Week 1
Lecture 1
Rural sociology group; ‘we teach about and do research on a range of topics linked to rurality, food
provisioning and place-based development’
Main questions in this course 
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What are we allowed to eat and why?
Why are some foods taboo?
What role does food play in our identity?
How are food choices values in society?
What makes a specific food or dish authentic?
What are the relationships between gender, race, and food?
How food is approached in this course
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As a symbolic object, cultural ritual, source of identity
As a ‘lens’ on culture, ethics, and society
As a tool to think with
Aim: developing the analytical skills to appreciate the cultural, social, and ethical dimensions of food
What is food?
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‘To study food often requires us to cross disciplinary boundaries and to ask inconvenient
questions’ (Belasco) Food studies require us to think about ethics, politics, history, economics, society, culture,
science all at once
Not all that is edible is food
What is culture: 
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Culture: ‘culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law,
customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society’
(Tylor, 1871)
The combination of material objects as well as the ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving,
that are passed from generation to generation.
Rituals and beliefs that mark people as belonging to a particular community. - Products
produced by and for people in a particular place and time.
Attitudes and assumptions that shape people’s everyday lives
shared and learned behaviour: it can be modified and unlearned; Socialization: the process
by which culturally valued norms of behaviour are passed on from generation to generation
Internalized and partly unconscious
Always changing
Culture involves both tradition and change; The same goes for food habits
We are quick to make cultural categories
Acculturation - Process - Groups and individuals adapt to the norms and values of another culture;
Food
Food culture:
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Norms, practices, attitudes, and beliefs as well as the material items surrounding the
production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of food
Collections of values, ideas, practices, preparations, techniques, actors, and everything else
that allows us to make sense of the world of food.
By studying food, we can study aspects of our culture
Food taboo:
The deliberate avoidance of food items for reasons other than simple dislike; not individual; food
rules
What is disgust - Disgust evolves culturally - Develops from a system to protect the body from harm
to a system to protect the soul from harm
Disgust vs distaste - Distaste relates to dislike - Distaste has more to do with individual food
preferences - Disgust is not merely an extension of distaste but “an entirely new category of
ideationally based, contamination-sensitive revulsion or withdrawal”
Disgust can reveal a food taboo; Disgust reveals this unconscious taboo: a belief that it is somehow
bad What leads to avoidance;
All societies classify the animal kingdom into
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a. Types of species that can be eaten
b. Those that must never be eaten
c. Those that only become “edible” or “inedible” for particularly situated individuals in
certain specific and, typically, ritually charged context
Neophobia: the fear to try new foods
Omnivore’s dilemma: Humans fear new food and at the same time are attracted to new things
Unconscious food taboo -The item is not regarded as food and is avoided anyway o Almost all meat
is unconsciously tabooed (see Fessler and Navarette 2003)
The acceptable meats are exception to the rule Meat is good to taboo- a large proportion of food
taboos relate to meat - “animalness” - Spoilage and decay - Distance from humans - Anomaly, hard
to classify
Classification of meat by britain
Classification is not neutral always embedded in social relations -> power relations - Some people
have more power to classify (Bourdieu)
Three theories for taboos Functional:
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rational health and environmental reasons
Looking back in history to find a logic for taboo (etic); Resource partitioning ; Resource
protection; Protect humans from health hazards
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Ecological – Structural – Biocultural - Neglects origins, and process of “rule making” - Taboo
= utility / usefulness It explains why it is done but fails to link it with culture and why these people in particular
have this taboo
Meat can be dangerous to eat; e.g. when it is not well-cooked
cannot explain the process, but match resources/ environment with taboo
Symbolic:
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magical, cultural/spiritual belief system, ideas, symbolic reasons
Taboos hold meaning ;Food as Sacred: actor defiles (sacrifice) Food as Profane: defiles actor
(pork) - Supernatural powers attributed to foods (fava beans)
Fails to provide an explanation linking individual experience to shared belief - Inconsistent
across culture
process by human interaction which produces the cultural meanings and associations
Evolutionary psychology; Emotions are key to understanding taboo
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emotional reaction (disgust) conditions food aversions into food taboos (psycho-social) Focus is on emotions (ethics/ sociology gap) ; Linked to danger and disgust Required and understanding of the human mind and its relationship to the physical world.
Human cooperation is predicated on adherence to shared standards for behaviour which
requires 2 steps: o Identify norms (rules) o Cohere to them (sanctions)
volutionary mechanisms invoking intrinsic ambivalence to animals
Evolutionary psychology is a theory used to explain the emergence of Food Taboos that is
based on psychology. It will focus on emotions and it is supported by psychosocial processes
(normative moralisation, egocentric empathy and socially-mediated conditioning).
