ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some historical-sociological context to the debate over social class, its trajectory in the academy, the ways it is measured, and how it is influenced by questions of culture, ethnicity, consumption and social mobility, in preparation for situating the notion of class in the field of diet and health. Foods are purchased and consumed in ways which flow from an individual's education, family background, labour and wages, indicating gradations in consumption in terms of both quality and quantity of food. Marx's thought provides a clear view of the interlocking relationships between the forces of history, family, culture and economic change in structuring social life, including eating. Marx describes a historical process which has a degree of reflexivity to it as systems of various kinds interact with one another. This process brings about change, but interacting systems over time do not offer to everyone the same opportunity to interact with what is new in each system or domain.
