How food, history, and power shape the anthropology of food

The anthropology of food traces food's material and symbolic importance and how these intersect, including food's role in social distinctions, shared meals, industrialization, and global labor and commodity chains. These lessons answer how food connects history and power, helping readers understand how food systems and meanings change over time. They follow the links between food, historical identity, and economic change.

3 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 18 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   the anthropology of food · Wikipedia · 4 min read

   The anthropology of food connects ethnographic and historical perspectives with contemporary social issues in food-production and food-consumption systems. Mintz became known as the "Father of food anthropology" for his 1985 work Sweetness and Power, which linked Europe's demand for sugar with imperial expansion and exploitative industrial-labor conditions in both Europe and America.

2. Read
   

   Potluck Nation - JSTOR Daily · JSTOR Daily · 3 min read

   Scotland's iconic national dish, haggis, was not included because the USDA prohibits the sale of sheep lungs, an essential ingredient. A recipe's inclusion was predicated on the availability of ingredients in the US.

3. Read
   

   Through Much of Human History, Women Have Shaped Evolution Through Food Processing · Smithsonian Magazine · 8 min read

   During the Pumé lean season, women and children forage almost exclusively for roots and bring in about 85 percent of the calories, while meat is valued for its protein and fat. Pumé women and children process plants into edible foods, sharing the work that helps meet basic needs.

4. Watch
   

   There is No American Cuisine, But There Could Be | Big Think. · YouTube · 3 min watch

   Chef Dan Barber, author of the book The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food, discusses how agricultural conditions and history shape national cuisines, and why regional fare could define American food.

5. Book
   

   The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals · Bookshop.org

   The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan describes how a simple question about what to eat poses a dilemma for omnivores.

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