Dietary choices, cooking styles and eating habits are all influenced by a number of factors. In part, they are the product of personal preferences, but they are also determined by the availability and cost of food, by the ways in which food and nutritional advice are promoted and distributed, and by cultural values – those attitudes, beliefs and customs that shape our behaviour and help to dictate our choices. Continue reading
The current crisis in Syria has very explicitly brought the plight of refugees to global attention. Since 2011 over half of the population have been displaced, while around 8 million people have been internally displaced, a further 4 million registered refugees have left Syria and fled to neighbouring countries and beyond (UNHCR, 2015). Continue reading
We eat for nourishment, but food is about much more than nutrition. What we eat is meaningful, and food is an especially intimate area of daily life, tightly linked to our conceptions of self. Think about your own food preferences: a nostalgic meal from your childhood, a treat you indulge yourself with on special occasions, a religious sanction against certain foods. Continue reading