Food Studies: Matter, Meaning, Movement

Reviewed by Anthony Palmiscno, Visiting Assistant Professor, Loyola Marymount University on 2/9/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text presents a wide variety of approaches and topics that are relevant to food studies today. The presentation of such discussions are done so in a way that provokes critical thinking and student interaction with the text. I appreciate that the discussions on ideas such as identity, place-designations, and indigeneity are included to demonstrate that food and its study does not exist in a vacuum, rather it manifests at an intersection of various cultural phenomena. Food Studies: Matter, Meaning, Movement promotes an interdisciplinary and multi-methodological approach to the field while engaging students with relevant, current case studies.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The amount of research that has gone into this book is commendable. Student's supplementary bibliographies show the depth and expertise of the editors and contributors of this text. I feel that this book contributes to and effectively summarizes debates happening between scholars of food studies.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The "Case" sections presented are particularly compelling, as they demonstrate the relevance of critical discussion in the field of food studies. The multimedia and popular culture references will help students to see the importance of taking a critical approach to food production and consumption. The multimedia element further achieves this task through multimodal interaction.

Clarity rating: 5

The prose of this textbook is clear and concise, and I find it appropriate for a wide variety of audiences at the university level. I am looking forward to incorporating this piece into a food studies course, as it effectively theorizes and deconstructions the topics of discussion that we have during class in terminology that is accessible.

Consistency rating: 5

The glossing of critical vocabulary was one of the highlights of this book. Such definitions make the reading accessible to all students, no matter their background in food studies. The further explanation of important terminology and frameworks allow students to stay engaged with the chapter or section that they are reading without having to navigate to an external site. Further, this work presents a consistent framework of the various approaches that we take in the field of food studies.

Modularity rating: 5

The modules of this text follow a consistent pattern, which I appreciate. This adds a structure that students can learn to expect and feel comfortable with as they progress through the work.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Overall, I think that the organization and repetition of structure in each module is effective. The only improvement that could be made, in my opinion, is the creation of headers to organize the larger themes of the book, such as identity, sustainability, and denominations of origin, would help students with guideposts to better facilitate their learning.

Interface rating: 5

The navigation of this textbook was flawless, as I had no problems opening links, watching videos, or interacting with the multimedia of the work.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar of this book is accurate and did not impede my experience as I was reading. I thought that the thoughts shared by the contributors were done in a way that was clear, concise, and grammatically correct.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is indeed culturally-rich, as it provides a wide range of perspectives and voices to discuss the pertinent debates and topics of the book. I appreciate discussions on indigeneity, intercultural interactions, and social class that brings to the forefront notions of intersectionality to the study of food.

Reviewed by Precious Yamaguchi, Associate Professor, Southern Oregon University on 11/28/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is an incredibly inclusive book ranging from topics on breastfeeding, illustrating food, to eating insects. The diverse voices and narratives of this book create such a wide-range of perspectives of food and cultures and the power structures that align with our access and views towards food.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This text has an incredible amount of chapters and each of its authors bring their specialties. The range of approaches to the authors' research areas range from foci on nutrition to migrant workers so each authors' methods of research are different. Due to the diverse approaches of research, this book allows itself to be interdisciplinary. Because this text is composed of so many chapters and authors, the book itself is more of an introduction to the wide array of topics relating to food and culture, and should be used as more of a myriad of inquiries than a pathway or guidebook to a single type of methodology.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

There are chapters in this book that address covid-19 and its relationship with food and health. This text is very relevant. There are chapters such as "Household Foodwork," "Breast Milk: Past, Present, and Future" "From Charity to Solidarity: Food Insecurity and Managing Other Worlds," and more that address the relationships between health, culture, food, and the pandemic. This book was published during the same year as this review is being written so the timeliness of topics is very relevant.

Clarity rating: 5

As previously mentioned, this text is an introduction to numerous topics relating to food. It's an in-depth look at what food, health, and culture are to many people, but no an in-depth look at a single topic. Readers will be able to grasp the main ideas and will be introduced to the foundational authors and publications of food, culture, nutrition, and history.

Consistency rating: 4

Due to the diverse approaches of so many authors, there are different perspectives of the relationships and representations of food -- but this is a good thing. Power structures and perspectives are embraced in the narratives of food so there is diversity in author's viewpoints and the way they approach their research.

Modularity rating: 5

This text is definitely modular and various chapters can be used and applied in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary ways. Chapters can be selected for courses relating to food as well as intercultural communication, international studies, media studies, gender studies, history, and economics.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The organization of this book works well, however it could use a bit more organization such as a section addressing identity, a section addressing media representation, and so on. Otherwise, it feels like a pretty organized text.

Interface rating: 5

The photos, graphs, and visuals are all a little different since this book is a compilation of so many others but I really appreciated the wide array of photos, illustrations, and images.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Food Studies: Matter, Meaning, Movement, does a wonderful job of incorporating the work of so many writers into a profession and academic text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This textbook is extremely relevant. The areas of indigenous cultures, veganism, food allergies, and more seem to engage in diverse cultural inquiries. The amount of topics can be endless as we are a world that has so many pathways but this text provides a global look at the development, production, and negotiation of how we view food in relationship to our cultural identities.