Researchers rarely reveal the details of the methodological choices on which their research is based. The theoretical and practical considerations that have guided them in these choices often remain implicit. In this book, the focus is on methods for studying food and 'eaters'. The use of the term 'eaters' is intended to distinguish them from the simple image of a consumer. It emphasises the mu…
Most people have a routine set of foods that they like to eat. They might be typically North American dishes, but if you have any ethnic blood in your family or know foreigners, you’ve likely been exposed to a far more diverse range of world cuisine (a fancy way of referring to all the various foods, dishes and cooking styles from a particular culture). Even if you feel like you don’t reall…
What is the meaning of food? We humans live by symbols; they help us to make sense of the world, to organize and give meaning to our existence. Our alphabets are symbolic: we agree that a certain symbol stands for a certain sound. Time is another human invention: daylight, standard, leap year. Christianity’s year 2006 is Judaism’s 5765, Islam’s 1427, and China’s 4703. Nobody needed a na…
In such a book it is impossible to cover all relevant topics in depth and therefore the object has not been to be comprehensive. Rather, it seemed better to outline the general principles and to provide sufficient references to allow readers to access further, detailed information if required. I would like to acknowledge the help of many of my colleagues in giving advice and reading through sec…
Food is more than just nutrition. Its preparation, presentation and consumption is a multifold communicative practice which includes the meal's design and its whole field of experience. How is food represented in cookbooks, product packaging or in paintings? How is dining semantically charged? How is the sensuality of eating treated in different cultural contexts? In order to acknowledge the ma…
Time is against us. The world has already warmed by an average of 1 degree Celsius, as decades of rising greenhouse gas emissions have accu-mulated in our atmosphere. Devastating impacts are predicted if we fail to hold average warming well below 2 degrees Celsius this century. Any delay in tackling climate change, even one that allows the seemingly minor upward creep i…
During the 20th century, a devastating disease called Coffee Wilt Disease (CWD) spread across Africa, reducing yields, destroying millions of coffee trees and costing millions of USD in lost earnings for producers (Flood, 2009). The disease has also contributed to a decline in the revenues of several African nations. CWD reached epidemic proportions twi…
Food drying is one of the oldest methods of preserving food for later use. It can either be an alternative to canning or freezing, or compliment these methods. Drying foods is simple, safe and easy to learn. With modern food dehydrators, fruit leathers, banana chips and beef jerky can all be dried year round at home.
How much should I feed my dog? Does the food I’m providing meet my dog’s nutritional needs? As our knowledge of the relationship between diet and health continues to advance and as the range of foods available for dogs continues to expand, it’s more important than ever to base feeding choices on good information. The information in this pamphlet is based on Nutrient Requirements of Dogs …
Food issues. Interdisciplinary Studies on Food in Modern and Contemporary East Asia concentrates on the relationship among food, culture, literature, and language in a comparative, transcultural, or literary perspective. The contributions investigate these aspects from different approaches: historical, sociological, anthropological, religious, linguistic, and want to deepen issues such as the s…