Looking for Commensality: On Culture, Health, Heritage, and the Mediterranean Diet

Abstract

The concept of the Mediterranean Diet has substantially evolved in the last decade and a half. From a model focused uniquely on nutrition and public health, in recent years, and after its registration as Intangible Heritage of the Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), its conception incorporated important elements related to society, culture, and sustainability. In this regard, the use of concepts such as commensality (or conviviality around food, or eating together), linked to a more cultural vision of food, began to be one object of attention. The aim of this article is to reflect on the role of these ¿new¿ elements regarding the actual definitions of the Mediterranean diet and, particularly, its relationship with other significant discourses inside this concept, as the preponderant of health, or the emergence of sustainability.