This curricular unit aims to evaluate how culture influences the eating habits of the population, and to consider the future role of food in society.

1. Food culture

1.1 Definition of food culture (enculturation)

1.2 Impact of social dynamism on food culture: globalization, modernization, urbanization, migration (acculturation)

1.3 Case study: Mediterranean diet

2. Definition of food

2.1 Omnivorous paradox: food tradition and innovation

2.2 Psychological traits: food neophobia, desire to vary

2.3 Case study: consumption of insects for human consumption – their acceptance/rejection in different cultures

3. Eating habits: nature of meals (number, composition, structure, type, and time); social organization of meals (who prepares, who consumes, local)

4. Food and religion

5. Food well-being

6. Social identities and food representations in different cultures

• Falndrin JL, Montanari M (1998). História da Alimentação - 1. Dos primórdios à Idade Moderna. Terramar Ed., Lisboa.
• Falndrin JL, Montanari M (2001). História da Alimentação - 2. Da Idade Média aos tempos actuais. Terramar Ed., Lisboa.
• Ferguson PP (2014). Word of Mouth: What We Talk About When We Talk About Food, California Studies in Food and Culture, USA.
• Gibson, M. (Ed). Food and Society. Academic Press, 2020.
• Kittler PG, Sucher KP (2004), Food and Culture, 4th ed., Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning, USA.
• Lima-Reis JP (2008). Algumas notas para a História da Alimentação em Portugal, Campo das Letras - Editores, SA, Lisboa.
• Meiselman, Herbert L. (Ed). Meals in science and practice: Interdisciplinary research and business applications. Elsevier, 2009.
• Nestle M (2013). Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Revised and Expanded - Tenth Anniversary Edition, California Studies in Food and Culture, USA.

E-learning

Evaluation is conducted on an individual basis and involves a combination of two modes: continuous assessment (60%) and final evaluation (40%). Further information can be found in the Learning Agreement for the curricular unit.