The Cultural Politics of Food and Eating offers an ethnographically informed perspective on the ways in which people use food to make sense of life in an increasingly interconnected world.

• Uses food as a central idiom for teaching about culture and addresses broad themes such as globalization, capitalism, market economies, and consumption practices
  
• Spanning 5 continents, features studies from 11 countries-Japan, China, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France, Burkina Faso, Chile, Trinidad, Mexico, and the United States
  
• Offers discussion of such hot topics as sushi, fast food, gourmet foods, and food scares and contamination

About the Author
James L. Watson is Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society and Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University. His books include Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia(edited 1998), Village Life in Hong Kong (with Rubie Watson, 2004), and Between Two Cultures (edited, Blackwell, 1977).

Melissa L. Caldwell is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of Not by Bread Alone: Social Support in the New Russia (2004).

Reviews
"Here at last is a comprehensive, thoroughly absorbing reader on contemporary culinary tastes and techniques. No student of food, globalization, or political economy can afford to overlook this valuable collection." Stanley Brandes, University of California, Berkeley

"A fascinating collection of essays that ranges from everyday food consumption to the global politics of food. The analyses yield surprising insights into familiar products and the social world of which they are such an important part. While the book, unlike its subjects, is inedible, it is highly readable and intellectually nutritious." George Ritzer, University of Maryland

"...provides fascinating glimpses of the behind-the-scene world of global food distribution and economics and their societal impacts on people living very different lives on opposite ends of the world" Journal of Sensory Studies

"The book provides a fascinating journey through the politics, economics and culture of food in a globalized society...this book is a gold mine of thought-provoking facts, ideas and concepts...a literary delight." Journal of Sociolinguistics

"A good tool for an introductory course on culture and society or perhaps a more advanced course on food, politics and global movements." Social Anthropology

Book Information
ISBN 9780631230939
Author James L. Watson
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 246mm * 168mm * 20mm