3 psychosocial processes that support taboos
Socially-mediated ingestive conditioning
▪ Omnivores use social information to respond to new foods
▪ Experiences of a few actors = observed by large audience
▪ Allows egocentric empathy - Links the power of others’ behavior – if we see someone feeing
disgust or not eating the product then we do the same; Individuals experience others’ behavior as if
it were their own, yet ignore others’ subjective states, relying on their own dispositions instead.
Disgust and fear are the principal emotions associated with it.
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Capacity to experience disgust and fear, empathetically We stop people from eating foods that brought pain to others
Normative moralization - Response to environment: shared predisposition leads to patterned
behaviours in group members - Motivation for defining violations = moral sentiments Process of
emergence -; we follow certain norms and if we do not follow them then we are not acting moral; It
is the process in which a shared predisposition becomes a patterned behavior and standard. Moral
sentiments are the motivation for defining violations.; And then there is third-order punishment,
which means individuals are punished if they fail to punish noncooperators.
It is not that one of these theories are better than the other. They can all be used to explain why
we have certain foods taboos. So you can just use all these theories to search for explanations. I
would like to emphasize that most with origins steeped in religion, promotion of health,
protection of life, combined to create a set of rules that united people and create group cohesion.
It is actually in all these theories very important to look at the history and to find both the rational
explanations, but also the symbolic explanations and psychosocial explanations. A
Anomalous: inconsistent with or deviating from what is usual, normal, or expected
Etic: of, relating to, or involving analysis of cultural phenomena from the perspective of one who
does not participate in the culture being studies
Emic: of, relating to, or involving analysis of cultural phenomena from the perspective of one who
participates in the culture being studied
Ideational: related to ideas, meant to suggest some general idea and not a particular word or phrase
- Totem: a class of material objects which is regarded by a culture with superstitious respect,
believing that there exists between the individual and every member of class an intimate and
altogether special relation (Frazer 1910, 3).
Lecture 2
ethics
1. Morals & ethics:
Morals: values & norms (part of culture)
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Values: what we find important
Norms: rules we follow to realize values (protect our values)
Ethics: systematic reflection on morals; developing the vocabulary and patterns of thinking that
make for more perceptive and imaginative ethical reasoning’ (Thompson, 2015, 7-8)
Discovering morals: explicating the implicit
Values and norms are often
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implicit
self-evident
semi-/unconscious
Discovering morals: moral emotions Prototypically, feelings that are:
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‘disinterested’
‘motivating pro-social behaviour’
examples: anger, compassion, empathy, guilt, contempt ... Motive to doing good
2. Understand how ‘ethics’ relates to ‘morals’ ‘Normative ethics’: what should we do? [‘descriptive
ethics’: what do we do?] [‘meta-ethics’: what is the nature of morality?]
Why?
If norms and values are not/no longer self-evident dilemmas and moral uncertainty Ethical
dilemmas Pick one of the dilemmas from the text (the one faced by either Dory, Walker or Camille)
example new technology gmo
Ethical judgments; three foci
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Agent (person, group or firm) - Constrained by policy & legislation, customs & norms, rights
& duties
Conduct/action - Ethical or unethical as such: lying/truthfulness, mendacity/honesty, etc.
Consequences/outcomes - Benefits or harms for health, wealth, wellbeing (of human
animals, nonhuman animals, ecosystems)
Three classical theories;moral reasoning & justification:
Utilitarian ethics: outcome-oriented
Utilitarianism Utility/wellbeing/happiness as highest value Principle of utility: ‘Actions are right
insofar as they promote happiness or pleasure, and wrong insofar as they produce unhappiness or
pain’ Greatest happiness principle: ‘The greatest happiness for the greatest number’ (Jeremy
Bentham, 1747-1832) an ethics of calculations?
Duties & rights: conduct-oriented
uties & rights-ethics (‘deontology’) Autonomy and justice as highest values - Autonomy: freedom,
agency, self-determination (auto=self, nomos=law) - Justice: universal human rights, equality (week
4) Moral duties: acts that are inherently good regardless of consequences Duties & rights generally
imply each other: - keep
-1804)
Virtue ethics: agent-oriented
Virtue ethics Virtues: character traits to be developed through life - Ancient times: courage, friendliness,
wittiness, truthfulness - Christianity: temperance, prudence, fortitude, justice
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The scientific eye on moralization & food taboo ‘ we therefore propose that all humans possess a
propensity for normative moralization and attendant sanctioning behaviors. We thus expect
normative moralization to have played a role in the genesis of any taboos that reflect spontaneously
occurring patterns of behavior.’ (Fessler & Navarette, 2003, p15)
Concluding - Ethics is the systematic reflection on morale - Moral emotions help to identify implicit
values and norms - Ethical theories represent varieties of moral reasoning that can enrich our morale
and help decision making - Social science and ethics can have the same object of study, but
(generally) approach them differently (descriptive vs prescriptive)
Week 2
Lecture 3
What is identity?
