The Food Movement, Culture, and Religion : A Tale of Pigs, Christians, Jews, and Politics

"This book explores the cultural and religious politics of the contemporary food movement, starting from the example of Jewish foodies, their zeal for pig (forbidden by Jewish law), and their talk about why ignoring traditional precepts around food is desirable. Focusing on the work of Michael Pollan, Jonathan Schorsch questions the modernist, materialist, and rationalist worldview of many foodies and discusses their lack of attention to culture, tradition, and religion."-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 1-7 Jews, Christians, and Pigs: A Brief History (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 9-18 Jewish Foodies on Judaism (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 19-28 Pollan on Culture and Religion (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 29-34 Cosmological Cultures as Forms of Resistance (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 35-51 Back to Those Pesky Dietary Laws (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 53-63 Omnivory as a Universal Ideal (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 65-85 When Eco-Kosher Pigs Fly (Jonathan Schorsch)....Pages 87-97 Back Matter ....Pages 99-121 Acknowledgments 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 7 Chapter 1: Introduction 8 Chapter 2: Jews, Christians, and Pigs: A Brief History 15 Chapter 3: Jewish Foodies on Judaism 25 Chapter 4: Pollan on Culture and Religion 35 Chapter 5: Cosmological Cultures as Forms of Resistance 41 Chapter 6: Back to Those Pesky Dietary Laws 58 Chapter 7: Omnivory as a Universal Ideal 69 Understanding Omnivory 70 Christians Have Food Rules, Too 75 Toward Post-Christian Omnivory 82 Chapter 8: When Eco-Kosher Pigs Fly 90 Bibliography 101 Index 114 "This book explores the cultural and religious politics of the contemporary food movement, starting from the example of Jewish foodies, their zeal for pig (forbidden by Jewish law), and their talk about why ignoring traditional precepts around food is desirable. Focusing on the work of Michael Pollan, Jonathan Schorsch questions the modernist, materialist, and rationalist worldview of many foodies and discusses their lack of attention to culture, tradition, and religion"--Page 4 of cover