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Eating Agendas: Food and Nutrition As Social Problems (Social Problems and Social Issues)
Eating Agendas Food and Nutrition As Social Problems - Social Problems and Social Issues Author:Donna Maurer Because food is essential to human life, food and nutrition-related issues are often controversial. In undeveloped societies, the major public concern is whether enough food is available. In more developed societies, people are concerned about how to ensure the best possible food supply for health. When people have more food choices and increasi... more »ng opportunities to make their grievances known, they are also more likely to view the quality of their food as problematic. Given the central importance of food to human life, it is surprising that sociologists have paid so little attention to it in their research. Eating Agendas fills this gap with papers on contemporary issues such as food safety, biotechnology, the food stamp program, obesity, anorexia nervosa, and vegetarianism, among others. Contributors include both sociologists and nutritional scientists. All of the papers in Eating Agendas focus on the social construction of food and nutrition problems. Among the major claimsmakers involved in these issues are consumers, segments of industry and agribusiness, government policy makers, program administrators, the media, and scientists. Contributors are especially concerned with how the various parties construct their claims and which types of claims are most likely to elicit a public response. The range of topics addressed and case-study examples furnished is broad, making the volume suitable as a course-related text in foodways and in cultural aspects of nutrition, as well as a new departure in social problems courses.« less