food Archives - The Social Breakdown

SOC606 – Culture and Systems: An Intro to Food Studies

Abstract

If you’re like us, you’re probably snacking on something right now trying to get through your day. It goes without saying how important food is to our survival, but beyond the biological needs, there is a whole system surrounding food. This episode is an introduction to food studies from a sociological perspective. We look at the intermingling of culture and food, the stories and legends we pass down about food, as well as the system of food, including production, processing, and distribution. We hope you’re hungry to learn!

Keywords: Food, culture, food systems, production, distribution

Transcript

Looking for a transcript of this episode? Well, look no further! Click here. And bit thanks to Jody Sauer for transcribing this episode!

Sources

SOC408 – Gentrification Through Food (Guest Edition)

Abstract

The way neighborhoods are transformed as investors, capital, and newcomers arrive cannot be understood without talking about cafes, lattes, food security, avocado toast, and race. Dr. Alison Alkon and Dr. Joshua Sbicca join us this week to discuss how food is both a gentrifying force and gentrified itself. The conversation was initiated by a new edited volume by our guests (and Dr. Yuki Kato who could not make it) titled, A Recipe for Gentrification! Tune in to learn more about how neighborhood foodscapes change, and how these changes warrant sociological analysis. All you food and environmental justice peeps, this one’s for you!

http://thesocialbreakdown.libsyn.com/soc40-gentrification-through-food-guest-episode

Keywords

Food, gentrification, sociology, class, race, neighborhoods, urban, food justice, environmental, community gardens

Sources

Dr. Alison Alkon’s tweets can be found at @Aliehope.
- Also, check out her book Black, White, and Green!
Dr. Joshua Sbicca’s tweets can be found at @JoshSbicca.
- You can also check out his website here, as well as his book Food Justice Now!
Curious about what happens when a neighborhood gets gentrified? Read this article from the Atlantic.
The book that tipped off this convo, A Recipe for Gentrification, co-edited with Dr. Yuki Kato, can be found here:
- https://nyupress.org/9781479834433/a-recipe-for-gentrification/
- Be sure to use their 30% discount code: AVOTOAST30
Curious about the Back to the Land Movement ? Read here.
Pew Research has some information about demographic changes in suburban, urban, and rural communities.
What is Urban Farming? Here’s a good resource!
Redlining and Food Justice in America 2020.
Dr. Alkon mentioned Madeline Fairbain’s book on speculative capital food titled Fields of Gold.
Ellen mentioned Padma Lakshmi’s fantastic new Hulu food documentary series, Taste the Nation, which you can watch here if you have a Hulu subscription.
Dr. Sbicca recommended the book, Black Food Geographies by Ashante M. Reese.
Dr. Alkon recommended the organization Barcelona Lab of Environmental Justice and Sustainability.
Dr Sbicca also mentioned the program Planting Justice in California.

Breakaway Episode 10 – Inequality at Bon Appétit

Abstract

Penn and Ellen are avid fans of Bon Appetit’s YouTube channel. ‘Gourmet Makes,’ ‘Back to Back Chef,’ ‘It’s Alive with Brad’, and that one where Chris recreates dishes blind-folded– WE LOVE THEM ALL. But at the start of June, it was revealed that there is shocking inequality in Bon Appetit: white chefs appearing in videos were being paid for their time, while chefs of color were not, and leadership was engaging in other racist practices. So, we had to get together for a breakaway and talk about this drama, and how the culinary industry is rife with inequality. Tune in here!

Keywords

Bon Appetit, chefs, cooking, culinary, food, food media, inequality, media, racism, YouTube

Sources

Here’s a link to Bon Appetit’s YouTube channel that Penn and Ellen are huge fans of:
Here’s an overview of everything that happened at Bon Appetit.
News about Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigning at the insistence of Sohla.
Here are some data sources on the salaries of executive chefs.
- https://www.bls.gov/OOH/food-preparation-and-serving/chefs-and-head-cooks.htm
- https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/executive-chef-salary/new-york-ny
Article about Alex Delaney’s confederate flag cake. Never a good decision to do a confederate flag annnnnything!
Some of the insightful responses from fellow Bon Appetit test kitchen stars about the culture at BA.
- https://www.insider.com/bon-appetit-claire-saffitz-instagram-aware-the-toxic-racist-culture-2020-6
- https://www.insider.com/bon-appetit-christina-chaey-speaks-out-about-alleged-pay-inequity-2020-6
The Atlantic article, “The Table Stays White.”
Bon Appetit’s response to the backlash over their “You’re Eating Pho Wrong” video featuring a White chef.
Yup yup, it’s THAT Michelin tire company that runs the Michelin Guide!
Check out Penn’s recommended podcast, The Racist Sandwich, which is no longer releasing new episodes, but still is packed with useful topics!
And here are some of our fave BA YouTube stars’ Instagrams, where most of their personal statements are posted
- Sohla El-Waylly
- Christina Chaey
- Priya Krishna
- Claire Saffitz
- Molly Baz
- Brad Leone

Tag: food

SOC606 – Culture and Systems: An Intro to Food Studies

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SOC408 – Gentrification Through Food (Guest Edition)

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Breakaway Episode 10 – Inequality at Bon Appétit

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