Sociology of food

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Taipei, Taiwan: The Jiaotse Restaurant in 14th avenue. The owner is preparing her famous handmade Jiaozi. Taipei Taiwan Jiaozi-Restaurant-14th-avenue-01.jpg
Taipei, Taiwan: The Jiaotse Restaurant in 14th avenue. The owner is preparing her famous handmade Jiaozi.

The sociology of food is the study of food as it relates to the history, progression, and future development of society, encompassing its production, preparation, consumption, and distribution, its medical, ritual, spiritual, ethical and cultural applications, and related environmental and labor issues.

The aspect of food distribution in our society can be examined through the analysis of the changes in the food supply chain. Globalization in particular, has significant effects on the food supply chain by enabling scale effect in the food distribution industry. [1]

Food distribution

Impact from scale effects

Scale effects resulting from centralized acquisition purchase centres in the food supply chain favor large players such as big retailers or distributors in the food distribution market. This is due to the fact that they can utilize their strong market power and financial advantage over smaller players. Having both strong market power and greater access to the financial credit market meant that they can impose barriers to entry and cement their position in the food distribution market. This would result in a food distribution chain that is characterized by large players on one end and small players choosing niche markets to operate in on the other end. The existence of smaller players in specialized food distribution markets could be attributed to their shrinking market share and their inability to compete with the larger players due to the scale effects. Through this mechanism, globalization has displaced smaller role players. [2] Another mechanism troubling the specialized food distribution markets is the ability of distribution chains to possess their own brand. Stores with their own brand are able to combat price wars between competitors by lowering the price of their own brand, thus making consumers more likely to purchase goods from them. [3]

Early history and culture

Since the beginning of mankind, food was important simply for the purpose of nourishment. As primates walked the Earth, they solely consumed food for a source of energy as they had to hunt and forage because food was not easily on hand. By early humans fending for themselves, they had figured out that they needed a high energy diet to keep going on a daily basis to survive.

These developments eventually lead to agriculture, which also goes into the labor for food and the economic part of the sociology of food. As the years went on, food become more and more of a way to bring cultures and people together. In many cultures, food is what brings people together. This carried for centuries. From the homo-sapiens hunting and gathering, to the colonists to the New World sharing a feast with the Native Americans (that has been revived as a tradition named Thanksgiving [4] ), to the popularization of restaurants/eating out in the last several decades and the togetherness that comes with eating; these developments now show communication and connectivity relating to food. According to sociologists, there are different groups of food that are divided up by their purpose and meaning. There are cultural super foods, which are the staples for a culture. There are prestige foods, which reflect economic status, and body image food which is mainly consumed for the betterment of the body. Sympathetic foods are eaten for an acclaimed desirable property, like a superstition. Lastly, there are physiological foods, which are consumed for a specific health reason (like what a pregnant woman eats for a healthy pregnancy). These different categories help researchers and sociologists study culture in the perspective of food. It often shows how food grows, molds and changes with society. For example, if someone believes in homeopathy, that would fall under the sympathetic foods or physiologic foods. This is because they are consumed for their properties and beliefs of what it could do. Another example of one of these categories of foods would be caviar or oysters for the prestige foods because they are often more expensive and those who consume it and purchase it do so to show their socioeconomic status, or SES.

Sociological perspectives

Through the lens of a symbolic interactionist, there are many symbols that have to do with the sociology of food. Food, in many cultures, brings people together and connects them on multiple different levels. For example, the tradition of eating with the family around the table. It represents togetherness with one and another and communication. Food itself could symbolize something greater than what it is. In America, fast food could represent the busy family that needs a quick dinner to some. To others, however, it could display the “McDonaldization Theory” which centers around the idea of, specifically American, consumption. Another example of how the sociology of food can be symbolized would be making the food from scratch. This definitely goes along with the family. With other theories of sociology, conflict theory also pertains to the sociology of food. As mentioned before, food was first and foremost used for nourishment and means of survival. Due to this, that can fall under conflict theory. The roles of the hunter and gather meant that early humans had to fight and forage to survive. The conflict could also display the survival of the fittest, because there was a conflict for getting food and nourishment, only the ones who were able to prevail and provide nourishment for themselves and their families survived. This evolved into what it is today, with people having jobs to make a living for themselves, which goes into food and nourishment. [5]

Psychology and disorders

Eating disorders are symbolic of the sociology of food. [6] They represent how much forced control (or the lack thereof) someone can have over themselves about something so essential for survival. [7] [8] Eating disorders do not limit themselves to Anorexia. These disorders include bulimia and Binge Eating Disorder (binge eating) as well. [9] People with such disorders often use food as a reward. [10] In other cases they see food as something to avoid, even though they need it for survival. [11] The relationship that people share with their food is always varied and is a very complex topic. [12] From a sociological standpoint, media has a lot to do with this. [13] [14] Not only does this have to with the sociology of food, but it has to do with how media represents society as a whole. Both men and women, (but majorly women) [15] see targeted and inaccurate representations of "the perfect body", [16] leading them to want to have a body more like the one considered normal. In disorders like Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa/Bulimia, patients have an intense fear of gaining weight and consuming calories. These disorders go on to represent the damaged relationship people share with their food and their weight, and how it is always attached to negativity in popular media. Inaccurate representation leads people to focus more and more on their external appearance as opposed to them taking into consideration their absolute need for nourishment. The false image shown publicly of what a perfect body looks like and how it is affected by consuming as many calories as a person normally might, has led to Anorexia Nervosa being the mental health disorder with the highest mortality rate. [17] Many people in society and the way society is developing have what is called body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia disorder is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. [18] Body image has become a problem surrounding this topic as social media can show unrealistic standards related to eating issues/disorders and the sociology based on food consumption.

