The Agency of Eating: Mediation, Food and the Body (Contemporary Food Studies: Economy, Culture and Politics)

Deciding what to eat and how to eat it are two of the most basic acts of everyday life. Yet every choice also implies a value judgement: 'good' foods versus 'bad', 'proper' and 'improper' ways of eating, and 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' bodies. These food decisions are influenced by a range of social, political and economic bioauthorities, and mediated through the individual 'eating body'. This book is unique in the cultural politics of food in its exploration of a range of such bioauthorities and in its examination of the interplay between them and the individual eating body. No matter whether they are accepted or resisted, our eating practices and preferences are shaped by, and shape, these agencies. Abbots places the body, materiality and the non-human at the heart of her analysis, interrogating not only how the individual's embodied eating practices incorporate and reject the bioauthorities of food, but also how such authorities are created by the individual act of eating. Drawing on ethnographic case studies from across the globe, The Agency of Eating provides an important analysis of the power dynamics at play in the contemporary food system and the ways in which agency is expressed and bounded. This book will be of great benefit to any reader with an interest in food studies, anthropology, sociology and human geography. --Bloomsbury Publishing Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Introducing the agency of eating Methodological approach The greater Cuenca region of Ecuador Overview of chapters Chapter 1 Eating bodies and bodies of eating: Theoretical foundations Introduction What is eating and why does it matter? The human eating body The matter of food’s agency Assembling knowledge: Bourdieu’s intermediaries and Latour’s mediators Knowledge of bodies: Foucault’s biopower Concluding remarks Chapter 2 Eating at home: Kinned, shared and acquired bodies Introduction Sharing substance and the social production of kinship Matter made to matter: Embodied interactions with cuy in the Ecuadorian household The taste a/effect The agency of the eater?: Desire, acceptance and refusal Gendered food labour and the bio-authority of the cook Concluding remarks Chapter 3 Eating away from home: Displaced and (re)rooted bodies Introduction Here and there: Drawing gustatory boundaries ‘Culinary safe havens’: Memory, materialities and affect Being in a migrant body: Eating away from home Eating otherness: Incorporation and appropriation Concluding remarks Chapter 4 Eating heritage foods: Proximate and distanced bodies Introduction Local food festivals: Producing sameness and difference Mediating affect: The materialities of festivals Inscribing citizenship: Coterminous bodies and shared substance Concluding remarks Chapter 5 Eating ‘Global Food’ and its alternatives: Anxious, obscured and active bodies Introduction Obscured and unknown bodies: Safety, anxiety and risk Bodies of production: Tuning, tasting and training Mediating symbols: Fair trade and Slow Food Active alternatives and visceral geographies Concluding remarks Chapter 6 Eating for self and society: Responsible, acceptable and abject bodies Introduction Organic and GMO foods The matter of waste Waste-full and waist-less bodies Concluding remarks Chapter 7 Eating futures: Reflections and directions Foregrounding the body Methodological challenges Bio-authority and bounded vitalism: Future themes and directions Notes Bibliography Index Deciding What To Eat And How To Eat It Are Two Of The Most Basic Acts Of Everyday Life. Yet Every Choice Also Implies A Value Judgment: Good Foods Versus Bad, Proper And Improper Ways Of Eating, And Healthy And Unhealthy Bodies. These Food Decisions Are Influenced By A Range Of Social, Political And Economic Bioauthorities, And Mediated Through The Individual Eating Body. This Book Is Unique In The Cultural Politics Of Food In Its Exploration Of A Range Of Such Bioauthorities And In Its Examination Of The Interplay Between Them And The Individual Eating Body. No Matter Whether They Are Accepted Or Resisted, Our Eating Practices And Preferences Are Shaped By, And Shape, These Agencies. The Author Places The Body, Materiality And Non-human At The Heart Of Her Analysis, Interrogating Not Only How The Individual's Embodied Eating Practices Incorporate And Reject The Bioauthorities Of Food, But Also How Such Authorities Are Created By The Individual Act Of Eating. Rich In Ethnographic Detail Drawn From Case Studies Around The Globe, This Book Is An Important Analysis Of The Power Dynamics At Play In The Contemporary Food System And The Ways In Which Agency Is Expressed And Bounded, Which Will Be Of Great Benefit To Any Reader With An Interest In Food Studies, Anthropology, Sociology And Human Geography. Acknowledgements -- Introducing The Agency Of Eating -- Eating Bodies And Bodies Of Eating: Theoretical Foundations -- Eating At Home: Kinned, Shared And Acquired Bodies -- Eating Away From Home: Displaced And (re)rooted Bodies -- Eating Heritage Foods: Proximate And Distanced Bodies -- Eating Global Food And Its Alternatives: Anxious, Obscured And Active Bodies -- Eating For Self And Society: Responsible, Acceptable And Abject Bodies -- Eating Futures: Reflections And Directions -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. Emma-jayne Abbots. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 160-175) And Index.