SOC 808 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Whole Foods Market, Food Security, Cultural Capital

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 808
• Professor: Mustafa Koc

Document Summary

This week we will continue looking at socio-cultural aspects of food and how we make our food choices. Social and cultural influences shape our tastes and the way we organize our food system. Our food choices offer insights on how we present ourselves, shape our identities, define our membership, and express our distance from others. Changes in food preferences may also reflect changes in broader cultural perceptions and practices. Culture refers to knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society. Johnston and cappeliez: culture is both constraining and enabling. Taboos: are strong social prohibitions that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group, culture, or society. Human social life is a response to the practical problems of human existence. For any human population the key is to use the available resources to maintain itself on a daily and generational basis.