Sociology of food

1800s: Martineau · Tocqueville · Marx · Spencer · Le Bon · Ward · Pareto · Tönnies · Veblen · Simmel · Durkheim · Addams · Mead · Weber · Du Bois · Mannheim · Elias The sociology of food is the study of food and how it relates to the history, progression, and future development of society.

This is due to the fact that they can utilize their strong market power and financial advantage over smaller players.

By early humans fending for themselves, they had figured out that they needed a high energy diet to keep going on a daily basis to survive.

From the homo-sapiens hunting and gathering, to the colonists to the New World sharing a feast with the Native Americans (that has been revived as a tradition named Thanksgiving[4]), to the popularization of restaurants/eating out in the last several decades and the togetherness that comes with eating; these developments now show communication and connectivity relating to food.

Lastly, there are physiological foods, which are consumed for a specific health reason (like what a pregnant woman eats for a healthy pregnancy).

The roles of the hunter and gather meant that early humans had to fight and forage to survive.

In disorders like Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa/Bulimia, patients have an intense fear of gaining weight and consuming calories.

These disorders go on to represent the damaged relationship people share with their food and their weight, and how it is always attached to negativity in popular media.

Inaccurate representation leads people to focus more and more on their external appearance as opposed to them taking into consideration their absolute need for nourishment.

The false image shown publicly of what a perfect body looks like and how it is affected by consuming as many calories as a person normally might, has led to Anorexia Nervosa being the mental health disorder with the highest mortality rate.

Body dysmorphia disorder is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance.

[18] Body image has become a problem surrounding this topic as social media can show unrealistic standards related to eating issues/disorders and the sociology based on food consumption.

[33][34] The similarities and changes in the modern diet or communities and the effect of globalization on food production and supply.

[35] The evolution of the American diet and the resulting rise in obesity is a clear example on how food shapes society and daily life.

[40][41] Studies have found that a neighborhood's walkability and access to recreation activities is correlated with increased exercise[42] and decreased risk of obesity.

[43] There has been progress on combating America's obesity problem, with programs being put in place to help promote healthy eating and fitness.