Book Review: Eating culture • An Anthropological Guide to Food

Eating Culture • An Anthropological Guide to Food
By Gillian Crowther
324 pages • ISBN 9781442604650

Humans have an appetite for food, and anthropology –as the study of human beings, their culture, and society- has an interest in the role of food. From ingredients and recipes to meals and menus across time and space, Eating Culture is a highly engaging overview that illustrates the important role that anthropology and anthropologists have played in understanding food. Organized around the sometimes-elusive concept of cuisine and the public discourse – on gastronomy, nutrition, sustainability, and culinary skills- that surrounds it, this practical guide to anthropological method and theory brings order and insight to our changing relationship with food.

“At least, a text for teaching the anthropology of food. Eating Culture is a wonderful introduction to cultural anthropology through the lens of food. From hunting and gathering to the global supply chain, this book offers an engaging entrée into thinking about food from a variety of cultural perspectives while introducing key concepts in cultural anthropology and food studies.” – Rachel E. Black, Boston University.

“In Anthropology we study food in order to better understand societies and cultures. Eating Culture provide an expansive, thorough, and very readable explanation of how we do that and of what we have so far understood. Using examples from all over the world, Crowther’s text relies on both classic ethnographies and a nearly comprehensive survey of recent anthropological research on food. Eating Culture will be a welcome addition to undergraduate courses in food and culture.” – David I. Berris, University of New Orleans.

About the author:

Guillian Crowther is Professor of Anthropology at Capilano University in Vancouver, BC.