SOC 808 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Food Desert, Reductionism, Michael Pollan

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

Document Summary

This week we will look at the current state of confusion about healthy eating and how we get our information about it. As omnivores, humans are capable of feeding themselves with a wide range of foods. Historically, necessities imposed by climate, seasons, geography combined with cultural, social and economic limitations defined the boundaries of what is edible. In modern industrial and global societies this range kept expanded. In fact we now have even wider range edibles, wider range of sources informing us about what can be eaten, what is good to eat. The consequences of gastro-anomy are seen as increasing consumer uncertainty and anxiety in relation to food. Indeed, it may well be that the occurrence of well publicized food scares is associated with this phenomenon. There are several factors responsible for this state of confusion about what is good to eat: Changes in the rhythms of meal (i. e. snacking)