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The country house has long been seen as a space of luxury consumption. Large houses are characterised as enclaves of the London, spending all their money in capital, rather than buying goods locally. They sapped wealth from the local area rather than stimulating economic activity This paper analyses data from highly detailed account books which record the kitchen expenditure at Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall in the years 1658-1660 to understand how the kitchens of the Earls of Devonshire were supplied. In discussing the ways in which the household sourced foodstuffs and how much they spent doing so, this paper challenges the prevailing idea that houses are economic leeches on the local area. The Devonshires spent a vast sum of money on food locally; helping to create communities of commerce in the local area and to fuel a vibrant and various grocery trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food insecurity in the UK is a pressing concern that is associated with poor health outcomes. Research to date has focused on the challenges for adults in providing food for families. However, there is little evidence showing how children and young people experience food insecurity, particularly outside of the home and school. This paper, drawing on 14 months of ethnography in a youth club in the North of England, explores how young people manage food insecurity. In this youth club, the circulation of takeaway food is part of an informal network where boys purchase, share and receive food. This practice allows the boys to participate meaningfully within their peer groups whilst also providing stable access to food. This peer practice, however, was not available to everyone. This was a gendered practice that for the girls held little benefit due to their concerns about eating and pressure to provide for others. Instead, some girls depend on romantic relationships for food provision that is equated with affection and care. The findings will be discussed through a 'materialities of care' perspective to explore the complex ways in which food as a practice of care is part of everyday routines embedded within local places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory paper examines the role of food tourism in developing and sustaining regional identities within the context of rural regeneration, agricultural diversification and the creation of closer relationships between production and consumption in the countryside. It focuses on Cornwall, South West England, an area with rural development issues, increasing tourism impacts and contested issues of regional identity. A literature and policy analysis, and in-depth interviews with 12 restaurateurs, were undertaken in four popular tourist locations. Correlation was found between increased levels of food tourism interest and the retention and development of regional identity, the enhancement of environmental awareness and sustainability, an increase in social and cultural benefits celebrating the production of local food and the conservation of traditional heritage, skills and ways of life. The paper draws attention to three issues: the role of food tourism in increasing tourist spending, the potential role of food tourism in extending the tourist season, and the re-examination of food tourist typologies within a sustainability framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socially desirable outcomes such as community cohesion, diversity and social mixing are key features of the sustainable communities discourse. However, this aspect of the sustainable communities policy agenda remains under-researched. This paper uses the case of a community food initiative (Stroudco, located in Stroud, UK) to review some of the challenges faced in incorporating these social goals into wider (community led) sustainability initiatives. In particular, we explore the tensions that arise between the three core facets of sustainability – the social, the environmental and the economic – when they are brought together at a community level. Although Stroudco was established with the aim of bridging diverse communities and broadening the cross-section of people consuming local food, to date this remains a significant challenge. The case of Stroudco provides an insight into some of the difficulties encountered by local initiatives that attempt to operate across a range of social groupings while also overcoming cultural differences about the value of local food. It also raises important questions about the social geographies of resilience which community sustainability initiatives are able to support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To explore similarities and differences in policy content and the political context of the three main English government reports on health inequalities: the Black Report (1980), the Acheson Enquiry (1998), and the Marmot Review (2010). Methods Thematic policy and context analysis of the Black Report (1980), the Acheson Enquiry (1998), and the Marmot Review (2010) in terms of: (i) underpinningtheoretical principles; (ii) policy recommendations; (iii) the political contexts in which each was released; and (iv) their actual or potential influence on research and policy. Results There were great similarities and very few differences in terms of both the theoretical principles guiding the recommendations of these reports and the focus of the recommendations themselves. However, there were clear differences in terms of the political contexts of each report, as well as their subsequent impacts on research and policy. Conclusion The paper calls into question the progress of health inequalities research, the use of evidence and of the links between research, politics and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using findings from semi-structured interviews with international postgraduate students in England, this paper explores the meanings attached to the food they eat in a new culture. Our study, using interviews, aimed to uncover student responses to both the food they eat whilst abroad and to the food they have left behind. Many students criticised local English food as bland, fattening, and unhealthy; nevertheless, most showed an openness to new foods, trying not only local food but also dishes prepared by their international friends, but this sat alongside a strong attachment to their home country dishes. Eating together was a popular leisure activity, and food of the origin country or region was the most popular cuisine. Eating home country food offered emotional and physical sustenance; students felt comforted by familiar taste, and that their physical health was stabilised by the consumption of healthier food than was available locally. Despite acknowledgement of the importance of food to cultural identity and overall quality of life in the anthropology and nutrition literatures, there is a dearth of research into this aspect of the international student experience; this study, therefore, marks an important beginning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article reviews the 2009 Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, which was held in St. Catherine's College, Oxford. This year's theme was Food and Language and over forty papers were delivered to an audience of over two hundred leading food writers, historians, scientists, authropologists, linguists, culinary students, and general food enthusiasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bentley Bulk local food initiative was piloted in Manchester in 2003 with the aim of creating a “Healthy Local Food System”. It combined education in food, training in horticulture and work on a local market garden with a food buying co-operative and placed these within the context of a local currency. It is argued that, by operating at the nexus of sustainability and justice, the project can be seen as an example of Just Sustainability in the UK. Just Sustainability provides a framework for a discussion of the issues in taking the project from theory into practice. In particular, the paper looks at the challenge of reaching out to the “non-usual suspects”, making organic food more socially inclusive, linking community projects with larger-scale environmental issues, and the ethics of volunteering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports results from a qualitative study on social representations of health and illness among the Chinese community in England. It is assumed that representations of health and illness are grounded in cultural frameworks and are constructed through communication, social interaction and the practices of daily life. Our findings show that in spite of differences related to age and degrees of acculturation, Chinese people in England share a common representational system with respect to health and illness. This system is based on the traditional notions of “balance” and “harmony” between the interdependent forces of Yin and Yang. Health results from balance, whereas illness is brought about by disequilibrium. It is through these traditional Chinese concepts that Western biomedical knowledge is incorporated, producing a mixed representational field where Chinese and Western knowledge co-exist. This representational field is transmitted through the most fundamental dimensions of culture: food, language and kinship relations. We conclude by showing that social representations of health and illness are inseparable from the struggles over identity experienced by the Chinese people in England. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information about a colloquium for young scientists in food and nutrition to be held on December 3, 2003 in London, England. Calls for submissions from young scientists; Publication of papers from the colloquium in the 'Nutrition Bulletin.'