Philosophy of Food Course Research Questions

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1. What is food?

2. What do the "deep histories" of human experience of food (evolutionary, agriculture) tell us about the place of food in culture and the problems humans have had with food?

3. How did the US food system develop? What are some of its characteristic problems?

4. What is food culture and what is distinctive about food as a form of culture?

5. How is cuisine connected to power, religion, and cosmology?

6. How do "food ways" and gastronomy shape food cultures?

7. How do food choices and food cultures raise ethical, environmental, and social justice concerns?

8. How do food choices and food cultures raise aesthetic questions and questions about subjective satisfaction?

9. How should I critically assess my own food practices in light of my understanding of the nature of food, my own choices, and my food culture?

10. What is a nutritious diet?

11. What is a practical diet?

12. What is a satisfying diet?

13. What are the mechanisms of food behaviors, including unhealthy eating patterns?