The paper presents a review of some trends in anthropological research on food: from the study of supposedly self-contained communities and societies to the work on single commodities (such as sugar, rice or tuna), the world food system, the rise of ethnically-neutral food, the world food situation, famine and possible future implications. Globalization is shown to be much older than generally recognized; the spread of Western fast food is matched by the diffusion of Asian cuisines; and the Third World bids to the repetition of the Western experience concerning overconsumption of animal protein. Sustainability and health still remain distant ideals.
Food and eating; Globalization; Ethnicity; Commodities; Famine; Gender