FOOD, COMMUNITIES AND ANTHROPOLOGY

Abstract

 This presentation addresses some key questions: “What is food?” “How can food change the world?”  It points out food is the important social and cultural role that food has in the global market. In particular it points out, the importance of food for the rural communities that produce it.  It presents the new trends of the market and the growing demand for local and traditional food. In so doing, it highlights the risks that chasing such demand may create for the rural communities.  It presents the role of the anthropologists as consultants and mediators able to support the communities in selecting the best local products and the best strategies to seize the market opportunities and build a sustainable development.