Intro to Food Studies Blog

This reading is essentially about differentiating between food studies and the study of food itself. Food studies is the study of the relationship people have with food. The study of food itself is fields such as nutrition, culinary arts, and agricultural sciences. It also talks about the differences between multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies. Food studies is also a very diverse field, sometimes making it hard to clearly define. The article offers four examples of different studies with varying approaches, showing how research can be gone about in several different ways. Our food habits, how we “produce, procure, prepare, and consume,” are symbols of people, and how their relationships with it can reveal things like their beliefs, passions, and assumptions. Though food and the human relationship with it is important, food studies is a rather small field. The article argues in favor of more exposure for food studies, because it is an integral part of human life. It also discusses how food studies is a way to gain knowledge on other issues. A research technique called charlas culinarias (culinary chats) allowed for researchers to talk to both men and women about food to open up into conversations with deeper meaning, such as masculinity. Research in this field is very important, and though traditional research methods are used often, there are also a few unique to food studies. These include dietary recall and studying taste preferences. Overall, this article’s focus is to define what food studies is, why it is important, and give insight to the various other topics it can connect to.