This book investigates how knowledge about food is developed, disseminated and digested in diverse Western European contexts. Chapters critically examine beliefs about child and elderly nutrition, diabetes, gluten-sensitivity, vitamins and other dietary issues where medical experts, media brokers, scientists and educators promote concepts not only of good eating, but also of health and compliant citizenship. The book provides provocative insights into how food knowledge undergirds political policies, educational practices and nutrition advice.
Carole Counihan, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, Millersville University, USA and Editor-in-Chief of Food and Foodways
Scholars and activists have long emphasized the importance of “knowing where food comes from” while paying too little attention to the question of where knowledge about food comes from. Stepping into the gap is this ambitious collection of internationally diverse, interdisciplinary essays exploring what people know about eating, what they do with that knowledge and the broader politics of knowledge, authority and legitimacy that shape both.
Charlotte Biltekoff, Associate Professor of American Studies & Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, USA