About the Book
Food Studies has emerged as an important interdisciplinary field of enquiry. It is not just only about the study of food per se. Food Studies deals with more than the mere production, consumption, and aesthetic appreciation of food. It looks at the relationship between food and people from the variety of perspectives; be it sociology, cultural studies, economics, health, social policy, anthropology, history, art, science, management or technology.
Sociology of Food is a comprehensive volume on food and its changing dimensions. Besides offering readings of some established models of change in food patterns from food in transition to dietary change, the book adds its share of interesting empirical studies based on fieldwork and devoted to processes of change.
Chapters in this volume reflect on the anthropological, sociological and historical approach to food studies. It provides an excellent platform for the complex factors that shape people’s food habits. The wide range of issues covered in the volume includes: varieties of agricultural production, aspects of food safety and security, the role of household structures and issues of gender in dietary transformations and patterns of food consumption.
The book brings a sociological lens to emerging issues in relation to food and eating. Focussing on key texts and studies, the book will help students identify major concerns and themes for further study in this niche area of sociological enquiry.
Erratum:
The inclusion of Anne Murcott's name in the 'Acknowledgements' on page 13 is an
inadvertent mistake. Others, not she, is due thanks for their
contribution.
Contents
• Introduction
• Sociology of Food: Theoretical Orientations
• Classification of Foods: Emerging Trends
• Food and Dietary Practices in India
• Food Consumption Pattern: An Indian Basket
• Food and Women
• Feeding the Family in India: An Approach to Household Food Consumption
• Food, Food Habits, and Culture
• Food, Health, and Nutrition: The Interface
• Food, Health, and Disease: An Empirical Analysis
• Organic and Genetically Modified Food in India
• Food and Technology
• Food Safety and Food Labelling
• Food Protection Laws: International and National Scenario
• Right to Food and Food Security
• Food and Nutrition Policy: A Critical Analysis
• Food, Globalisation, and Media
About the Author / Editor
Madhu Nagla is former Professor and Head, Department of Sociology, M.D. University, Rohtak. She served as the President of Research Committee 13 ‘Sociology of Leisure’ of the International Sociological Association (2016–18). Her core areas of interest are gender, health, leisure and food studies. She has travelled widely for national and international conferences and has also published numerous articles in journals of national and international repute. Her earlier published works include Sociology of Health and Medicine, Sociology of Health, Gender and Health and Sociology of Medical Profession.
