Meals Matter

Reviews / Votes

Michael Symons succeeds brilliantly in a radical project: convincing readers to rethink a singular 'economics' as multiple 'economies': bodily, household, market, political, and natural. His book draws on intellectual history, economic and social theories, and gastronomy, and it is richly illustrated with stories about meals. -- Janet Flammang, author of <i>The Taste for Civilization: Food, Politics, and Civil Society</i> As an academic economist and former chef, this is a book I wish I had written. Symons's work provides a unique contribution through its fusion of philosophy, economics, and food, arguing for the need to reject the acquisitive self-interest ethos of economics and instead return to a social-centric Epicurean philosophy. I for one would enjoy a seat at Symons's table. -- Ted P. Schmidt, author of <i>The Political Economy of Food and Finance</i> Meals Matter is a passionate call to create a more convivial world by centering food and its consumption. It combines a powerful challenge to action with a well-documented contribution toward our understanding of the cultural and social significance of food and foodways. -- Bertram M. Gordon, author of <i>War Tourism: Second World War France from Defeat and Occupation to the Creation of Heritage</i> A clearly written and exciting reappraisal of the development of Western economic thinking and when and where it goes awry. Meals Matter offers an original argument about the relationship of food, money, and economics that has the potential to upend many orthodoxies. -- David Sutton, author of <i>Remembrance of Repasts: An Anthropology of Food and Memory</i> Meals Matter is compelling, original and sophisticated. The book would appeal to a scientific and lay audience seeking a deeper understanding of how society got to a point of extreme commodification of food, alienation from its sociocultural value, and the neglect of meals. * Nature Food * Meals Matter is a passionate and inspiring proposal for change. Symons's suggestion that the 'festal core' of democracy needs to be resurrected is certainly correct. * The Australian *