Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses contemporary challenges and reflects the concerns of funders and researchers working in the broad field of the sociology of food at this time: dietary health, sustainability, food safety and food poverty. It is concerned with interdisciplinarity, the analysis of change, data reuse and the use of social media as data. The book provides empirical evidence from around the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan. It offers fresh insights into the methodological affordances and complexities of studying food, engage with 21st-century concerns revealing shifts in key sociological topics and provide theoretical insights in addressing important challenges. The book utilizes food as a lens to explore political tensions in a changing social climate and acknowledges a more recent source of data, namely social media. It explains the topical concern of how the public engages with the food system.