The Social Construction of Eating Risks

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar VII

Abstract

Social scripts and constructed norms often positioned foods and eating practices as safe or risky. Such labels can influence how individuals make consumption choices. In this essay I survey the discursive constitution of the risks associated with food and eating. I review the general nature of risk in relation to foods and eating behaviors before highlighting key features of the literature, such as notions of expertise, personal responsibility and uncertainty.

Author

• Sarah Heiss, Ohio University