Food A Reader for Writers

Read. Write. Oxford.

From the hearty dishes of the American South to hotly debated GMOs, Food: A Reader for Writers serves up articles from a wide range of cultures, economic strata, and moments in time. It covers food's relationship to such topics as memory and identity, politics and health, the environment and economy, and travel and worldviews.

Developed for courses in first-year writing, Food: A Reader for Writers includes an interdisciplinary mix of public, academic, and cultural reading selections, providing students with the rhetorical knowledge and analytical strategies required to participate effectively in discussions about food and culture.

Food: A Reader for Writers is part of a series of brief, single-topic readers from Oxford University Press designed for today's college writing courses. Each reader in this series approaches a topic of contemporary conversation from multiple perspectives.

1) Food as Memory and Identity

The Gastronomical Me, an excerpt
M.F.K. Fisher

Four Menus
Sheila Squillante

An Indian Reminiscence
Madhur Jaffrey

What Was Served
Douglas Bauer

The God of Small Feasts
Shoba Narayan

Home Run: My Journey Back to Korean Food
Roy Ahn

Tasteless
David Sedaris

2) Food and Environment

The Pleasures of Eating
Wendell Berry

Seafarming at the End of the World
Peter Meehan

Sowing Dissent
Tracy Frisch, interview with Joel Salatin

The Meaning of Local
Todd Kliman

2000+ Reasons Why GMOs Are Safe to Eat and Environmentally Sustainable
Jon Entine and JoAnna Wendel

The Threats from Genetically Modified Foods
Robin Mather

On Killing
Hank Shaw

3) The Politics of Food

Considering the Lobster
David Foster Wallace

Can't Stomach It: How Michael Pollan et al. Made Me Want to Eat Cheetos
Julie Guthman

Suckin' the Chicken Bone Dry: African American Women, History, and Food Culture
Psyche Williams-Forson

The Rise of Yuppie Coffees and the Reimagination of Class in the United States
William Roseberry

Men Eat Meat, Women Eat Chocolate: How Food Gets Gendered
Riddhi Shah

The Moral Crusade Against Foodies
B. R. Myers

4) Food and Health

Don't Blame the Eater
David Zinczenko

What's Eating America?
Michael Pollan

The Food Desert
Jennifer Wehunt

The Disappearance of Hunger in America
Patricia Allen

How to Address Obesity in a Fat-Phobic Society
Courtney E. Martin

Snacks for a Fat Planet
John Seabrook

School Food, Public Policy, and Strategies for Change
Marion Nestle

5) Food and American Culture

Good Food Everywhere
Brett Martin

A Native American Thanksgiving
Beverly Cox and Clara Sue Kidwell

We Got Our Way of Cooking Things: Women, Food, and Preservation of Cultural Identity Among the Gullah
Josephine Beauku-Betts

A Confederacy of Sauces
Jack Hitte

There's No Such Thing as Too Much Barbecue
Jason Sheehan

Food Stamps: Two Perspectives
Montgomery Officials Try Eating for $5 a Day

Lawmakers' Headline-Grabbing Food Stamp Diet

6) Food Travel and World Views

Let's Eat Chinese! Reflections on Cultural Food Colonialism
Lisa Heldke

Daily Bread
Pico Iyer

The Rooster's Head in the Soup
Tim Cahill

Everything Comes from the Sea
Coleman Andrews

Dead Heads
Anthony Bourdain

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio

The Food at Our Feet
Jane Kramer

"The Last Days of the Czars," from Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
Anya Von Bremzen

Appendix. One-Epilogue-Cooking and Culture (Recipes)

Appendix. Two-Researching and Writing About Food
Sample Student Paper
Preface
1. Food as Memory and Identity
M.F.K. Fisher, an excerpt from The Gastronomical Me
Sheila Squillante, "Four Menus." from Brevity
Douglas Bauer, "What Was Served." from Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie
Shoba Narayan, "The God of Small Feasts." Gourmet.com
Roy Ahn, "Home Run: My Journey Back to Korean Food." Gastronomica
David Sedaris, "Tasteless." New Yorker
2. Food and Environment
Wendell Berry, "The Pleasures of Eating." from What Are People For?
Peter Meehan, "Seafarming at the End of the World." Lucky Peach
Tracy Frisch, interview with Joel Salatin, "Sowing Dissent." Sun Magazine
Todd Kliman, "The Meaning of Local." Washingtonian.com 2013
Jon Entine and JoAnna Wendel, "2000+ Reasons Why GMOs Are Safe to Eat and Environmentally Sustainable." Forbes
Robin Mather, "The Threats from Genetically Modified Foods." MotherEarthNews.com
Hank Shaw, "On Killing." Honest-food.net 2011
3. The Politics of Food
David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster
Julie Guthman, "Can't Stomach It: How Michael Pollan et al. Made Me Want to Eat Cheetos." Gastronomica
Psyche Williams-Forson, "Suckin' the Chicken Bone Dry: African American Women, History, and Food Culture." Cooking Lessons: The Politics of Gender and Food
William Roseberry, "The Rise of Yuppie Coffees and the Reimagination of Class in the United States." American Anthropologist
Riddhi Shah, "Men Eat Meat, Women Eat Chocolate: How Food Gets Gendered." Salon
B. R. Myers, "The Moral Crusade Against Foodies." The Atlantic
4. Food and Health
David Zinczenko, "Don't Blame the Eater." INew York Times
Michael Pollan, "Our National Eating Disorder." New York Times
Jennifer Wehunt, "The Food Desert." Chicago Magazine
Patricia Allen, "The Disappearance of Hunger in America." Gastronimica
Courtney E. Martin, "How to Address Obesity in a Fat-Phobic Society." Alternet.com
John Seabrook, "Snacks for a Fat Planet." New York Times
Marion Nestle, "School Food, Public Policy, and Strategies for Change." Ecoliteracy.org
5. Food and American Culture
Brett Martin, "Good Food Everywhere." GQ
Beverly Cox and Clara Sue Kidwell, "A Native American Thanksgiving." LA Times
Josephine Beauku-Betts, "We Got Our Way of Cooking Things: Women, Food, and Preservation of Cultural Identity Among the Gullah." Gender and Society
Jack Hitte, "A Confederacy of Sauces." New York Times
Jason Sheehan, "There's No Such Thing as Too Much Barbecue." National Public Radio
"Food Stamps: Two Perspectives: Montgomery Officials Try Eating for $5 a Day." Washington Post
"Lawmakers' Headline-Grabbing Food Stamp Diet." National Review
6. Food, Travel, and World Views
Lisa Heldke, "Let's Eat Chinese! Reflections on Cultural Food Colonialism." Gastronomica
Pico Iyer, "Daily Bread." A Moveable Feast
Tim Cahill, "The Rooster's Head in the Soup." A Moveable Feast
Coleman Andrews, "Venice: Everything Comes from the Sea." Departures.com
Anthony Bourdain, "Dead Heads." Lucky Peach
Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Jane Kramer, "The Food at Our Feet." The New Yorker
Anya Von Bremzen, "The Last Days of the Czars." from Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
Appendix A. Epilogue--Cooking and Culture (Recipes)
Appendix B. Researching and Writing About Food Sample Student Paper