Exploring the expression of taste through the processes of consumption this book provides an incisive and accessible evaluation of the current theories of consumption, and trends in the representation and purchase of food.

Alan Warde outlines various theories of change in the twentieth century, and considers the parallels between their diagnoses of consumer behaviour and actual trends in food practices. He argues that dilemmas of modern practical life and certain imperatives of the culture of consumption make sense of food selection. He suggests that contemporary consumption is best viewed as a process of continual selection among an unprecedented range of generally accessible items which are made available both commercially and informally.

Alan Warde is Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester. He has worked in the sociology of consumption over the last 15 years and has published extensively on the topic. He was Co-Director of the ESRC Centre for Research in Innovation and Competition, between 1999 and 2007, where he was responsible for a programme of research on consumption. He has written a dozen books and edited a further eleven.

PART ONE: ISSUES OF TASTE
Consumption, Taste and Social Change
The New Manners of Food
Trends and their Sociological Interpretation
Measuring Change in Taste
PART TWO: INDICATORS OF TASTE: CHANGING FOOD HABITS
Novelty and Tradition
Health and Indulgence
Economy and Extravagance
Convenience and Care
PART THREE: INTERPRETATIONS OF TASTE
The Reconstruction of Taste
Theories of Consumption and the Case of Food