Dieting

The fad of diets has been around for centuries, [19] but the obsession with being thin and slim only really began trending in mainstream media in the 1990s, [20] for example, through trends, such as heroin chic. [21] [22] Historically, if a woman was large and plump, it showed that she was getting taken care of. It showed her wealth because she could afford to eat, as opposed to a peasant who did not have the luxury to readily available meals. [23] The desired woman was not stick thin. The notable change began in the 1920s era were the “boyish” figure became the most desired for a woman. [24] Later, going into the 1960s, models like Twiggy made headlines about how thin she was, and many women strived to be like her body type. [25] This carried on to the 1980s where dieting (like the South Beach Diet and Weight Watchers) grew in popularity, along with the popularization of working out and work out videos. [26] [27] This was the start of mainstream dieting fads. [28] Among these, others like the Atkins diet, Jenny Craig, and paleo began to take popularity. [29] [30] As of early-mid-2010s, other diets became mainstream. This included vegetarianism, dairy-free, veganism, raw diets, and gluten-free. [31] [32] There are many reasons why someone would choose a certain type of diet: moral reasons, digestive issues, outside influence, or religious influence. [33] [34] The similarities and changes in the modern diet or communities and the effect of globalization on food production and supply. An important factor mentioned states, from the effect of globalization on food production and supply to evolving cultural responses to food – including cooking and eating practices, the management of consumer anxieties, and concerns over obesity and the medicalization of food – the first part examines how changing food practices have shaped and are shaped by wider social trends. [35]

Obesity

The evolution of the American diet and the resulting rise in obesity is a clear example on how food shapes society and daily life. [36] Due to the fast-paced lives that many Americans have, fast food and prepackaged foods with higher caloric density have grown in popularity. [37] The environment in which people with certain socioeconomic backgrounds live also heavily affect the type of food they consume, [38] as high-calorie and low-nutritional food tend to be cheaper and easier to find. [39] Lack of physical fitness is also a crucial aspect that is adding to the obesity epidemic. [40] [41] Studies have found that a neighborhood's walkability and access to recreation activities is correlated with increased exercise [42] and decreased risk of obesity. [43] There has been progress on combating America's obesity problem, with programs being put in place to help promote healthy eating and fitness. [44] [45] [46]

The effects of obesity. Medical complications of obesity.png
The effects of obesity.

Related Research Articles

Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients, have been shown to be no more effective than one another. As weight regain is common, diet success is best predicted by long-term adherence. Regardless, the outcome of a diet can vary widely depending on the individual.

An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's physical or mental health. These behaviors include eating either too much or too little. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient keeps eating large amounts in a short period of time typically while not being hungry; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20–60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fasting</span> Willing abstinence from, or reduced consumption of, food and/or drink

Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, or to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal. Metabolic changes in the fasting state begin after absorption of a meal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eating</span> Ingestion of food

Eating is the ingestion of food. In biology, this is typically done to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and nutrients and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive — carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter, and detritivores eat detritus. Fungi digest organic matter outside their bodies as opposed to animals that digest their food inside their bodies.

Orthorexia nervosa is a proposed eating disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food. The term was introduced in 1997 by American physician Steven Bratman, who suggested that some people's dietary restrictions intended to promote health may paradoxically lead to unhealthy consequences, such as social isolation, anxiety, loss of ability to eat in a natural, intuitive manner, reduced interest in the full range of other healthy human activities, and, in rare cases, severe malnutrition or even death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appetite</span> Desire to eat food

Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. It is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Appetite has a relationship with every individual's behavior. Appetitive behaviour also known as approach behaviour, and consummatory behaviour, are the only processes that involve energy intake, whereas all other behaviours affect the release of energy. When stressed, appetite levels may increase and result in an increase of food intake. Decreased desire to eat is termed anorexia, while polyphagia is increased eating. Dysregulation of appetite contributes to ARFID, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, cachexia, overeating, and binge eating disorder.

Promotion of anorexia is the promotion of behaviors related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It is often referred to simply as pro-ana or ana. The lesser-used term pro-mia refers likewise to bulimia nervosa and is sometimes used interchangeably with pro-ana. Pro-ana groups differ widely in their stances. Most claim that they exist mainly as a non-judgmental environment for anorexics; a place to turn to, to discuss their illness, and to support those who choose to enter recovery. Others deny anorexia nervosa is a mental illness and claim instead that it is a lifestyle choice that should be respected by doctors and family.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is an eating disorder characterized by frequent and recurrent binge eating episodes with associated negative psychological and social problems, but without the compensatory behaviors common to bulimia nervosa, OSFED, or the binge-purge subtype of anorexia nervosa.

