What can a focus on “food projects” in Europe tell us about contemporary social processes and cultural debates? Valeria Siniscalchi and Krista Harper show how food becomes a marker of identity and resistance to social exclusion, and how food values become tools for transforming power dynamics at the local level and beyond. Through the comparison of food-centered movements across Europe, the book explains how these forms of mobilization express ideologies as well as economic and political objectives. The chapters use an ethnographic approach to focus on the transformation of values carried by individuals and groups in relation to food in Portugal, Greece, Latvia, Moldova, Denmark, the UK, Italy, and France. Contributors analyze food values, as expressed in daily life and livelihoods, through specific practices of production, exchange, and consumption. Topics covered include Prague's urban agricultural scene, the perception of poverty in Moldova, shepherds' protests in Sardinia, and organic food cooperatives in Catalonia.
This pioneering book elevates the senses to a central role in the study of food history because the traditional focus upon food types, quantities, and nutritional values is incomplete without some recognition of smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste. Eating is a sensual experience. Every day and at every meal the senses of smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste are engaged in the acts of preparation and consumption. And yet these bodily acts are ephemeral; their imprint upon the source material of history is vestigial. Hitherto historians have shown little interest in the senses beyond taste, and this book fills that research gap. Four dimensions are treated: • Words, Symbols and Uses: Describing the Senses – an investigation of how specific vocabularies for food are developed. • Industrializing the Senses – an analysis of the fundamental change in the sensory qualities of foods under the pressure of industrialization and economic forces outside the control of the household and the artisan producer. • Nationhood and the Senses – an exploration of how the combination of the senses and food play into how nations saw themselves, and how food was a signature of how political ideologies played out in practical, everyday terms. • Food Senses and Globalization – an examination of links between food, the senses, and the idea of international significance. Putting all of the senses on the agenda of food history for the first time, this is the ideal volume for scholars of food history, food studies and food culture, as well as social and cultural historians. Putting all of the senses on the agenda of food history for the first time, this is the ideal volume for scholars of food history, food studies and food culture, as well as social and cultural historians.
People were once restricted to food native to their region and produced locally. Today, however, food from any place in the world is available, or can be made available, anywhere else. Often there is no or very little information about the nutritional and health aspects of these foods. Nutrition and Health of Western European Foods: Traditional and Ethnic Diets is part of series that will cover the entire globe and is aimed at filling the knowledge gap from traditional and scientific points of view. This volume provides an analysis of traditional and ethnic foods from Western Europe, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. It also addresses the history of use, composition, preparation, ingredient origin, nutritional aspects, and health effects of various foods and food products in each of these countries. Nutrition and Health of Western European Foods: Traditional and Ethnic Diets ultimately presents both local and international regulations, providing suggestions to harmonize these regulations and promote global availability of these foods. - Analyzes nutritional and health claims related to western European foods - Includes traditional and ethnic foods from Ireland, the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany - Explores both scientific and anecdotal diet-based health claims - Examines if foods meet regulatory requirements, and how to remedy noncompliance - Reviews the influence of historical eating habits on today's diets
The Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia for 2023 – Statistics and Trends provides a comprehensive analysis of Sustainable Development Goal 2, focusing specifically on Target 2.1 (ending hunger and ensuring universal access to food) and Target 2.2 (eradicating all forms of malnutrition). Additionally, the report evaluates progress concerning three global nutrition targets: adult obesity, exclusive breastfeeding, and low birthweight, as endorsed by the 2012 World Health Assembly. It also offers an updated analysis of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet within the Europe and Central Asia region. Recent estimates affirm that hunger prevalence remains relatively low in the ECA region. Food insecurity at moderate or severe levels is notably lower compared to global estimates. However, food insecurity levels remain significantly higher than those recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the ECA region has made significant strides in reducing undernutrition overall, some countries still exhibit relatively high rates of stunting (over 10 percent) and wasting (over 3 percent). Overall, the region is not on track in addressing childhood overweight, adult obesity, anemia among women aged 15 to 49, and exclusive breastfeeding. Healthy diets play a crucial role in safeguarding against the impacts of malnutrition, fostering improved health outcomes. Notably, in the past year, the Western Balkans experienced the highest cost for a healthy diet within the region, surpassing both the ECA and global averages. Overall, there has been an increase in the number of individuals able to afford a healthy diet over the past year, while the percentage unable to afford it remains significantly lower than the global estimate.
