Overview

Who can deny the significance of food? It has a central role in our health and pleasure as well as in our economy, politics and culture. Food in Society provides a social science perspective on food systems and demonstrates the rich variety of disciplinary and theoretical contexts of food studies. While hunger and malnutrition remain a reality in many countries, for some food has become an experience rather than a sustenance. This book addresses the different worldwide understandings of food through thematic chapters and a wide range of material including: description of the political economy of the food chain, from production to the point of sale; analysis of global issues of supply and demand; critical debate of environmental and health aspects of food, including GM food, the role of habits, taboos, age and gender in food consumption. Each chapter contains a guide to further reading and to websites of relevance to food. Extensively illustrated, this book is essential reading for students of food studies in the social sciences and humanities.

Full Product Details

Author:   Peter Atkins ,  Ian Bowler
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Hodder Arnold H&S
Dimensions:   Width: 23.40cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 15.50cm
Weight:   0.646kg
ISBN:  

9780340720035

ISBN 10:   0340720034
Pages:   344
Publication Date:   29 December 2000
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Hors D'oeuvre - A background to food studies Part 2 The Political Economy of Food Introduction Food regimes as an organizing concept Globalisation and food networks Transformation of the farm sector Food processing and manufacturing Food marketing and the consumer Part 3 Global and Geopolitical Food Issues Introduction Food production and population Malnutrition, hunger and famine Food surpluses Food security Food, world trade and geopolitics Part 4 A Political Ecology of Food Introduction Environmental context Food quality Food and health From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution Food ethics, food policies and civil society Part 5 Food Consumption Spaces Introduction Factors in consumption The origins of taste Food habits, beliefs and taboos Food, gender and domestic spaces Part 6 Conclusion Food studies resources.

Reviews

A very good book...its wide range of very brief chapters keeps the reader constantly challenged. Given the wealth of information this is definitely one for the library shelf.TEG News (British Ecological Society) AustraliaAn extremely ambitious book, full of references from various areas of food studies, ranging from geography and anthropology to rural sociology and agricultural economics. An invaluable resource that should help those in food studies beyond geography understand how geographers think about food, and help geographers and geography students understand the various perspectives on food within their field.Gastronomica

Author Information

Peter Atkins is a professor at the University of Durham, and Ian Bowler is a professor at the University of Leicester.

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