TABLE OF CONTENTS David Fouill
In the current context of food crisis, emphasis on the sociology of food is increasing in search for a rationalization of modern food consumption patterns (Poulain, 2002). Whereas food availability has long been of widespread concern, especially in underdeveloped countries, the nature of food consumption within developed countries is now climbing up the political agenda.
The recent growth in levels of consumption of convenience foods, within both domestic and commercial settings, is well documented. However, recent high profile food scandals have raised questions regarding not only the amount of food consumed, but also the general condition of that food and the consequences of consumption for our health.
In this chapter food consumption will be analysed in the light of growing health awareness. Attention will be given to the changing status of food, not so much in terms of the expression of identity, but rather regarding the intrinsic value of food. Finally, the dimension of taste will be considered in relation to health and global environmental concerns.
Although more evident, food-related health concerns are not new. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates medicine was based on four categories of food and their relationship to four emotional conditions: wet, dry, hot and cold. Diaita (lifestyle in Greek) was associated with nutrition, and the Greek scholars ordered that certain types of food be avoided, possibly to prevent noisy and odoriferous intrusions in the philosophical debates (Skrabanek, 1994). Personal health concerns were associated with virtuous values, and...