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Sociologists want to know: how are individuals affected by society?
How do they contribute to it?
o Identity is constructed, sometimes even preformed
o Food choice and relationships to food provide insight into identity formation
Questions
o How do people use food to construct national identity
How do globalization and colonialism effect food identities.
What is national identity?
▪ Myth making, Banal performance of “doing” Nationalism
▪ Constructed relationally re: the foreign ▪
Symbols – e.g. flags, foods ▪
Language, Stereotypes, Emotions, Geographies
What is identity in an age of globalization ▪
Wilk shows how: - Food is a lens on culture and political economy; change in diets; has accelerated;
But the boundaries that separate cultures have not disappeared
globalization vs. local food ;culture Strengthening of local and national identities <-> global massmarket capitalism; Two sides of the same coin
What theories and metaphors does Wilk use to make his argument?
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Structuralist- Bourdieu, and analysis of capitalism o How people’s taste and status are
reproduced through consumption
Constructivist & relational approach – shows how national foods and identities are
constructed relationally
Symbolic- for examining power and meaning people invest in foods, brands, media and how
they change them
The metaphor of the drama & performance opens up other possibilities
Food habits are ways to express taste, status, and distinction.
Expressing “good taste” requires cultural, economic, and symbolic capital
In France food and consumption preferences cluster around more rigid class identities; In Belize
cultural capital (e.g. knowledge about the foreign) is being democratized and identities are in flux
Homogenization-heterogeneity ;Neat ordering of taste found in France by Bourdieu is not found in
Belize; No consensus on high/ low taste (Mosaic not hierarchy Backstory)
Colonialism -
Globalization a cultural & economic process - Accelerated mobility of- people, media & knowledge,
goods, money - Symptoms, time-space compression, placelessness - Modernization & acculturation
hypothesis
Globalization and food - One way to explore globalization and its effects is through tracing changing
food networks and the dispersion of food culture throughout the world.
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Colonialism vs. Globalization; Problematizing the globalization “monster” Represented as “one way” process of domination, homogenization
Economy as something that is done to us rather than something we create
But - Consumers and the majority world are not “helpless dupes”
Myriad ways that people resist, appropriate, and make-do
Globalization to strengthen Localization
Emphasis on the ways objects are used to resist capitalism – via appropriation - Maintain local
systems “back to the roots” - Forge links with an authentic past - Build identities defined by local
systems of meanings and non-market social relationships - Reinforces relational aspect of
authenticity o Foreigners, expats, tourists, and emigrants were crucial agents in formulating and
valuing the local
Re-localization; Food is used to create a sense of nationhood; Paradox: increasingly open global
society (Belize) taste and preferences are now more deeply localized
RELOCALIZATION - Local knowledge of history, people, personalities and politics determine taste
In what contexts does the “Local” come to matter?
▪ How do we make sense of the resurgence of nationalism?
▪ Any expressions in food?
▪ Let's look at some contemporary examples
How do people use food to construct national identity?
Lecture 4
Food & Identity with Bourdieu
Taste
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Not the sensory aspect of taste (texture, sight, taste, smell)
The social & psychological aspect of taste (good and bad taste, food taboos)
Taste is about the way people are able to appropriate a lifestyle and distinguish themselves
from others.
This social taste also becomes embodied at the visceral (feelings)and emotional level (eg
comfort food)
Social taste – its just not in our head, but also in your habits.
Sociological imagination
Pierre Bourdieu; Bourdieu’s theory - Central question: what is social class, and why do inequalities
persist? - Core of the answer: class and class inequalities are reproduced by social practices - Key
concepts of ‘practice’: habitus, capital(four forms), Field, Distinction and taste
(Habitus x Capital) + Field = Practice
Bourdieu theory – class and class inequalities are reproduced by social practices: practices includeHabits, capital, field, distinction, and taste
Captial – power
Capital = Power
1. Economic capital: command over economic resources
2. Cultural capital: experience and knowledge through the life course (education, upbringing) that
give status a. Enable someone to succeed more than some else in a specific context b. Allows one to
be familiar with and have ease in using the institutionalized and valued cultural forms c. Creates a
sense of collective identity and group position; gained by life course that gives status, one must
