MINOR 2018
The sociology and psychology of Food, Fitness and Health
COURSE 1: SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD, FITNESS AND HEALTH
THE HAGUE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
2018-2019
GOODLUCK!
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
Literature lecture 1: Exploring the social appetite, sociology food & nutrition (Germov) 3
Lecture 1 Introduction to Sociology 4
Literature lecture 2: About individuals, why eating is bad for young people’s health 5
Literature lecture 2: About the family, food in the family; bringing young people back in 5
Lecture 2 You are what you eat: Food, Nationalism, family and the self 5
Literature lecture 3: Understanding the sociology of health: an introduction 7
Literature lecture 3: Sport, Culture and Society 7
Literature lecture 3&4: Society, The Basics 7
Lecture 3 Eating Up, Eating Down: Food, Sports and Social Class 8
Literature lecture 4: Gender, food and the body 11
Literature lecture 4: Sport, health, exercise and the body 11
Lecture 4 Masculine and Feminine Feeds: Gender and food, gender and sports 11
Literature lecture 5: Sport, culture and society 13
Literature lecture 5: Everyone Eats: Understanding Food and Culture 13
Lecture 5 Eat, Pray, Love: Food, Sport and Religion 13
Literature lecture 6: Food habits, changes among young Italians in the last 10 years 15
Literature lecture 6: Consumer use of food labelling 15
Lecture 6 Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens: Risk Society and Food scares 15
Lecture 7 Wrap up 17
, Sociology
Literature lecture 1: Exploring the social appetite, sociology of food & nutrition (Germov)
We all have our favourite foods and individual likes and dislikes. While hunger is biological
and food is essential to survive, there is more to food and eating than the satisfaction of
physiological needs. ‘Social drives’ – based on cultural, religious, economic and political
factors – also affect the availability and consumption of food. Therefore, despite the similar
physiological needs in humans, food habits are not universal, natural or inevitable; they are
social constructions. Different variations exist, such as the sacred cow in India to the
consumption of dogs and horses. Food is a bridge between nature and culture.
The sociology of food and nutrition concentrates on what we eat, when we eat, how we eat
and why we eat. Sociologists look for patterns in human interaction and seek to uncover the
links between social organisation and individual behaviour. Food sociology focuses on the
social patterning of food production, distribution and consumption – which can be
conceptualised as the social appetite.
But what is sociology? In brief, it examines how society is organised, how it influences our
lives, and how social change occurs. It investigates social relationships at every level, from
interpersonal to global. Sociological imagination is a term that describes the way that
sociological analysis is formed. Interpreting the world with a sociological imagination
involves establishing a link between personal experiences and the social environment. These
four factors form the basis of sociological analysis:
- Historical factors: How have past events influenced the social appetite?
- Cultural factors: What influence do tradition and cultural values have on food habits?
- Structural factors: How do various forms of social organisation affect the production,
distribution and consumption of food?
- Critical factors: Why are things as they are? Could they be otherwise?
To what extend are our food choices a result of social shaping as opposed to individual likes
and dislikes? This is often referred to as the structure/agency debate. The term social
structure refers to patterns of social interaction by which people are related to each other
through social groups. However, as self-conscious beings, we have the ability to participate
in and change the society in which we live. The term agency refers to the potential of
individuals to independently influence over their daily lives and wider society.
Belgian chocolate and Australian macadamia nuts are a small indication of the extent of
social change in food habits. In restaurants, people can now partake of global cuisines such
as Indian and Chinese. Culinary tourism, such as regional food festivals, has become popular.
The processes of mass production and globalisation have resulted in such a pluralisation of
food choices that a form of food cosmopolitanism is emerging. Anthony Giddens and Ulrich
Beck both argue that contemporary social life is characterised by reflexive modernity.
According to Giddens, people’s exposure to new culture undermines traditions. The wide
variety of food choices coexists with increased risk and anxiety over what to eat, the
management of which Beck describes as characteristic of a risk society.
The McDonaldisation of food is a global phenomenon and represents the expansion of
agribusiness (includes chemicals, breeding, crop production, distribution, processing, seed
supply, so both agriculture and horticulture) through the standardisation of food production
and the homogenisation of food consumption. Food is a major industry, but also an area
3
The sociology and psychology of Food, Fitness and Health
COURSE 1: SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD, FITNESS AND HEALTH
THE HAGUE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
2018-2019
GOODLUCK!
