Food Around the World: A Cultural Perspective, 4th edition

For courses in cultural foods (food and culture) and general education courses in cultural diversity.

Discover the evolution of food.

Food Around the World: A Cultural Perspective, 4e is a unique and fascinating text examining the geography, history, economic, religious, and cultural factors influencing food consumption and availability. Appropriate for all students, especially those in food science, dietetics, and nutrition, it examines cultural food patterns and fosters an appreciation for various regions, nations, and cuisines. Chapters explore how and why different regions developed their unique cuisines and include recipes from each region. Vivid maps and photographs bring global cultures and foods to life as students travel through each chapter. Extensive learning tools help students master material and make the text an instructor-friendly resource.

Teaching and Learning Experience

This text provides a comprehensive and engaging cultural examination of food around the globe. It provides:

• Cultural insight through food: Chapters use food as an engaging avenue of insight into cultures around the world.
• Well-rounded understanding: Detailed chapters present topics with proper context and include effective learning tools.
• Opportunities to experience global cuisine: Students can create dishes from around the world, bringing topics from the text to life in the kitchen.
• Rich visuals to engage readers: Numerous maps, photos, and figures illustrate and support the text and engage visual learners.

Hallmark Features

Cultural insight through food: Food offers a particularly significant pathway of study to help promote cultural knowledge. The text’s exploration of food preferences and eating habits are a fascinating and very approachable avenue for promoting cultural understanding.

• NEW! Chapter 25: Canada is entirely new and presents an insightful examination of Canadian cultural history and cuisine. 

Well-rounded understanding: Each chapter explores the geographic, historical, cultural, religious, and economic influences that impact food availability and consumption in a given region.

• Students gain the necessary context for understanding why people eat specific foods in different regions.
• Effective study and review tools help students check their learning and ensure they have mastered the material in each chapter. Resources include learning objectives, margin notes, chapter summaries, study questions, and an extensive glossary.
• NEW! Web citations have been updated throughout the chapters to incorporate new and updated web resources that are most relevant to the text.
• NEW! Extensive revisions have been made throughout the textto keep the text up to date with current events, developments, and issues impacting the global culinary scene. Updates include discussion of some of the world's food problems and the reasons for severe food shortages in several countries.
• NEW! Accompanying instructor resource materials have been thoroughly updated to reflect the changes made to the new edition.

Opportunities to experience global cuisine: Regional recipes are included throughout the chapters, allowing students to sample the cooking styles and ingredients discussed in the text.

• When necessary, recipes are modified to include easily obtainable ingredients without sacrificing authenticity. 

Rich visuals to engage readers: The 4th edition includes 72 pages of color photos, over 500 black-and-white photos, and 31 maps.

• Extensive illustrations appeal to visual learners and bring to life the wide variety of regions and cultures covered in the text.
• Useful maps help students locate the countries and regions under discussion.
• NEW! New color and black-and-white photos have been added, helping readers visualize the uniqueness of the different places visited in the book.
• NEW! Maps have been updated and revised to make them more accurate and tailored to textbook topics. 

This edition has been updated to maintain its objective of examining food and cultural patterns while also incorporating the current food scene around the world, as impacted by geography, population pressures, economics, politics, and natural disasters.

• Updates include discussion of some of the world's food problems and the reasons for severe food shortages in several countries.

Updated! Web citations have been updated throughout the chapters–to incorporate new and updated web resources that are most relevant to the text.

New! New color and black-and-white photos–have been added, helping readers visualize the uniqueness of the different places visited in the book.

Updated! Maps have been updated and revised–to make them more accurate and tailored to textbook topics.

Revised! Accompanying instructor resource materials have been thoroughly updated–to reflect the changes made to the new edition.