belong to a group
3. Social capital: resources based on group memberships, relationships and networks of influence
and support that give access to status. resources through networks
4. Symbolic capital: resources available to the individual based on honor, prestige and recognition.
the power to arbitrarily determine what constitutes legitimate cultural capital within a specific field
is derived from symbolic capital; to have charisma and honour in one's field
Habitus
-Dialect, beliefs, attitude
-Embodied history – homogeneity of life
Social structure
How we are trained to think, feel and act in determinant ways- a mindset (attitudes, beliefs,
opinions) and a bodyset (health state, dialiect, manners of speech, gestures) - ‘Embodied history’:
internalized embodiment of external social structures that we acquire over the course of a lifetime Social structures (and capital) differ per social class, so habitus differs per social class, resulting in
institutions A; The capacity of an individual to act
Fields - Methaphor for spaces/ domains of social life with their own rules and forms of organization
- Objective positions within fields are competitively taken by agents seeking status, determined by
the amount and worth of the capital they have and their strategies to use it. - Societies have
different ‘fields’: education, work, subculture, food culture, etc
Habitus & Field - When our habitus matches the field within which we have evolved, we can
understand the situation and react o Fish in water with no awareness of the water o Feeling of ease
o Tacit knowledge of the rules and games - When our habitus does not match the field, we are fish
out of water and have to figure out new rules
Distinction- is nothing in fact but difference, a gap - Works by defining ‘good taste’ and ‘legitimate’
cultural capital - (Re)produces class identity (=group of individuals who occupy a similar position in
the economic system of production and can recognize each other as likes)
Taste – the capacity to materially or symbolically appropriate a given class of objects and practices as
a set of distinctive preferences - ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste is defined by powerful people who interact in
accordance, thus remaining powerful - Ideas about ‘good taste’ can be challenged by dominated
classes (eg. Mocking ‘fine’ cuisine) but change of taste can also come from within the dominant class
(eg. Adopting street food as part of ‘high’ culture) ;taste is often presented as autonomous (I found, I
liked…) but is the product of social structure, habitus, and historic accumulation of capital; superior
taste is not the result of superiority
Bordieu on Food & Class inequality 
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Food narratives are classed and may have unexamined class biases (e.g. Jamie Oliver’s
Sugar rush
Food’s themselves become “symbols” of a particular class of people (as well as
intersecting with gender, race, ethnicity, etc.)
Food access is uneven because of economic inequality
Food consumption can be a mode of performing, resisting, or changing one’s class identity
Relating Bourdieu to food
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Class culture influences food habitus
But - Food habits reproduce class culture too
Unhealthy diets are unhealthy but often intimately familiar, home-like and comforting
Empty calories are cheap
But - Would obesity be a problem if it affected only the rich
What does it mean to be a Foodie (Johnston & Baumann 2010) 
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Education: learning about food is what drives you Identity: food is central to who you are, you use food to relate to others Exploration: you engage with the omnivore’s paradox, you mash up ‘high’+’low’ Evaluation: quality is what you strive for (aesthetic disposition), like for ‘authentic’ and
‘exotic’ food
What are the social markers of foodies?
Foodies: democratic or distinction
Bourdieu’s concepts help us to understand how food taste is part of (class) identity
Week 3
Lecture 5authenticity
Food is an important social and cultural maker of identity
food is about status
cultural omnivorousness’
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There is an infinite range of foods, cuisines and styles available
Tension; distinction vs democracy
How to choose the ‘right’ kind of food
Value of democracy Food d
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Shopping freedom: market culture & individual food choices
Standards of distinction are not fixed
Individuals decide by themselves what is good and bad
find communities that share their ideas
Liberal principles of equality: diversity is good - Inclusion of ethnic cuisines, mixing of styles,
fusion
Value of distinction
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Food consumption is also about status and prestige
Competition on what ‘quality’ is or what ‘good taste’ is
Need to make knowledgeable and ‘morally just’ choices (importance of sustainability
discourse)
Carefull selection from wide range of genres to construct a lifestyle
Search for like- minded
Exclusion of those with ‘bad taste’ (Bourdieu week 2)
Creating distinction for Foodies – why do we care about authenticity
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Status - strategy for accessing and reproducing cultural and economic capital (Bourdieu,
Distinction)
Politics - reaction against homogenization of food cultures and industrialization of food
Identity - finding ourselves in food, finding our people through food. Including marginalized
identities in food culture
Authenticity as relational outcome
Authenticity as relational Heldke understands identity as relational rather than independent, “hermetically sealed packet” This leads her to challenge traditional notions of authenticity that rely on essentialism, truth claims,
properties of the dish
Her alternative notion of authenticity:
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Doesn’t belong to the dish,
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property of the cuisine that is happening, that results from relational transaction between
cook and eater
relational aspect of authenticity. So she starts with. Explaining that our identity is also something
that is relational rather than independent. Our identity is shaped by the interaction with others and
that the other is also influenced by our presence. She uses this to challenge this idea of authenticity
as an essential thing, as something that is related to that itself. As that we would all agree on that
this is an authentic dish. So she challenges this and she asks the notion that authenticity doesn't
belong to a dish. So it is our understanding of what an authentic dish is created in this interaction
between the cook and the eater. And she states, she formulated as a property of the particular
cuisine that is happening that results from relational transaction between cook and either shortly. So
what she points out is that a dish has a history of modifications. So a dish didn't stay the same for all
these years. The cooks modified it in relation to a new ingredients, new conditions, new neighbors.