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
Literature lecture 1: Exploring the social appetite, sociology food & nutrition (Germov) 3
Lecture 1 Introduction to Sociology 4
Literature lecture 2: About individuals, why eating is bad for young people’s health 5
Literature lecture 2: About the family, food in the family; bringing young people back in 5
Lecture 2 You are what you eat: Food, Nationalism, family and the self 5
Literature lecture 3: Understanding the sociology of health: an introduction 7
Literature lecture 3: Sport, Culture and Society 7
Literature lecture 3&4: Society, The Basics 7
Lecture 3 Eating Up, Eating Down: Food, Sports and Social Class 8
Literature lecture 4: Gender, food and the body 11
Literature lecture 4: Sport, health, exercise and the body 11
Lecture 4 Masculine and Feminine Feeds: Gender and food, gender and sports 11
Literature lecture 5: Sport, culture and society 13
Literature lecture 5: Everyone Eats: Understanding Food and Culture 13
Lecture 5 Eat, Pray, Love: Food, Sport and Religion 13
Literature lecture 6: Food habits, changes among young Italians in the last 10 years 15
Literature lecture 6: Consumer use of food labelling 15
Lecture 6 Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens: Risk Society and Food scares 15
Lecture 7 Wrap up 17
, Sociology
Literature lecture 1: Exploring the social appetite, sociology of food & nutrition (Germov)
We all have our favourite foods and individual likes and dislikes. While hunger is biological
and food is essential to survive, there is more to food and eating than the satisfaction of
physiological needs. ‘Social drives’ – based on cultural, religious, economic and political
factors – also affect the availability and consumption of food. Therefore, despite the similar
physiological needs in humans, food habits are not universal, natural or inevitable; they are
social constructions. Different variations exist, such as the sacred cow in India to the
consumption of dogs and horses. Food is a bridge between nature and culture.
The sociology of food and nutrition concentrates on what we eat, when we eat, how we eat
and why we eat. Sociologists look for patterns in human interaction and seek to uncover the
links between social organisation and individual behaviour. Food sociology focuses on the
social patterning of food production, distribution and consumption – which can be
conceptualised as the social appetite.
But what is sociology? In brief, it examines how society is organised, how it influences our
lives, and how social change occurs. It investigates social relationships at every level, from
interpersonal to global. Sociological imagination is a term that describes the way that
sociological analysis is formed. Interpreting the world with a sociological imagination
involves establishing a link between personal experiences and the social environment. These
four factors form the basis of sociological analysis:
- Historical factors: How have past events influenced the social appetite?
- Cultural factors: What influence do tradition and cultural values have on food habits?
- Structural factors: How do various forms of social organisation affect the production,
distribution and consumption of food?
- Critical factors: Why are things as they are? Could they be otherwise?
To what extend are our food choices a result of social shaping as opposed to individual likes
and dislikes? This is often referred to as the structure/agency debate. The term social
structure refers to patterns of social interaction by which people are related to each other
through social groups. However, as self-conscious beings, we have the ability to participate
in and change the society in which we live. The term agency refers to the potential of
individuals to independently influence over their daily lives and wider society.
Belgian chocolate and Australian macadamia nuts are a small indication of the extent of
social change in food habits. In restaurants, people can now partake of global cuisines such
as Indian and Chinese. Culinary tourism, such as regional food festivals, has become popular.
The processes of mass production and globalisation have resulted in such a pluralisation of
food choices that a form of food cosmopolitanism is emerging. Anthony Giddens and Ulrich
Beck both argue that contemporary social life is characterised by reflexive modernity.
According to Giddens, people’s exposure to new culture undermines traditions. The wide
variety of food choices coexists with increased risk and anxiety over what to eat, the
management of which Beck describes as characteristic of a risk society.
The McDonaldisation of food is a global phenomenon and represents the expansion of
agribusiness (includes chemicals, breeding, crop production, distribution, processing, seed
supply, so both agriculture and horticulture) through the standardisation of food production
and the homogenisation of food consumption. Food is a major industry, but also an area
3
