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Whetting the appetite: a taste of the sociology of food and nutrition
John Germov
Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle, NSW
Abstract
This article provides an overview of the sociology of food and nutrition by providing a taste of the issues, theories and empirical findings that dominate the literature. The great benefit of a sociological perspective on food is the ability to conceptualise and explain the connections between individual experience and wider social patterns - why we eat the way we do. The structure-agency debate is always at the forefront of such a task as we attempt to understand how the social structure shapes our actions and how we in turn shape it. Whether it is the study of the organisation, distribution, production or consumption of food that is in question, a sociological perspective demystifies food-related human behaviour and exposes the social context of food and eating.
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