Food Information, Communication and Education: Eating Knowledge

Food Information, Communication and Education analyses the role of different media in producing and transforming knowledge about food. ‘Eating knowledge’, or knowledge about food and food practice, is a central theme of cooking classes, the daily press, school textbooks, social media, popular magazines and other media. In addition, a wide variety of actors have taken on the responsibility of informing and educating the public about food, including food producers, advertising agencies, celebrity chefs, teachers, food bloggers and government institutions. Featuring a range of European case studies, this interdisciplinary collection advances our understanding of the processes of mediatization, circulation and reception of knowledge relating to food within specific social environments. Topics covered include: popularized knowledge about food carried over from past to present; the construction of trustworthy knowledge in today’s food risk society; critical assessment of nutrition education initiatives for children; and political and ideological implications of food information policy and practice.

Simona De Iulio is Full Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the University of Lille (Laboratory GERIICO), France. Her research interests focus on food communication and on the relations between advertising and society.

Susan Kovacs is Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the Enssib Library and Information Science school, Villeurbanne, France.