That's one reason she points out through when she argues that authenticity isn't something that
belongs to a dish.
Defining authenticity
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Assessed on how the cultural object (food) conforms to a set of standard and values
Different cultures have own signifiers
Global flow in food chains complicates geographically-based authenticity
Authenticity - Is not simply related to the dish - Always constructed in the moment and
person/context dependent - And in relation to the eater, experience, and the other - Even if a food
was prepared authentically, there is no guarantee that the eater will be equipped to experience it as
authentic
Markers of Culinary authenticity - Heldke: identifies 3 definitions of authenticity in food that she
tries to debunk
1. Different or novel “we’re not in Kansas anymore”
2. Replicable “exactly the way..”
3. Native “… an insider would do it” Johnston and Baumann identify markers
1. Geographic specificity; Geographic specificity - Link between people, product and place is central
to determining a food’s authenticity - Foodies value foods prepared and consumed in specific
locations o Continents, regional, national, regions withing a country, foodie discourse
2. It is “simple”; t’s simple - A dynamic social construction - Simple food is “honest & effortless” Simplicity; the food itself, mode of production, preparation, presentation - Distinction from
corporate/industrial food - Distance from complexities
construction
3. Has a personal connection; Personal connection - Connection to cultural experience - Quality,
artful food & personal link to producer But - Danger of identity politics. Not all identities have the
symbolic capital to confer authenticity - Obscures cultural and economic privilege of eating outside
the industrial food system
4. Can be linked to historical tradition; Tradition - historical and traditional techniques, linked to
people and place - Standing the test of time, and being timelessly appropriate. - Being “classically
trained” yet experimental: artistic innovation on historic traditions, but limits for creative license
Cultural patrimony- objects possessing continuing cultural, traditional, or historical importance to
the heritage of a group, particularly those considered inalienable by the group. Fundamental to the
society’s identity and character; So it is, this is about not only foods, it is also about places about
traditions, about practices that are fundamental to the societies identity and character. And
example, if this is the hacker culture from Singapore and hawkers,
5. Has “ethnic” connections; Ethnic - Common practice of looking in the window to see who is
eating, serving and preparing the food - Assumption that a person's ethnic identity influences their
ability to prepare food correctly - exotic and "Other” or just new but - dangers of essentializing
identities (all X do this) - don’t judge a book by its cover - we seek that which we are least capable of
identifying
Authenticity in Restaurants Based on expectation (cultural, personal)- Chef, ingredients, cooking techniques are expected to be
“just the way they would have it” Desire to taste – as cultural outsiders – the unaltered “true nature” of the ethnic “other” What is new to us -> exotic-> “authentic” use your sociological imagination
Unattainable?
there is no such thing as a cuisine untouched by “outside influences” Heldke Authentic “national”
food is not possible in the US (Mintz in Johnson and Bauman)
Consumers are seeking authenticity through food consumption
Authentic experience = beyond fakery (honest)
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Informs the audience of cultural traditions
strives to build authentic experience between localized food and place of origin
Authentic food possesses genuine democratic qualities
At the same time, facilitates distinction and taste hierarchies
Lecture 6transformation & protein transition Understand big differences in trying to understand human
beings and their moral motivations - Think about if and how to deal with these differences Understand some implications for thinking about societal change: the case of meat and cultured
meat Part 1- who are we? - Are we sincerely motivated by ethical reasons? Or are we perhaps
deluding ourselves in thinking so taste demasked - Tasted is often presented as autonomous - But it
is the product of social structures, habitus, and historic accumulation of capital - Superior taste is not
empathy, guilt) The importance of what we care about (Sayer 2011) “this book is about social
science’s difficulties in acknowledging that people’s relation to the world is on of concern’ -> social
science is too detached, too objectifying The importance of sympathy and the imagination (Adam
Smith, 1759) We give sympathy, but we also
our motivations are not pure Virtue ethics, moral growth is a process Darwin (1871)The importance
of evolution, The decent of man Is about the fact that self interest as described in adam smith is
impor
behave Mixed motivation in current behavioral economics Morality neither a matter of total
individual freedom, nor of or total social imprisonment - Mix of group identity, emotions, habits,
tensions during societal change, the cas
you want to eat meat, you should not know too much about it’ Not signs of indifference, but of
ambivalence. it means that change is in the air. Difference within focus groups: citizens or farmers
Surveys should not react towards the first reaction regarding Cultured Meat Different groups of age
were similar interested in the process of cultured meat, not only younger people were interested in
the development of it A crucial role for tension and conflict - Farmers citizens government, big
