How Canadians Communicate VI
How Canadians Communicate VI
Food Promotion, Consumption, and Controversy
Food nourishes the body, but our relationship with food extends farbeyond our need for survival. Food choices not only express ourpersonal tastes but also communicate a range of beliefs, values,affiliations and aspirations—sometimes to the exclusion ofothers. In the media sphere, the enormous amount of food-related adviceprovided by government agencies, advocacy groups, diet books, and so oncompete with efforts on the part of the food industry to sell theirproduct and to respond to a consumer-driven desire for convenience. Asa result, the topic of food has grown fraught, engendering sometimesacrimonious debates about what we should eat, and why.
By examining topics such as the values embedded in food marketing,the locavore movement, food tourism, dinner parties, food bankdonations, the moral panic surrounding obesity, food crises, and fearsabout food safety, the contributors to this volume paint a rich, andsometimes unsettling portrait of how food is represented, regulated,and consumed in Canada. With chapters from leading scholars such as KenAlbala, Harvey Levenstein, Stephen Kline and Valerie Tarasuk, thevolume also includes contributions from "foodinsiders"—bestselling cookbook author and food editorElizabeth Baird and veteran restaurant reviewer John Gilchrist. Theresult is a timely and thought-provoking look at food as a system ofcommunication through which Canadians articulate cultural identity,personal values, and social distinction.
Charlene Elliott is professor in the Department ofCommunication, Media and Film at the University of Calgary and CanadaResearch Chair in Food Marketing, Policy and Children’sHealth.
Contributors: Ken Albala, Elizabeth Baird,Jacqueline Botterill, Rebecca Carruthers Den Hoed, CatherineCarstairs, Nathalie Cooke, Pierre Desrochers, John Gilchrist,Josh Greenberg, Shannon King, Stephen Kline, Jordan Lebel, HarveyLevenstein, Wayne McCready, Irina Mihalache, Eric Pateman, RodPhillips, Sheilagh Quaile, Melanie Rock, Paige Schell, and ValerieTarasuk.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction / Charlene Elliott
Part I: Food Promotion
1 Communicating Food Quality: Food, Packaging, and Place /Charlene Elliott and Wayne McCready
2 The Food Retail Environment in Canada: Shaping What Canadians Eatand How They Communicate About Food / Jordan LeBel
3 Selling Nutrition: Current Directions in Food Fortification andNutrition-Related Marketing / Valerie Tarasuk
4 Insider Voice Edible Canada: The Growth of CulinaryTourism / Eric Pateman and Shannon King
Part II: Food and Communication
5 La cuisinière canadienne: The Cookbook as Communication / KenAlbala
6 The Dinner Party: Reworking Tradition Through ContemporaryPerformance / Jacqueline Botterill
7 Canadian Food Radio: Conjuring Nourishment for Canadians Out ofThin Air / Nathalie Cooke
8 Of Men and Cupcakes: Baking Identities on Food Network / IrinaD. Mihalache
9 Insider Voice Snapshots of a Canadian Cuisine /Elizabeth Baird
10 Insider Voice Everybody’s a Critic: A Memoir /John Gilchrist
Part III: Food Controversy
11 Making the "Perfect Food" Safe: The Milk PasteurizationDebate / Catherine Carstairs, Paige Schell, and SheilaghQuaile
12 Kraft Dinner® Unboxed: Rethinking Food Insecurity and Food /Melanie Rock
13 Hipster Hunters and the Discursive Politics of Food Hunting inCanada / Rebecca Carruthers Den Hoed
14 Lies, Damned Lies, and Locavorism: Bringing Some Truth inAdvertising to the Canadian Local Food Debate / PierreDesrochers
15 Communication, Crisis, and Contaminated Meat: A Tale of Two FoodScares / Charlene Elliott and Josh Greenberg
16 Canaries in the Supermarket: Moral Panic, Food Marketing andChildren’s Eating / Stephen Kline
17 "Death on a Plate": Communicating Food Fears in ModernNorth America / Harvey Levenstein
List of Contributors
Index
