we explore how consumers negotiate contestations amid the tensions arising between tradition and modernity. This ethnographic study of 31 middle-class households in India reveals how consumers actively (re)configure material and competence-based elements of food practices to preserve traditional meanings while negotiating modern influences. This study offers theoretical insights into the hybridisation of practices, illustrating how consumers fluidly adapt to sustain cultural continuity and restore ontological security.