companies - Why on a farm - New
story: cultured meat from special races, foaming freely in nature areas: new combinations of
tradition and technology
Week 4
Lecture 7 Food security exist when all people at all times, have physical, social and economic aces to sufficient,
safe and notorious food, which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for and active and
healthy life
Four different dimensions; physical availability, economic and physical access to food, food
utilization, stability over time
In medium and high income countries food insecurity is more a question of access, than a supply
problem; much food wasted, so focus is on inequalities and inefficiencies
Unequal access - Primarily a matter of financial ability and power relations -Victim blaming; personal
responsibility, individual choice
Food justice is a holistic and structural view of the food system that sees healthy food as a human
right and addresses structural barriers of that right
A food justice lens examens questions of:
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Access to healthy, nutritious, culturally appropriate food
Ownership and control of land, credit, knowledge, technology and other resources
The constituent labor of food production
What kind of food traditions are valued
How colonialism has affected the food system’s development Supply side approach -
Food deserts; areas where there is little available produce and other food commonly regarded as
healthy
Obesogenic environments - Ana Kirkland: these approaches have failed to shift the public health
conversation away from personal responsibility and individual choice Lack of food choices Lack of food choices Racism- political power, economic power- Forced to develop foodways and
other patterns in their daily lives to cope with limited availability
Food ways 
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Food choices are embedded in social relationships Food choices are impacted by many variables; geography, financial resources, social
networks etc
Foodways: the cultural and social practices that affect food consumption including how and
what communities eat, where and how they shop and what motivates their food
preferences “can only be addressed in the context of the myriad other social and economic obstacles
communities face”
Foodbanks - European foodbanks federation, 388 banks, 24 countries, 8.1 million people; Foodbanks
collect, sort and redistribute surplus and wasted food to people experiencing food poverty by means
of charity mechanisms
Neo-liberal win-win perspective Critique on foodbanks
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It does not challenge the structural causes of food insecurity and poverty
It de-politicizes the issues of food insecurity and poverty by national governments
It undermines the human right to adequate food Dignity The way foodbanks originally distribute food aid, violate dignity of recipients
o No or limit choice
o Wasted food associated with being a lesser citizen
o Social hierarchy between ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ Whiteness and food Charity
Foodways are complex, shaped by structural aspects such as the economic, political, and social
context
Food insecurity: Lack of income is a major barrier to obtain desired foods in middle- and high-income
countries Policies, interventions, programs, initiatives are based on and reinforce underlying
perspectives (and stigmas!) on social problems such as food insecurity
Lecture 8
health inequalities and Food Justice
There is a positive association between indicators of socio-economic status and micronutrient intake
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Foods of lower nutritional value cost less per calorie
Nutrient dense foods are available at low cost, not always palatable or culturally acceptable
to the low-income consumer
A capability approach
Autonomy: the right to be & do things (=positive freedom)
Justice: equality (or sufficiency) in capabilities
Inequality in healthy diets: ensure that people have the capability to healthy eating
Functionings: beings and doings (e.g., being educated, being politically active, working, eating, ..)
Capabilities: the real opportunities to achieve functionings (e.g.,) the capability to education, to
political action, to work, to eat)
the capability approach appreciates free choice: functionings need to be achieved, only if a person
wants to/ chooses to.
“Equality of what” (1979) Economist/ philosopher Amartya Sen criticized two views of justice
a. Equality in resources/material goods - what matters for social justice is the degree in which a
person can convert resources into a functioning; Matter of access, more than a supply issue (food
insecurity)
Conversion factors to resources 
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Personal: internal to the person e.g., metabolism, physical condition, sex, skills, intelligence
Social: emerge from society e.g., economic and social policies, social norms, discriminatory
practices, resources
Environmental: emerge from the physical and built environment, e.g., climate, nature,
stability of buildings, roads and bridges
Diversity in needs - A capability approach acknowledges diversity: persons differ in their needs
because of differing conversion factors (due to differences in capital, structure, cultural background,
biology, etc.)
b. Equality in subjective wellbeing (preference satisfaction) Bourdieu’s habitus-those who have no future, little to expect from the future ‘agents cut their coats
according to their clothes’; Class differences in eating patterns 
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Upper class’s pre-occupation with heathy eating (e.g., super foods, light/calorie low dishes):
a matter of know to have a future’?
