Specialized Looking: “How Eating Shapes Antarctic Tourists’ Perceptions of Climate Change”

‘Meals as Micro-rituals: How Eating Shapes Antarctic Tourists’ Perceptions of Climate Change’ is the title of a seminar that happened on January 14, 2022, online, organized by The SOAS Food Studies Centre in London, UK. Professor Clare Sammells of Bucknell University led the micro-exploration. This was one of the few scholarly gatherings to address in […]

Should researchers refrain from eating their research subjects? [study]

If you are a researcher studying, say, concrete bridge structures, or microprocessors, then you probably wouldn’t have to be overly concerned about potential criticism from peers regarding the possibility that you might eat your research subjects. But this is not the case for all academic fields. Take for example, ‘Animal Studies’. A 2018 paper published […]

Zombies, Performance and Eating (study)

“This article examines how food can be used to access the zombie in performance as a means to reconfigure the eating body.” – explains Dr Jenny Lawson of Leeds University,UK, describing her data-gathering project Eating Minds which was undertaken in 2014 in Stockton UK. “The personal zombie-food-fantasies disclosed in Eating Minds were evocative of private […]

Eating Popcorn in Front of a Mirror May Induce Some People to Eat More Popcorn

Eating popcorn in front of a mirror is a provocative act — provoking the urge to eat more popcorn — suggests this study: “The ‘Social’ Facilitation of Eating Without the Presence of Others: Self-reflection on Eating Makes Food Taste Better and People Eat More,” Ryuzaburo Nakata and Nobuyuki Kawai, Physiology and Behavior, epub 2017. The […]

Boer’s Lively Dining Table and Toilet Brush

“Sharing a mealtime, but not truly eating together can cause social friction and discomfort. For instance, being closely observed whilst eating can feel awkward and disrespectful. The person who is last to finish the food may suffer the discomfort of being watched by their no longer actually eating dining companions.” What, if anything, might be […]

Augmented satiety: Making junk food look bigger

“Recent psychological studies have revealed that the amount of food consumed is influenced by both its actual volume and external factors during eating.” Therefore, reasoned a research team from the University of Tokyo, if a portion of food seems bigger, maybe diners would eat less of it? Their experimental real-time computer graphic kit creates the […]