Summary
Contents
Subject index
Exploring the expression of taste through the processes of consumption this book provides an incisive and accessible evaluation of the current theories of consumption, and trends in the representation and purchase of food. Alan Warde outlines various theories of change in the twentieth century, and considers the parallels between their diagnoses of consumer behaviour and actual trends in food practices. He argues that dilemmas of modern practical life and certain imperatives of the culture of consumption make sense of food selection. He suggests that contemporary consumption is best viewed as a process of continual selection among an unprecedented range of generally accessible items which are made available both commerciall
Part III: Interpretations of Taste
In the final part of the book I review and interpret the accumulated evidence about change in British food habits and consider its implications for different theories of consumption. The antinomies in discourse and the differences in practice in the field of food are associated with some of the structural anxieties of contemporary societies. Following consideration of the specificity of the case of food, I argue that consumption is now best generally characterized as an exhibition of undistinguished difference, a condition brought about by an obsession on the part of consumers with variety which matches the capacity of industry to provide mildly differentiated products in considerable volume.
Many aspects of British food practice in the late 1960s had changed by the ...
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