Eating in the city Socio-anthropological perspectives from Africa, Latin America and Asia Coll. Update Sciences & technologies

This book explores changes in eating habits in African, Latin American and Asian cities. It reveals-through studies on city dwellers' food practices and representations-the inadequacy of an analytical approach to these changes in terms of Westernization, standardization, transition or convergence towards a widely applicable model. Surveys conducted in cities of the Global South revealed that city dwellers are inventing new forms of eating based on a multitude of local and/or exogenous sources. Abidjan garba and Ouagadougou bâbenda are novel dishes that exemplify this urban food invention trend. The authors of the chapters are humanities and social science specialists from Africa, Latin America and Asia who conduct research in these regions. They invite readers to take a closer look at urban food in the Global South-the picture that emerges is far removed from preconceived ideas regarding poverty, health and the individual responsibility of food eaters. This book should be of interest to a scientific audience of teachers and food systems professionals, as well as any readers interested in urban social and cultural dynamics and the development of sociological and anthropological theories from the Global South. La version française de ce titre, Manger en ville, est disponible également.

Acknowledgements
Preface

Introduction – viewing food through the lens of urban eaters
Audrey Soula, Chelsie Yount-André, Olivier Lepiller, Nicolas Bricas

Part 1. Urban foodways at the cusp of normative injunctions

Chapter 1. Feeding children – a focus of tension in the Algerian city of Oran
Mohamed Mebtoul, Hamdia Belghachem, Ouassila Salemi, Malika Bouchenak, Karim Bouziane Nedjadi, Nabil Chaoui, Imad Boureghda

Chapter 2. Getting out of the kitchen! Reshaping gender relations and food practices in Casablanca
Hayat Zirari

Chapter 3. Can I trust this food? Trust and distrust in eating among middle-class youth in urban India
Shagufa Kapadia

Chapter 4. Eating out in Mexico City and Guadalajara – some conflict between health and heritage dimensions in Mexico
Liliana Martínez-Lomelí

Box: Promoting local products – representations among food consumers in Lomé (Togo)
Élisa Lomet

 

Part 2. When food practices dovetail with urban landscapes

Chapter 5. Urban cuisine in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo)
Yolande Berton-Ofouémé

Chapter 6. Warung makan – public kitchens at the epicentre of informality in Jakarta
Laura Arciniegas

Chapter 7. “Home and away” – narratives of food and identity in the context of urbanization
in Malaysia
Anindita Dasgupta, Sivapalan Selvadurai, Logendra S. Ponniah

Chapter 8. Sweet commercial drink adoption by urban Chinese middle-class people – between social control and new beverage consumption contexts
Jingjing Ma

Part 3. When the city invents its cuisine

Chapter 9. Bâbenda – a modernized traditional dish. Urban trajectory of a Burkinabe culinary specialty
Raphaëlle Héron

Chapter 10. Attiéké-garba – good to eat and think about. Social distinction and challenging hygiene standards in the Ivorian urban context
N’da Amenan Gisèle Sédia, Amoin Georgette Konan, Francis Akindès

Chapter 11. ‘Food from the pot’. Child nutrition and socialization in two Cameroonian cities
Estelle Kouokam Magne

Chapter 12. Modern culinary traditions for precarious times. Food insecurity and everyday practices among poor households in Mexico City
Ayari G. Pasquier Merino

Conclusion – what insight emerges to enhance research on transformations in urban food
and eating habits?
Audrey Soula, Chelsie Yount-André, Olivier Lepiller, Nicolas Bricas

List of contributors

Audrey Soula
Anthropologue au Cirad (UMR Moisa). Après s’être intéressée à la question des migrations et des minorités au Japon, elle travaille actuellement sur les changements des habitudes alimentaires en milieu urbain, au Maroc, en interrogeant notamment la patrimonialisation alimentaire et le genre.

Chelsie Yount-André
Anthropologue de l’alimentation au Cirad (UMR Moisa). Ses recherches portent sur les familles transnationales à Dakar et à Paris, la socialisation des enfants à travers le partage alimentaire et les morales économiques.

Olivier Lepiller
Sociologue au Cirad (UMR Moisa). Ses travaux portent sur les transformations sociales des normes et pratiques alimentaires à différentes échelles (sociohistorique, biographique) et sur les conditions du changement vers des systèmes alimentaires plus durables.

Nicolas Bricas
Socio-économiste au Cirad (UMR Moisa) et titulaire de la Chaire Unesco Alimentations du Monde. Il travaille sur les comportements alimentaires et les politiques alimentaires urbaines.

Jean-Pierre Hassoun
Directeur de recherche CNRS, sociologue à l’Institut de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les enjeux sociaux (Iris-EHESS).