With the world’s growing population, the provision of a safe, nutritious and wholesome food supply for all has become a major challenge. To achieve this, effective risk management based on sound science and unbiased information is required by all stakeholders, including the food industry, governments and consumers themselves. In addition, the globalization of the food supply requires the harmonization of policies and standards based on a common understanding of food safety among authorities in countries around the world. With some 280 chapters, the Encyclopedia of Food Safety provides unbiased and concise overviews which form in total a comprehensive coverage of a broad range of food safety topics, which may be grouped under the following general categories: History and basic sciences that support food safety; Foodborne diseases, including surveillance and investigation; Foodborne hazards, including microbiological and chemical agents; Substances added to food, both directly and indirectly; Food technologies, including the latest developments; Food commodities, including their potential hazards and controls; Food safety management systems, including their elements and the roles of stakeholders. The Encyclopedia provides a platform for experts from the field of food safety and related fields, such as nutrition, food science and technology and environment to share and learn from state-of-the art expertise with the rest of the food safety community. Assembled with the objective of facilitating the work of those working in the field of food safety and related fields, such as nutrition, food science and technology and environment - this work covers the entire spectrum of food safety topics into one comprehensive reference work The Editors have made every effort to ensure that this work meets strict quality and pedagogical thresholds such as: contributions by the foremost authorities in their fields; unbiased and concise overviews on a multitude of food safety subjects; references for further information, and specialized and general definitions for food safety terminology In maintaining confidence in the safety of the food supply, sound scientific information is key to effectively and efficiently assessing, managing and communicating on food safety risks. Yet, professionals and other specialists working in this multidisciplinary field are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with developments outside their immediate areas of expertise. This single source of concise, reliable and authoritative information on food safety has, more than ever, become a necessity
The second volume of Foods, nutrients and food ingredients with authorised EU health claims continues from Volume 1, which provided a comprehensive overview of many of the permitted health claims for foods and nutrients approved under European Regulation EC 1924/2006. This new volume discusses more of the health claims authorised to date for use in the EU. The chapters cover details of various permitted claims, such as the approved wording, conditions of use, the target group for the claims, the evidence for the claimed health benefits, and where appropriate details of other relevant legislation, consumer-related issues and future trends. The book opens with an overview of regulatory developments relating to health claims. Part One reviews authorised disease risk reduction claims and proprietary claims. The second part investigates ingredients with permitted 'general function' claims, with chapters examining ingredients such as red yeast rice, glucomannan and guar gum. The final section of the book explores foods and nutrients with permitted health claims, including chapters on authorised EU health claims for prunes, foods with low or reduced sodium or saturated fatty acids, and claims for essential and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. - Building on volume 1, this title ensures that the area of EU health claims in food is comprehensively covered - Chapters are devoted to individual food ingredients and substances, covering the range of issues related to health claims - Health-promoting products are an increasing consumer trend in product development and this book provides key information on these advances
Farmers' cooperatives are very prevalent in the European Union, where they account for approximately half of agricultural trade and thus are key to articulating rural realities and in shaping the sustainability credentials of European food and farming. This book analyses to what extent farmers' cooperatives are working to benefit their members, are showing concern for their communities and are promoting cooperative economies. It offers a multilevel set of theoretical, disciplinary, methodological, empirical and social perspectives, using the UK and Spain as contrasting examples, and analyses whether agricultural cooperatives contribute to achieving sustainable food systems. The book presents empirical data from diverse and rich case studies, from large, international cooperatives, to small, multi-stakeholder initiatives. This provides an alternative viewpoint to that of economics, which tends to dominate the study of agricultural cooperatives. The author presents a new theoretical framework that provides a novel lens to study farmers’ cooperatives as organisations deeply embedded in power dynamics of the food system and agricultural policy that shape and constraint their potential to adopt cooperative and sustainable practices. The book is a major addition to the study of agricultural cooperatives and their impact in the development of fairer and more sustainable food systems and it is one of the first detailed accounts of multi-stakeholder food and farming cooperatives in Europe. It is a valuable resource for all scholars working on cooperatives, as well as for students studying agricultural and food policy, environmental justice and rural sociology.
This book examines the values and principles that inform EU Foreign Policy, conveying an understanding of the EU as an international actor. This volume explores the implications of these values and principles on the process of the construction of the European Union identity.
The main objective of the report at hand was to gather available and authorized data, both published and unpublished, on the nutrition and health situation in the countries of the European Union (EU). Whereas the first report, released in 2004, included 13 EU member states and Norway, the 2009 edition covers 24 EU member states and Norway. For the collection of data, the researchers concentrated on the following points: The description of trends in food supply in the EU, focusing also on the different regions; the comparison of average daily individual food availability at household level; the evaluation of individual food consumption and energy and nutrient intake; the description of data on diet-related health indicators and status; and the analysis of food and nutrition policies in countries of the European Union. Throughout, the impact of age and gender is emphasized, and special attention is being paid to the different regions of the EU. The broad scope of the subjects covered and the improved quality of the data collected make the European Nutrition and Health Report 2009 an accurate documentation and sound source of information. Providing a basis for the work of the institutions responsible for health and nutrition policy, it is especially suitable for use in international comparisons of the nutrition and health situation.
