Quality of Life: Application of the Concept and the Questionnaire for Evaluations in Food Systems

The concept of quality of life has become more and more important over the past years and has been broadly used in different scientific fields and realms of life. Quality of life is a subjective and multidimensional concept which includes the individuals’ perception of their well-being. Researchers focus on the development of instruments to measure quality of life. Various questionnaires including different domains are used for assessment. Food is produced and consumed in systems. For a better understanding of the different food system interactions and their environmental and societal impacts, a holistic approach is necessary. The aim of this thesis is to find out whether the concept of quality of life can be applied to food systems and whether it can help to evaluate the different dimensions of a specific food system by using a more person-centred approach instead of technocratic parameters. A questionnaire combining quality of life and food system aspects was developed. Primary research was carried out with an organic municipality in Södertälje, Sweden. The results of the questionnairebased survey indicate a high quality of life for the target population. However, a high quality of life cannot directly be associated with a specific food system. For a comprehensive evaluation of food systems, additional factors should be assessed.