Introducing the Sociology of Food and Eating

by Anne Murcott

Overview

This textbook equips students with the ability to analyze and think critically about contemporary food topics. A thorough introduction to the sociology of food and eating, the book also acts as a primer to the discipline of sociology more generally.

Chapters start with a 'common sense' assumption about food which students frequently encounter in their own lives or in the mass media. Topics include family meals, ethnic cuisines, cooking skills and convenience foods, eating out, food waste, and 'overpackaging'. Anne Murcott shows how systematic academic research approaches can allow students to move beyond 'conventional wisdoms' to examine sociological perspectives on food and eating. Key sociological concerns such as class, gender, age, ethnicity, power and identity are also introduced, accompanied by a wide range of examples from around the globe. By the end, readers will be able to think more critically and to apply sociological approaches to questions about food and society.

Introducing the Sociology of Food and Eating is an essential introductory textbook for students in sociology and food studies. It provides readers with a solid basis for success in their studies - and with a new understanding of their own attitudes to food and eating.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350022027
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/21/2019
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

Anne Murcott is Honorary Professorial Research Associate, Food Studies Centre, Department of Anthropology, SOAS University of London, Professor Emerita, London South Bank University and Honorary Professor, School of Sociology & Social Policy, University of Nottingham. Among her books is The Sociology of Food: Eating, Diet and Culture (with Stephen Mennell and Anneke van Otterloo). In 2009 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Uppsala.

Table of Contents

Preface viii

Acknowledgements x

1 Introduction: sociology, food and eating 1

2 Food at Home: 'the family meal in decline?' 29

3 Food in Public: 'we are all eating out nowadays' 51

4 Food in Institutions: 'why are hospital meals inadequate, school lunches meagre and prison diets unappetizing?' 67

5 Food Preparation Competence: 'cooking skills are being lost because people rely on convenience foods' 81

6 Food Packaging: 'the problem is that food is over Packaged' 97

7 Food and Ethnicity, Authenticity and Identity: 'ethnic foods are everywhere' 109

8 Food, Nutrition and Kitchen Hygiene: 'why don't people just follow professional advice?' 123

9 Food Waste: 'how does so much perfectly edible food get thrown away?' 137

10 Food Poverty: 'poor people should eat porridge not Coco Pops, it's far cheaper' 149

11 Food and Power: politics, the food system and 'consumer choice' 159

12 Conclusion: sociology, food and eating 173

Notes 177

References 187

Name Index 211

Subject Index 215