ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which the ‘lens’ of food provides us with an insight into the processes of commodification of food. That is to say, how food becomes a product that is sold, bought and consumed. The dynamic nature of the food market is such that we will see how there have been major developments in a relatively short space of time. The reasons behind these developments are explored. The food industry has been the subject of much work by a wide range of people, and indeed this whole book could be taken up with an examination of this fascinating subject. The purpose of this chapter is not to explore the whole of the industrialised food chain, and the players in it, but to see how food provides us with a particular insight into the business, and indeed big business, of food.