Lower classes preferences for ‘harmonious meals’ &’tasty food’ over ‘healthy food’ Dismiss
subjective preference as measure of inequalities
understanding of wellbeing as multi-dimensional
1. Life. Being able to live to the end of a human life of normal length
2. Bodily Health. Being able to have good health
3. Bodily Integrity. Being able to move freely from place to place; to be secure against violent
assault; having opportunities for sexual satisfaction and for choice in matters of reproduction
4. Senses, Imagination, and Thought. Being able to use the senses, to imagine, think, and reason—
and to do these things in a "truly human" way
5. Emotions. Being able to have attachments to things and people outside ourselves
6. Practical Reason. Being able to form a conception of the good and to engage in critical reflection
7. Affiliation. Being able to live with and toward others, and to have the social bases of self-respect
and non-humiliation
8. Other Species. Being able to live with concern for and in relation to animals, plants, and the world
of nature
9. Play. Being able to laugh, to play, to enjoy recreational activities 1
0. Control over one's Environment. Being able to participate in political choices that govern one's
life; to hold property and have the right to seek employment on an equal basis with others Martha
Nussbaum
Fostering food justice: addressing inequalities in healthy diet Fulfilling food practices ~ Visser &
Haisma (2021)
A capability approach to healthy eating: - Food practices are formed within families, over
generations (=social conversion factors) - (biomedical) health is only one dimension of wellbeing: a
multidimensional approach to food practices is needed - Broaden focus on (biomedical) ‘healthy
eating’ to ‘fulfilling food practices’- - Align public health interventions with the ‘reality of the target
population’ (co-creation, agency) All of this, to ultimately alleviate health inequalities’ A capability to
healthy eating ?
Week 5
Lecture 9 – Food Gender Space and place - Geographical concept - Canvas that gives colour to
human interaction and is invested with emotions (Yi-Fu-Tuan, 1977) - Location, locale and sense of
place - Different scales Gender - Social construct that refers to social norms, identities, and relations
- Relational always in interaction with others - Discursively inscribes how ‘man’ and ‘women’ should
behave - Masculinity and f
- Women
are traditionally associated with food work - Men are associated with non-domestic food spaces Different food preferences of women and men - Different food preferences of women and men Different ideas of food work connected to men and women Doing gender in the foodie kitchen Doing gender: routine accomplishments continually made and remade in social relations,
interactional work of being a ‘gendered person’ - Social reproduction: daily work of reproducing
ourselves, social structures and society via food work, care work, education etc - Discourse: system
of knowledge articulated and shaped through individual practice, as well as institutions, media,
markets and knowledge producers Key point: foodies are able to challenge dominant gender roles
responsible for health& care, and experienced food as work. Men felt pleasure and expertise, and
experienced food as leisure that improved their status Consequences of women “failing” at
femininity greater If foodie culture is all about challenging food hierarchies, is foodie culture also a
and no Men did not feel guilt or
shame for straying from dominant masculinity More freedom in choosing how to be a foodie
Lecture 10food and race Since the rise of industrial capitalism(the 19C) and in particular advent of media and advertising
(1920 onward) 
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Consumer culture - consumption – the dominant social relationship
Image-based culture Advertising – the major ideological tool for the marketplace Media texts (media images, advertising) in general – intended to influence our identities and
behaviors;
Media texts, such as advertising as cultural pedagogy Stereotyping in advertisement (aunt Jemima) Attitudes and behavior of some oppressed people that reflect the negative, harmful, stereotypical
belief of the dominant group directed at oppressed people
Race as a social construction: a perspective that questions whether many taken-for-granted features
of our social world are neutral or inherent. A social constructionist viewpoint suggests that many
features of individuals, groups, cultures, and organizations are shaped by social processes that vary
over time and across contexts - What counts as race is not a biological categorY?
it is not inherent - Race as a socially constructed category. That is shaped by social processes that
black, Asian etc.) based on certain characteristics (biological or cultural) - Not because of science but
because of opinion and social experience - Characteristics are sometimes labelled.
