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A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: The Social Appetite

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This book contains a series of essays on the politics and sociology of food. Although it's a collection of essays by different authors, it's presented as a textbook, complete with a list of vocabulary words and discussion questions for each essay. A few of the articles are comprehensive review articles covering aspects of food and nutrition, such as eating out in England (Alan Warde & Lydia Martens), food and class (Pat Crotty), nutrition guidance for recent immigrants (Joanne Ikeda), and food and aging (Wm McIntosh & Karen Kubena). One article reports original research on women's impressions of their bodies during pregnancy (Lauren Williams & Jane Potter). Most of the remaining articles argue for a particular (politically correct) view of nutrition, food supplies, and obesity. (For example, the article on world hunger, which starts the book off, argues for neo-Marxist solutions to world hunger, yet overlooks the major role that armed conflicts play in causing famines.) The editors of the book are Australian, so it is not surprising that the majority of articles discuss questions that focus on Australian society, although some of the chapter discuss British society, and a few describe the US. This book could be used as a text for upper-level undergraduate courses (if you are determined to teach left-wing politics together with nutrition), but it probably wouldn't be a great choice for US campuses because of the Australian focus. On the other hand, the core review articles listed above would make great reading anywhere.