Contexts

sociology for the public

Smorgasbord

The Social Life of Leftovers

Thanks to busy schedules, ever-growing food portions, and poor meal planning, many of us find ourselves with a lot of leftovers. Over 36 million tons … Read More

Growing Concerns

First lady Michelle Obama attracted major media attention when she took a shovel to the White House’s South Lawn in 2009 and pitched the home … Read More

McDonaldizing Croatia

Formerly a part of Yugoslavia, Croatia has a complex heritage dating back to the seventh century. Because of its diversity, traditional Croatian gastronomy is referred … Read More

Food Shopping: A Chore or a Pleasure?

Women perform twice as much “foodwork” as men—shopping, cooking, and planning meals. We often think of food shopping as a chore, but it turns out … Read More

Irish Food Nationalism

The Great Famine of the nineteenth century killed one million Irish citizens, and forced as many to emigrate. Its legacy continues to be felt today … Read More

Happy Meals

As a child growing up in the city of Chicago, I never gave much thought to where the food I ate came from. While I … Read More

Labeling to Distract

Vermont, Maine, and Connecticut recently passed legislation requiring companies to label foods that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients, and roughly half of all state legislatures … Read More

Why Poor People Buy Bottled Water

During the past 15 years bottled water consumption in the United States has doubled— to an average of 30 gallons per person annually. And bottled … Read More

Not-So-Sweet Charity

The 2013 Farm Bill proposes to cut $8 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as food stamps. While the $5-20 monthly … Read More