As inferior by powerful groups in society Racism: the hierarchical ranking and differential treatment
of racialized groups of people beyond individual prejudice Scientific racism; biological determinism
=“women’s inferiority, reproductive organs, the essence of femininity”
Identity - Often predicated on an Other, on constructing an opposition - Produced through
opposites: what we are not - Historically developed power relations - Shape the relationship
between what wer are and what we are not - Create hierarchies
Problematic effects Race as an ideology Ideology: a set of beliefs, opinions, images, and attitudes
that form a loose set of related idea’s. - Particular values and interests are embedded in
representational practices, most often those of the dominant group. Racial ideology functions to o Reinforce and naturalize [racial] power hierarchies o Obscure
“inequality is natural,… not a problem” Racism practiced through food consumption - Technologies
of domination; hierarchical binary construction; us vs them o Us as superior vs them as subordinate Romanticizing, exoticizing, stereotyping Intersectionality Identity- relational - Feminist analyses
reject gender essentialism – identity is multi-faceted - Race cannot be examined in isolation from
other processes – intersectionality o A integrative perspective that emphasizes the intersection of
several processes, like gender, race, class, sexuality, and nation, in hishistorically, culturally specific
context - Intersectionality o A must to realize the goal of feminist analysis- equality for all o An
analytical achievement, political act “resisting the commodification of farming and food requires
that we think about food as embodiment of relationship rather than simply as something we eat. A
potato isn’t just a potato, it carries in it, and into us when we eat, a host of social relationships such
as those with the people who grow, harvest, or trade the potato and also with Nature, not abstract
but with particular nonhuman others, things, and individual places. When we partake in food, we
consume relationships” (McMahon, 2002, p. 204). - gendered, racialized Foods and bodies become
gendered and racialized together - Bodies give meaning to foods by consuming them - Foods give
meaning, shape and identity to bodies Eating the
1. Desire for the other 2. Deny all the unpleasantries of the past & present 3. Sustain the myth of the
individual & group (national) identity as ‘tolerant’, benevolent multiculturalist & sustain the colorblind ideology (:the claim that race no longer matters) White privilege- blinds us, without knowing
the difficulties, injustices experienced by black (youth) population - Advantages that white people
experience as a result of their race. Because it involves the absence of barriers, and access to rights
and opportunities that are taken for granted – privilege may be invisible to those who experience it
opportunity simply to ignore certain forms of hardships that they do not face - Ignorance serves to
prevent the relatively privileged from noticing the needs of others o Move from privileged
n] need to understand the
struggle against racism [and other oppressive structures, such as (neo)colonialism] as our own fight
Power - Shapes what representations we see and also do not see (in/exclusion) - Power relations –
complex interactions between- exerted by others on us & we exercise upon ourselves to accept or
resist the power exerted by others Key - Race is an organizing principle of society - Race is produced
through food practices - Racism is reinforced through foodspaces Culinary food justice Communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat food that is healthy, fresh, nutritious,
affordable, culturally-appropriate, and grown with care for the well-being of the land, workers, and
animals - Current food system is unjust >> racialized health disparities - Black, indigenous, and
people of colour experience Higher rates of poverty, food insecurity, diet related diseases, food
deserts & Food apartheid - Interventions are often led by white people, taking ‘if only they knew’
approach o It overlooks existing culinary and food knowledge o It assumes food justice and food
acces can be addressed through eduction o It distracts from other solutions; living wage, social
welfare, food sovereignty How? - Developing critical consciousness- engaging in (feminist) praxis Analytical skills- gender as process, intersectionality and more to deepen our understanding of o
Ideological workings, historically developed power dynamics o Contradictory effects o Visions for
justice o Strategies to transform hierarchical practices, structures – the goal of feminist analysis Situate, contextualize food practices - Self-reflexivity- one’s social location within historically
developed hierarchical power dynamics
Last lecture questions and point
Explain how race and gender are social constructions- These are traits that are though and learned
and are not biological. They are context specific and developed through social relationships
Why can the disgust reaction be used to identify an unconsious food taboo? (Explain disgust,explain
unconsious taboo, tell us why disgust a good way to uncover unconsious food taboos)- Disgust is a
facial and gut reaction and is based on ideas in the mind that may be unconscious and leads to
outright rejection with no rationalisation possible. A food taboo is defined as the avoidance of food
for other than simple dislike. An unconscious taboo is when an item is not regarded as food and is
avoided. Foods are usually not avoided consciously (only in case of prohibition rules) but
unconsciously; disgust reveals this unconscious taboo; a belief that it is somehow bad. It therefore is
capable of revealing a food taboo.
Define democracy, define distinction. How are these processes made visible in the discourse of
authenticity- Ideology of democracy is inclusionary, choice, freedom Ideology of distinction is
exclusionary Cultural consumption of specific foods sustains/maintains status and distinction in a
context of increase democratization Distinction through food habits help to sustain status as the
boundaries between low and high culture disappear Insight into how food cultures are being
redefined: new barriers (us v them)
The concepts of race, taste and authenticity are socially constructed as has been explained in class
an by literature. Choose 1 of these concepts and explain how this concept is a social construct and
give one example for this concept with which you illustrate your explanation-
In discussions about identity, we reviewed the emergence of “foodie” as an identity.
A) What does it mean to be a foodie?
B) What types of markers are used to identity a foodie? (Describe at least 3 )
C) What social and cultural factors can drive someone to become a foodie? Consider both the
societal factors and the individual factors.A foodie is a person with a particular interest in food. Foodies claim they are defending traditional,
quality, authentic foods BUT the term foodies is rejected because it is associated with snobbery &
trend setting Other argue that foodies is more democratic than terms like “gourmet”, “gourmand”,
“epicurean” 1. Self-identify as foodies & reject the term = on the basis that they are not snobs or
elitists They can be identified by way of the following markers: Knowledge Social aspects foodie as
identity (food is central to who you are) foodies use food to relate to others Exploration aspect
Central to the omnivore’s paradox Enjoyment of food comes with evaluation of food For Bourdieu =
aesthetic disposition A. Societal factors Democratization of the food system Limited trust in food
system Societal expectations Individual Links between class and food Foodies are from ambitious
classes, they hold different types of capital