Food and Drink: the cultural context is the first text to provide a comprehensive and academically rigorous introduction to a range of key themes in the field of food, drink and culture. This edited text explores the complex relationships between food and drink, and individuals and society. It provides analysis of social conditions that shape these relationships and examine their consequences on areas such as health, the environment, the distinctiveness of cultures, and the cohesiveness of communities. By focusing on specific aspects of social conditioning, including social class, politics, ethics, cultural homogenisation, urban development, migration, literature, and travel, it explains the emergence of dominant patterns of food and drink production, supply and consumption. It also explores representations of food and drink in the arts, to assess what this reveals about aspects of our food and drink cultures. With international contributions (UK, France, USA) from the well known and respected academics and practitioners, it provides a combination of theoretical enquiry and practical insight to explore aspects of consumer behaviour, with specific reference to trends in taste, products that are environmentally and culturally sustainable, food and wine tourism, the growth in reliance on standardised and processed products, and the use of restaurants and bars as theatres for conspicuous consumption and the display of adopted lifestyles. It contains a wealth of high quality contributions including: * The Commodification Of Taste by George Ritzer & Anya Galli, University of Maryland * Food and Drink Ethics by Rebecca Hawkins, Oxford Brookes University * Food, Drink and the Diaspora by Jessica Harris, City University of New York * Artistic representations of food and drink: opera by Fred Plotkin, opera and food writer * Embedding Food and Drink Cultures by Benoit Lecat, Burgundy School of Business Essential reading for post graduates, academics, professionals and all those interested in gastronomy, food and cultural studies, wine business management, hospitality management and all related areas of study.