‘I will eat the whole world’: exploring how mobilities shape migrants’ food-related occupations

Abstract

Introduction: Previous studies on migrants’ food-related occupations have largely focused on their transition from the sending to the receiving country’s foodscapes, overlooking their ongoing transnational and mobile practices. Objective: This article examines the interrelation between migrants’ transnational mobilities and their food-related occupations. Methodology: A secondary analysis of interviews with 16 Vietnamese migrants in Metro Vancouver and seven returnees from Canada to Vietnam used a transnational and mobilities theoretical approach to explore how cross-border movements, media, and culinary influences shape migrants’ food-related occupations. Results: Themes highlight dimensions including: a) Routine, mobilities and adaptation; b) (Transnational) social connections; and c) Global mobilities and power dynamics. Conclusion: Theorizations of transnationalism and mobilities offer a valuable framework for examining food-related occupations in occupational therapy and occupational science. This framework transcends simplistic distinctions between sending and receiving cultures, encouraging occupational therapists and researchers to critically engage with migrants’ transnational identities and occupations, moving beyond assimilationist approaches.