Cultural Geographies of Food and Identity
Summary
Cultural geographies of food and identity examine how culinary practices, landscapes and material cultures are entwined with social meanings and power relations. This field explores the ways in which food shapes collective and individual identities at multiple scales—from domestic kitchens and community rituals to regional terroirs and global markets. Scholars analyse how traditions and innovations in food production, distribution and consumption are negotiated through memory, heritage and authenticity, revealing the symbolic significance of ingredients, recipes and dining spaces. Interdisciplinary methods draw on anthropology, sociology and cultural studies to investigate sensory experiences, material artefacts and the politics of taste. Research highlights the impact of migration, globalisation and environmental change on foodways, emphasising hybrid identities and new forms of gastronomic expression. Practical applications include heritage conservation, sustainable food governance and community-led initiatives that foster social cohesion, resilience and biocultural diversity.
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Cultural Geographies of Food and Identity publication trend
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Technical terms
Foodscape: A conceptual framing of food environments as landscapes shaped by cultural, economic and ecological processes.
Foodways: The customary practices and traditions surrounding the production, preparation and consumption of food within a community.
Material-semiotic approach: An analytical perspective that examines how material practices and social meanings co-produce cultural phenomena.
Ontology: A theoretical account of the nature and relations of entities, used to analyse multiple enactments of food qualities.
References
- Anthropology of Food: History, Topics, and Trajectories to Understand a Discipline. Encyclopedia (2025).
- The multiple ontologies of freshness in the UK and Portuguese agri‐food sectors. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (2018).
- Re-imagining the kitchen as a site of memory. Social & Cultural Geography (2015).
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