Food, Eating, and Emotions

Food and eating are social practices through which individuals experience and interpret the world.

Feeding, eating, and nourishing are both social phenomena and physiological processes that help maintain energy homeostasis. The availability of energy determines the range of possible actions and influences bodily self-perception. Consequently, sensory experiences, such as taste, mediate impressions of the social environment and shape contextually appropriate perceptions and emotions. The body's physical condition directs modes of living, production, and reproduction.

Eating encompasses not only the consumption of food and its preparation but also the sharing of meals, temporal and spatial contexts, historical and identity factors, cognitive-affective practices, and complex social networks. In some social and geopolitical contexts, people can access food independently, whereas in others, marked by economic inequality and hunger, state food programs and partnerships with civil society organizations are essential for daily sustenance.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economic recession, loss of income, disruptions in food supply chains, and rising food prices have exacerbated hunger and malnutrition, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as women and children. Ongoing wars and genocides have further intensified global hunger and malnutrition. In this context, examining the emotions associated with food offers critical insight and a framework for analyzing the social regulation of conflict in the twenty-first century. This session will discuss how emotions are shaped by food production and consumption in contemporary society, digital eating practices, the role of social policies, malnutrition, intergenerational knowledge transmission, and the role of civil society organizations.