Foodways in Flux: From Gastro‐anomy to Menu Pluralism?

Abstract

Examines the dimensions of stability and change in the foodways of contemporary Britain. The structural and cultural origins of change are outlined and various sociological explanations of these phenomena are discussed. Subsequently, both the positive and negative implications of the contemporary state of flux are investigated, particularly with reference to the argument that a state of gastro‐anomy pertains. This view is subjected to critical examination and the argument is put forward that a state of anomy may be a transitional one on the road to a more open and pluralistic nutritional order.