Binge eating is a pattern of disordered eating which consists of episodes of uncontrollable eating. It is a common symptom of eating disorders such as binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. During such binges, a person rapidly consumes an excessive quantity of food. A diagnosis of binge eating is associated with feelings of loss of control. Binge eating disorder is also linked with being overweight and obesity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fad diet</span> Popular diet with claims not supported by science

A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; as such it is often considered a type of pseudoscientific diet. Fad diets are usually not supported by clinical research and their health recommendations are not peer-reviewed, thus they often make unsubstantiated statements about health and disease.

Overeating occurs when an individual consumes more calories in relation to the energy that is expended via physical activity or expelled via excretion, leading to weight gain and often obesity. Overeating is the defining characteristic of binge eating disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diet (nutrition)</span> Sum of food consumed by an organism

In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. The word diet often implies the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons. Although humans are omnivores, each culture and each person holds some food preferences or some food taboos. This may be due to personal tastes or ethical reasons. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthy diet</span> Type of diet

A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underweight</span> Below a weight considered healthy

An underweight person is a person whose body weight is considered too low to be healthy. A person who is underweight is malnourished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of the body</span> Branch of sociology studying the human body

Sociology of the body is a branch of sociology studying the representations and social uses of the human body in modern societies.

Wannarexia, or anorexic yearning, is a label applied to someone who claims to have anorexia nervosa, or wishes they did, but does not. These individuals are also called wannarexic, "wanna-be ana" or "anorexic wannabe". The neologism wannarexia is a portmanteau of the latter two terms. It may be used as a pejorative term.

Intermittent fasting is any of various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting and non-fasting over a given period. Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, such as the 5:2 diet, and daily time-restricted eating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weight management</span> Techniques for maintaining body weight

Weight management comprises behaviors, techniques, and physiological processes that contribute to a person's ability to attain and maintain a healthy weight. Most weight management techniques encompass long-term lifestyle strategies that promote healthy eating and daily physical activity. Weight management generally includes tracking weight over time and identifying an individual's ideal body weight.

Nutrition psychology is the psychological study of the relationship between dietary intake and different aspects of psychological health. It is an applied field that uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine the influence of diet on mental health. Nutrition psychology seeks to understand the relationship between nutritional behavior, mental health and general well-being. It is a sub-field of psychology and more specifically of health psychology, and may be applied to numerous related fields, including psychology, dietetics, nutrition, and marketing.

References

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Food - Sociology - Oxford Bibliographies - obo". www.oxfordbibliographies.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  2. ↑ MANUEL BELO MOREIRA, Changes in Food Chains in the Context of Globalization, Int. Jrnl. of Soc. of Agr. & Food, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 134–148
  3. ↑ Vizard, Sarah. "Supermarkets' new price war risks damaging relations with food brands and consumers." Marketing Week Online 24 Apr. 2014. General OneFile. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
  4. ↑ Siskind, Janet (1992). "The Invention of Thanksgiving". Critique of Anthropology. 12 (2): 167–191. doi:10.1177/0308275X9201200205. S2CID   140389022.
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  6. ↑ "How big brands are helping consumers shift to healthier eating options". Reuters Events. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
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  10. ↑ "Reward". National Eating Disorders Association. 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
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  33. ↑ Capritto, Amanda. "6 common reasons people eat vegan". CNET. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  34. ↑ "Why are so many people going gluten-free?". www.piedmont.org. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  35. ↑ "Introducing The Sociology of Food and Eating by Anne Murcott". Perlego. Bloomsbury Academic. 7 February 2019. ISBN   978-1-350-02204-1 . Retrieved 2022-12-14.
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  37. ↑ "Fast Food Statistics | October 2022 | The Barbecue Lab". 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  38. ↑ Zagorsky, Jay L.; Smith, Patricia K. (November 2017). "The association between socioeconomic status and adult fast-food consumption in the U.S". Economics and Human Biology. 27 (Pt A): 12–25. doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2017.04.004. ISSN   1873-6130. PMID   28472714. S2CID   23903624.
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  43. ↑ SALLIS, JAMES F.; GLANZ, KAREN (March 2009). "Physical Activity and Food Environments: Solutions to the Obesity Epidemic". Milbank Quarterly. 87 (1): 123–154. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00550.x. ISSN   0887-378X. PMC   2879180 . PMID   19298418.
  44. ↑ CDC (2022-05-21). "CDC-funded state and local programs". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  45. ↑ "Obesity Prevention and Healthy Weight Programs". National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  46. ↑ Chriqui, Jamie F. (September 2013). "Obesity Prevention Policies in U.S. States and Localities: Lessons from the Field". Current Obesity Reports. 2 (3): 200–210. doi:10.1007/s13679-013-0063-x. ISSN   2162-4968. PMC   3916087 . PMID   24511455.
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