Food Study Group
The BSA Food Study Group joined forces with the Scottish Colloquium on Food and Feeding (SCOFF) in 1994. The group aims to encourage the sociological analysis, both theoretical and empirical, of all aspects of food production and consumption.
The Food Study Group holds hour long seminars and longer, themed, events throughout the UK. The aim is to provide a forum for stimulating debate amongst academics, practitioners and others interested or involved in social science research on food, diet and eating.
Murcott, A. (2011). The BSA and the Emergence of a 'Sociology of Food': A Personal View. SociologicalResearchOnline 2011 16(3):14
In this paper, which is free to access, Professor Anne Murcott provides a personal view of the history of the BSA and the emergence of a nameable 'Sociology of Food'. Many thanks to Anne for writing this paper and for granting permission to signpost it here.
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SCOFF is re-launching for 2011. We would like to invite proposals to host future events. Simply e-mail Andrea Tonner with your thoughts.
Monday, 27 February 2012 (Rescheduled date)
Elements For A Sociological Theory Of Household Food Waste - David Evans, University of Manchester
Despite the prevalence of concerns – in popular and policy imaginations – about the origins and consequences of food waste, the topic remains woefully under-represented in existing food studies researches. In this presentation, then, I sketch out a sociological theory of household food waste. Drawing on ethnographic examples and adopting a material culture approach to these data, I theorise the processes and relations that accompany the passage of ‘food’ into ‘waste’. To begin I discuss the routine overprovisioning of food and the inevitability that some of this will move into the category of ‘surplus’. Here it is argued that surplus is inscribed in the flow of everyday life as a consequence of the social ordering of food practices and the ways in which these intersect with other practices and systems. Whilst this explains how a certain amount of food that is purchased for consumption comes to be discarded, it does not explain how discarded food comes to be configured as waste. At issue here is the importance of moving beyond the unfortunate conjunction of disposal and waste to recognize the multiple conduits that exist for `moving things along'. I suggest that the disposal of discarded food is enacted via a graduated process through which it first enters a ‘gap’ where ambiguities and anxieties surrounding its residual value and onward trajectory are addressed. Working out from the gap, I discuss the shifting contours and gradients that reduce the possibilities for disposing of food through conduits in which it can be handed down, handed around or otherwise saved from wastage. Particular attention is paid to the identities and relations that are manifest in discarded food and the ways in which these prevent its re-circulation or recovery. I also explore the overwhelming tendency for surplus food to be cast as ‘excess’ and disposed of through conduits – typically the bin – that connect it to the waste stream. Attention is paid here to the materialization and attendant stabilization of this particular trajectory. To conclude, I reflect on the practical implications of this position alongside its limitations.
David Evans is a lecturer in Sociology and a Sustainable Consumption Institute research fellow at the University of Manchester.
Please note: this event starts slightly later than usual with coffee at 12pm. Room TO BE ANNOUNCED, University of Westminster, Cavendish Campus.
All meetings are held on Mondays, starting with coffee at 11.30am and ending in time for a late lunch at a local restaurant. Seminars are free to attend but places are limited. Please contact Rebecca O’Connell for further details or to reserve a place. All meetings are held at the University of Westminster, Cavendish Campus.
2-3 July 2012
3rd BSA Food Study Group Conference: FOOD & SOCIETY
The British Library Conference Centre, London, UK
Please visit our Past Events page for further details of our activities.
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The Food Study Group Annual Report is now available.
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Members receive regular e-newsletters and discounted rates for study group events. Students and non-academics are very welcome to join, along with academics and researchers from any discipline. The multi-disciplinary/ multi-sectoral nature of the membership promotes vibrant discussion and is encouraged. There is a joining fee of £46, waived for the unwaged and individuals who are already members of the BSA. To join, complete the Joining Form and email to Tess Baxter.
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Suggestions for speakers, venues and other events are always welcomed. Details of relevant books, events, news, funding and jobs can also be added to the website.
Tess Baxter
Send an email.
Rebecca O'Connell
Institute of Education
Send an email.
Andrea Tonner
University of Strathclyde
Send an email.
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Food Stories is an interactive website, designed primarily for KS3 and KS4 citizenship and geography students. It traces the changes that have taken place in the UK's food culture over the last century. Students can play with colourful animations and listen to audio interviews from the British Library Sound Archive to investigate the ways in which food relates to identity, cultural diversity, the environment, technology, farming, shopping, travel and much more.
The Association for the Study of Food and Society is a multidisciplinary international organisation dedicated to exploring the complex relationships among food, culture, and society. The ASFS publishes a useful list of course outlines with bibliographies on topics relevant to the sociology of food, food anthropology, agriculture and society etc, which some members might find useful.
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