Lectures (Video)
- 1. Introduction: What We Eat, Why We Eat and the Key Role of Food in Modern Life
- 2. Food Then, Food Now: Modern Food Conditions and Their Mismatch with Evolution
- 3. Biology, Nutrition and Health I: What We Eat
- 4. Biology, Nutrition and Health II: What Helps Us and Hurts Us
- 5. Biology, Nutrition and Health III: The Psychology of Taste and Addiction
- 6. Culture and the Remarkable Plasticity of Eating
- 7. Hunger in the World of Plenty
- 8. Nutrition Transition and Global Food Issues
- 9. From Ancient to Modern Farming: The Green Revolution and the Prospect of Feeding the World
- 10. Sustainability I: The Impact of Modern Agriculture on the Environment and Energy Use
- 11. Sustainability II: The Impact of Modern Agriculture on Biodiversity, Genetic Modification and Animal Welfare
- 12. Public Health vs. Medical Models in Nutrition Change: Saving Lives One or a Million at a Time
- 13. Eating Disorders and Obesity
- 14. Perspectives of the Food Industry
- 15. Economics, Nutrition and Health: Subsidies, Food Deserts and More
- 16. Everyone but Me: The Pervasive Reach and Powerful Influence of Food Marketing on Food Choices
- 17. The Politics of Food I: How Politics Affects National Nutrition Policy
- 18. The Politics of Food II: The Issues, the Fights and Who Controls the Frame
- 19. The Law and Opportunities to Improve Nutrition and Health
- 20. Schools and Nutrition: Where Health and Politics Collide
- 21. The Morphing of the Modern Diet
- 22. Sustainability and Health Food Access
- 23. Success Stories, Innovation and Change from the Grass Roots
The Psychology, Biology and Politics of Food
Course Summary
This course is based on PSYC 123: The Psychology, Biology and Politics of Food, Fall 2008 made available by Yale University: Open Yale under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
This course encompasses the study of eating as it affects the health and well-being of every human. Topics include taste preferences, food aversions, the regulation of hunger and satiety, food as comfort and friendship, eating as social ritual, and social norms of blame for food problems. The politics of food discusses issues such as sustainable agriculture, organic farming, genetically modified foods, nutrition policy, and the influence of food and agriculture industries. Also examined are problems such as malnutrition, eating disorders, and the global obesity epidemic; the impact of food advertising aimed at children; poverty and food; and how each individual's eating is affected by the modern environment.
Reading Material
1. Textbook (Yale) - Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It
Brownell, Kelly D. and Katherine B. Horgen. Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It. New York: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books, 2004.
2. Textbook (Yale) - In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York: The Penguin Press, 2008.
Course Material
1. Reading (Lecture 16): Changing the Landscape of Food and Beverage Advertising (pdf)Council of Better Business Bureaus. "Changing the Landscape of Food and Beverage Advertising: The Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative in Action: A Progress Report on the First Six Months of Implementation," (July-December, 2007)
2. Reading (Lecture 13): Eating Disorders (pdf)
National Institute of Mental Health. "Eating Disorders." Washington, DC., 2007
Other Resources
1. The Psychology of Food ChoiceRichard Shepherd, Monique Raats, The Psychology of Food Choice, Volume 3 Frontiers in nutritional science, Publisher: CABI, 2006, ISBN 9780851990323
(Click the button below to see a preview of the book)
2. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health
Marion Nestle, Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Volume 3 of California Studies in Food and Culture, Edition 2, Publisher: University of California Press, 2007, ISBN 9780520254039
(Click the button below to see a preview of the book)
3. The politics of food
Marianne E. Lien, Brigitte Nerlich, The politics of food, Publisher: Berg Publishers, 2004, ISBN 9781859738535
(Click the button below to see a preview of the book)
4. The cultural politics of food and eating: A Reader
James L. Watson, Melissa L. Caldwel, The cultural politics of food and eating: A Reader, Volume 8 of Blackwell readers in anthropology, Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005, ISBN 9780631230939
(Click the button below to see a preview of the book)
