ABSTRACT

This book addresses the various forms of deviance and criminality found within the conventional food system. This system—made up of numerous producers, processors, distributors, and retailers of food—has significant, far-reaching consequences bearing upon the environment and society.

Food Crime broadly outlines the processes and impacts of this food system most relevant for the academic discipline of criminology, with a focus on the negative health outcomes of the US diet (e.g., obesity and diabetes) and negative outcomes associated with the system itself (e.g., environmental degradation). The author introduces the concept of "food criminology," a new branch of criminology dedicated to the study of deviance in the food industry. Demonstrating the deviance and criminality involved in many parts of the conventional food system, this book is the first to provide exhaustive coverage of the major issues related to what can be considered food crime. Embedded in the context of state-corporate criminality, the concepts and practices exposed in this book bring attention to harms associated with the conventional food system and illustrate the degree of culpability of food companies and government agencies for these harms.

This book is of interest to students, scholars, and practitioners seeking a more just and healthy food system and encourages further future research into food crimes in the disciplines of criminology, criminal justice, and sociology.

chapter 1|23 pages

An Introduction to "Food Crimes"

chapter 2|40 pages

The Conventional Food System

chapter 3|51 pages

What Americans Eat

chapter 4|26 pages

The Food IS the Crime

Putting the Food Back Into "Food Crime"

chapter 5|22 pages

Food Addiction

chapter 6|29 pages

Harms Associated With What We Eat

chapter 7|41 pages

Harms Associated With the System

chapter 8|39 pages

Culpability for Food Crimes

chapter 9|12 pages

Economic Benefits of the Food System

chapter 10|14 pages

Summary and the Future