Food, Politics, and Society — Introduction Concepts (Flashcards)

Flashcards covering key concepts from the Introduction and Preface of Food, Politics, and Society (UC Press, 2018), including modernity, public/private, self/other, globalization, and the role of food in social theory.

Question: In Simmel's view, what paradox about eating and drinking does the book highlight as the basis for the 'substance of common actions' in society?

The private, exclusive act of eating and drinking coexists with the public frequency of people being together; this tension underpins the formation of social life.

Question: What are the three binary categories emphasized as central to analyzing food, politics, and society in the book?

Public vs private; Nature vs society; Self vs other.

Question: Which theorist is associated with the concept of the 'public sphere' and which social space helped transform public debate in early modern London?

Jürgen Habermas; the coffeehouse (coff ee house).

Question: What critique regarding inclusion does the book note about Habermas's public sphere?

That women and artisans were often excluded from the bourgeois public sphere, limiting its democratic potential.

Question: What does 'creative destruction' refer to, and which economist is it associated with?

The process by which capitalist development destroys old social forms and creates new ones; associated with Joseph Schumpeter.

Question: What is the Marxist concept of the 'metabolic rift' in relation to capitalism and the environment?

The disruption between society and nature caused by capitalist agriculture and industrialization, undermining soil fertility and workers' conditions.

Question: What does Amartya Sen argue about famine and starvation in modern economies?

Starvation reflects lack of access to food rather than a global shortage; famine can occur even when enough food exists.

Question: How is the Columbian exchange framed in the context of globalization and the modern world economy?

As a cross-Atlantic transfer of crops, animals, and ideas tied to colonial conquest and the creation of a global market, accompanied by exploitation and inequality.

Question: What does the term 'second nature' mean in the context of the modern food system?

The integration of technology into all stages of food production and consumption (farm to fork), forming a 'second nature' under capitalism.

Question: What are 'food regimes' as discussed in the book?

Historically specific patterns of global food production, trade, and consumption that shape inequality and policy across eras.

Question: How is the European civilizing process linked to cuisine and social status in Europe?

A shift toward refined, lighter haute cuisine and courtly display that reinforced social stratification and centralized power.

Question: How does globalization influence concepts of terroir and the authenticity of cuisines?

Terroir is revalorized and contested; globalization promotes both authenticity branding and debates over national or regional culinary identity.

Question: What does the chapter on 'The Self' examine with regard to body image and public health?

How obesity and health are culturally defined and medically framed across different contexts, linking individual choices to broader social forces.

Question: What does 'the government of the self' refer to in the book's Foucauldian reading?

Michel Foucault's idea that states regulate populations by shaping embodied subjectivities and behaviors, including alcohol control and health practices.

Question: How does Debord's 'society of the spectacle' relate to food consumption?

Food becomes a signifier in a network of symbols and images; consumption mediates social identity and status beyond mere sustenance.

Question: What role does Barthes’ semiotics play in analyzing modern food consumption?

Food items signify social situations and communicate information; consumption acts as a means of signaling identity and social meaning.

Question: What is the Marxist 'agrarian question' and its relevance to the modern food system?

Why agriculture shifts from use-value to exchange-value under capitalism, involving land, labor, and the commodification of agriculture within a capitalist economy.

Question: How is 'food nationalism' related to globalization according to the text?

National or ethnic cuisines are crafted and marketed in ways that assert identity, often reinforced by global flows that complicate authenticity.

Question: How do the Greensboro and Jackson sit-ins illustrate the public-private dynamic in food spaces?

Private dining at lunch counters moved into public spaces, highlighting food venues as sites of political contestation and civil rights activism.

Question: What central claim does the book make about the relationship between food/drink and modern social theory?

Food and drink are central to the rise and development of modern social theory, linking private experiences of nourishment with public social structures and identities.