The Anthropology of Food and Nutrition Volume 5: Researching Food Habits. Methods and Problems

Citation

Fairchild, R. (2006), "The Anthropology of Food and Nutrition Volume 5: Researching Food Habits. Methods and Problems", British Food Journal, Vol. 108 No. 2, pp. 152-153. https://doi.org/10.1108/00070700610644960

This fifth volume is the last in the present anthology of food and nutrition series, and undoubtedly for a broad base of food researchers, the best.

It heralds itself as a “how‐to‐do‐it” guide for anyone interested in research concerning food, diet and nutrition. As such then its audience will be large and multidisciplinary from sociological, psychological and nutritional science backgrounds. The book is put together in such a way in that it is possible to “pick and mix” depending on your expertise and research needs, therefore it would be a useful purchase for researchers and supervisors alike. The epilogue dealing with definition of topic, defining the study population, ethics and publication should be core reading for all.

The introduction by the editors MacClancy and Macbeth clearly signposts the reader to the areas they may be most interested and charts the interdisciplinarity of the subject. The very nature of food anthropology leads to this, given we need to unearth not just behaviour, but the culture, habits and superstitions that lead to these, to be able to truly explore the relationship man has with food.

de Garine in the first chapter deals with this “pluridisciplinarity” an area that he has worked in for many decades, clarifying the problems of working with mixed groups with different expectations, criteria, validity, significance, funding and thus timetables. The tentative checklist given for new researchers in the area is already turning up (correctly accredited) in my lectures.

Chapter 2 by Szabó is as in‐depth on a specific area as the first chapter is on many. This looks at the problems about talking to people about the food they eat, using purely the problems associated with the naming of plant foods, a lesson of the pitfalls that can await, particularly the non‐local researcher.

Chapters 3‐5 outline some of the basic methods for quantitatively and qualitatively researching food, using a clear explanatory approach. This book, however, does not simply suggest ways in which research can be undertaken, it grapples with many uncertainties of the area, the so‐called “dirty realism” described in Chapter 6 “Doing it wrong: why bother to do imperfect research?”.

Chapter 7 deals with the specifics of taste research, using hedonics, among both humans and non‐human primates, problems with hedonic research are well discussed in Chapter 8.

Chapter 9 and onwards moves more towards the quantitative methods of analysis, starting with a clear, concise review of dietary intake methods, which I know will be useful in the teaching of this area, as well in formulating a number of research projects.

In chapter 11 the current issue of energy balance and quantification is examined, the methods evaluated for accuracy, cost, acceptance and feasibility in research settings.

The next two chapters detail specific incidences when diet reconstruction has been necessary, and the precision and validity of this of utmost importance in constructing the “Mediterranean diet” and to realise compensation for Marshall islanders after nuclear testing in the 1950s. Finally Messer takes us back to food anthropology in its most obvious form in the use of food in sociocultural identity systems.

This book has barely been put down since I received it for review, not only is it interesting to read, but also it is actually possible to follow and implement and is thus worthy of a place in every library of every institution that deals with food.