9780130305664

This book concerns itself with food and hunger issues, primarily in America, but also as America is located in both history and a broader global system today. It focuses on food consumption and production in relation to history, society (including politics and economics), environmental impacts, and some ethical and social justice issues surrounding food. Chapter topics look at: Food as a Human Value and Problem; The Biological Base: Food, Humans, and Well-Being; Food and History: From Hunter-Gatherers to the Preindustrial West; Food and America: Early Industrial Era Transformation; Food in America and the World 1945-2001: Continuing Transformations; Foodways, Eating and Cuisine in America; Food, Population, and Environment; and Food, Ethics, and Social Justice. For individuals who find food issues fascinating because of their relationship to universal and basic human concerns.

Preface

xi

Introduction Food as a Human Value and Problem

1

(2)

Peeling the Food Onion

3

(2)

What You Can Expect: Our Focus, Scope, and Organization

5

(4)

The Biological Base: Food, Humans, and Well-Being

9

(22)

Food and Nutrients

10

(5)

Nutritional Science, Recommended Intakes, and Food Pyramids

15

(4)

Nutritional Science: Some Conclusions and Controversies

19

(11)

Conclusion

30

(1)

Some Suggestions for Further Reading and Information

30

(1)

Food and History: From Hunter-Gatherers to the Preindustrial West

31

(31)

From Hunter-Gatherers to Cultivators

32

(4)

The First Civilizations

36

(3)

Ancient Greece and Rome

39

(4)

The Middle Ages

43

(1)

Agricultural Innovations and Eating in the Middle Ages

44

(2)

Religion, Fasting, and Medieval Eating Disorders

46

(2)

Food, Population, and Change in the Middle Ages

48

(2)

The Early Modern Period

50

(6)

The Early American Diet

56

(4)

Some Suggestions for Further Reading

60

(2)

Food and America: Early Industrial Era Transformation

62

(28)

The Industrial Revolution and the Commodification of Food and Farming

63

(4)

Progress and Problems: A Cautionary Tale

67

(1)

Changes in Food Marketing and Consumption

68

(3)

Continuing Transformations in the New Century

71

(1)

Immigration and Ethnic Cuisines

72

(4)

Early Food Reform Movements

76

(3)

Corporations, Farmers, and Politics

79

(3)

Mid-Twentieth-Century Crises

82

(2)

The Food Business

84

(1)

Restaurants and ``Eating Out''

85

(3)

The Impact of World War II

88

(1)

Some Suggestions for Further Reading

89

(1)

Food in America and the World 1945-2002: Continuing Transformations

90

(40)

Technifying Foods

90

(4)

Feeding the Hungry

94

(2)

The Biotechnology Revolution

96

(4)

The Price of Industrial Agriculture

100

(2)

Safeguarding the Food Supply and the Environment

102

(1)

Fast Foods, Diet Foods, and Contemporary American Cuisine

102

(3)

Food Consumption Trends: A Summary

105

(1)

Political-Economy: Changing Ownership and Control

106

(1)

Down on the Farm...

107

(4)

The Changing Food Business: Oligopolies

111

(5)

Government and Food

116

(4)

Globalization; The Evolving World Food Order

120

(3)

So What?

123

(6)

Some Suggestions for Further Reading

129

(1)

Foodways: Eating and Cuisines in America

130

(32)

Eating Together

131

(4)

American Foodways: Assimilation and Diversity

135

(3)

American Foodways: Ethnicity and Social Class

138

(5)

American Foodways: Gender

143

(3)

American Foodway Trends: McDonaldization

146

(4)

Disenchantment and Re-Enchantment: Foodway Reform Movements

150

(5)

McDonaldization, Nutrition, and Health

155

(2)

The Epidemic of Obesity

157

(4)

Some Suggestions for Further Reading

161

(1)

Food, Population, and Environment

162

(40)

Population Growth

162

(1)

World Population Growth

163

(3)

The Environmental Impact of Producing Food

166

(13)

Alternatives to Industrial Agriculture?

179

(2)

Sustainable Farming and Agroecology

181

(2)

Hunger in America and the World

183

(3)

The Causes of Hunger

186

(6)

Addressing Chronic Hunger

192

(1)

Elements of a Realistic Approach

193

(5)

Rebuilding the Grassroots in the United States

198

(2)

In Sum...

200

(1)

Some Suggestions for Further Reading

200

(2)

Food, Ethics, and Social justice

202

(24)

Ethical and Social Justice Perspectives

204

(2)

Dealing with Hunger in America

206

(4)

Six Strategies to Address Hunger in America

210

(4)

Effectiveness, Ethics, and Justice

214

(1)

Dealing with World Hunger: The Ethics of Trade and Aid

215

(2)

What Goes Wrong?

217

(2)

Food Aid

219

(3)

Reforming Food Trade and Aid

222

(3)

Some Suggestions for Further Reading

225

(1)

Notes

226

(24)

Photo Credits

250

(1)

Index

251

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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The titleFood, Society, and Environmentcame from conversation. When people asked us "what is your book about?" that's exactly what we told them--mentioning a bit about how we treated the three terms as important qualifiers. Our book is addressed to two kinds of readers. First, to those who find food issues fascinating because they relate to such universal and basic human concerns, and particularly those who may appreciate the insights of the humanities and social sciences "about food." Second, to those in educational settings--students and faculty--for whom food issues are important because they relate to other human concerns. As an early reviewer of our project said: "Food is a topic critically important to many fields, but one which often slips through the cracks of conventional analysis." Specialized food scholars will find little new in this book, though we hope to have accurately incorporated some of their important findings and insights. As we explain in the following introduction, rather than a very specialized approach, we attempt to discuss the important links between food issues from different perspectives and areas of scholarship, insights, and perspectives. That is indeed a challenge--but one that we found fascinating and engaging. It also extended a long-standing friendship and collegial relationship. Given our intended readers, we have written in an informal style, because we think that reading should be more like a conversation between authors and their readers. We thank the College of Arts and Sciences of Creighton University for providing sabbatical leaves, which provided the time and resources making our project possible. In particular, we thank Prentice Hall Publisher Nancy Roberts, who decided to publish the work, and also Chris DeJohn, Sharon Chambliss, and Christina Scalia, and all of the Prentice Hall staff who supported its development. We thank the following Prentice Hall reviewers for their suggestions and comments: David Kozak, Fort Lewis College; Amy Bentley, New York University; Harold C. Furr, University of Connecticut; Ken Albala, University of the Pacific. We thank our academic colleagues and students, who encouraged us, as well as suffered us while it was being completed. Last but not the least, we thank our wives Anne and Chris, who both encouraged and suffered us individually through this and other projects over the years. We are interested in your insights and responses, and encourage you to contact us if you wish. Charles Harper Bryan Le Beau

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Food, Society, and Environment

Food, Society, and Environment

0130305669

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