NUT 120AN: Nutritional Anthropology

2025. Adel den Hartog. This book " ... shows how complex the food choices of humans have been for millenia. Those who wonder why we eat what we eat, will find out practicalities, such as availability of products, transportation and costs, but also physiological, cultural, geological, and psychological factors matter. Den Hartog points out the importance of access to food for individuals and groups, and the influence of their socio-economical position. Can someone be convinced to eat something that they perceive as inedible? This book gives many examples of our limited flexibility, whether caused by an intolerance for genetical reasons, or because we simply did not know the food and want to keep it that way. Food habits are slow to respond to interventions, but these days, a meatless meal is no longer a sign of poverty."

2016. Dallen J. Timothy, ed. "Food is one of the most fundamental elements of culture and a significant marker of regional and ethnic identity. It encompasses many other elements of cultural heritage beyond the physical ingredients required for its production. These include folklore, religion, language, familial bonds, social structures, environmental determinism, celebrations and ceremonies, landscapes, culinary routes, smells, and tastes, ... despite all that is known about foodways and cuisine from hospitality, gastronomical, supply chain and agricultural perspectives, there still remains a dearth of consolidated research on the wide diversity of food and its heritage attributes and contexts. This edited volume ... [consolidates] into a single volume what is known about cuisines and foodways from a heritage perspective ... related to gastronomic practices, intergenerational traditions, sustainable agriculture, indigenous rituals, immigrant stories ... The book takes a global and thematic approach in examining heritage cuisines from a wide range of perspectives, including agriculture, hunting and gathering, migration, ethnic identity and place, nationalism, sustainability, colonialism, food diversity, religion, place making, festivals, and contemporary movements and trends."

2014. Hillary J. Shaw. ""The consumption and distribution of food, as well as its production, has become a major public policy issue over the past few decades; what we eat is no longer merely a private matter but carries significant externalities for wider society. Its increasing significance within the public arena implies a dissonance regarding the boundaries of food; where do we draw the line between food as private and food as public? What are the rights of society to impinge upon individual food consumption, and what conflicts will ensue when this boundary is disputed? [This book] explores these multiple issues of food across different regions of the world from the consumer's perspective. ... [and] explicates the factors that lead customers towards certain typologies of consumption and towards certain types of retailing, offering a comprehensive review of the obesity problem, the phenomenon of food deserts and the issue of exclusion from a healthy diet. It then considers the effects of food on the consumer, the dynamic relationship between food and people, and the issue of food exclusion before concluding with possible futures for food consumption, from low-technology projects to high-technology scenarios. Based on original research into food access, ethics and consumption in both developed and less-developed countries ..."

2014. E.N. Anderson. "Examines the social and cultural reasons for our food choices and provides an explanation of the nutritional reasons why humans eat what they do, resulting in a unique cultural and biological approach to the topic. The author explains the economies of food in the globalization era and food's relationship to religion, medicine, and ethnicity. He offers suggestions on how to end hunger, starvation, and malnutrition. The book explains the ways that cultures, biology, and political systems structure the edible environment."

2018 (2nd ed.) Norman Wirzba. "This book provides a comprehensive theological framework for assessing the significance of eating. Drawing on diverse theological, philosophical, and anthropological insights, it offers fresh ways to evaluate food production and consumption practices as they are being worked out in today's industrial food economy. Unlike books that focus primarily on vegetarianism and hunger-related concerns, this book broadens the scope of consideration to include the sacramental character of eating, the deep significance of hospitality, the meaning of death and sacrifice, the Eucharist as the place of inspiration and orientation, the importance of saying grace, and the possibility of eating in heaven. Throughout, eating is presented as a way of enacting fidelity between persons, between people and fellow creatures, and between people and Earth. Food and Faith demonstrates that eating is of profound economic, moral, and spiritual significance. ... additions add significantly to the core idea of creaturely membership and hospitality through discussion of the microbiome revolution in science, and the daunting challenge of the Anthropocene."

2016. Todd LaVasseur et al, eds. "Distinct practices of eating are at the heart of many of the world's faith traditions -- from the Christian Eucharist to Muslim customs of fasting during Ramadan to the vegetarianism and asceticism practiced by some followers of Hinduism and Buddhism. What we eat, how we eat, and whom we eat with can express our core values and religious devotion more clearly than verbal piety. In this wide-ranging collection, eminent scholars, theologians, activists, and lay farmers illuminate how religious beliefs influence and are influenced by the values and practices of sustainable agriculture. Together, they analyze a multitude of agricultural practices for their contributions to healthy, ethical living and environmental justice. Throughout, the contributors address current critical issues, including global trade agreements, indigenous rights to land and seed, and the effects of postcolonialism on farming and industry. Covering indigenous, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish perspectives, this groundbreaking volume makes a significant contribution to the study of ethics and agriculture."

2020. Julian Agyeman et al, eds. "The intersection of food and immigration in North America, from the macroscale of national policy to the microscale of immigrants' lived, daily foodways. This volume considers the intersection of food and immigration at both the macroscale of national policy and the microscale of immigrant foodways -- the intimate, daily performances of identity, culture, and community through food." "Three guiding themes organize the chapters: borders—cultural, physical, and geopolitical; labor, connecting agribusiness and immigrant lived experience; and identity narratives and politics, from 'local food' to 'dietary acculturation.'"

Published by the University of California Press from 2002 to the present with several volumes edited or written by Marion Nestle.

1997+. Helen Macbeth, series editor. Sample titles in the series (most recent to older) include: * Pure Food: Theoretical & Cross-Cultural Perspectives
* Food Connections: Production, Exchange and Consumption in West African Migration
* Food and Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives
* Liquid Bread: Beer and Brewing in Cross-Cultural Perspective
* Researching Food Habits: Methods and Problems