Confucius Institute Talk: Changing Food Practices in Urban China
| Dates: | 26 March 2018 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:00 |
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| What is it: | Talk |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Adults, Current University students, General public |
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| Speaker: | Dr Alison Browne |
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The rapid increase in meat consumption amongst the urban Chinese middle classes is problematised across the international research and policy literatures as a key contributor to global environmental problems. In this presentation Alison will explore the dynamics of meat provision and consumption in everyday life in Beijing and Shanghai, reflecting upon experiences of eating meat within shifting systems of food provision; the changing role of meat associated with socialising, celebrating and nurturing; and emerging hybridities of dietary and health knowledges – alongside food safety concerns – that are being leveraged to justify meat reduction practices. Meat reduction, however, remains difficult to achieve particularly when eating amongst family or eating out. Our findings reflect an already shifting relationship between the Chinese middle classes and their consumption of meat. This finding problematises the assumption that middle class consumption will continue to rise, indefinitely, alongside increasing societal wealth and urbanisation. Everyday life dynamics including social and cultural conventions around family, sociality and health are shown to both support and constrain emergent food transitions in the Chinese context. This presentation is the result of a collaboration between the University of Manchester (Alison Browne –Geography/SCI; Josephine Mylan – Alliance Manchester Business School/SCI) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Zhu Di – Institute of Sociology).
Speaker
Dr Alison Browne
Role: Lecturer in Human Geography and the Sustainable Consumption Institute
Organisation: University of Manchester
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Kanaris Theatre
Manchester Museum
Oxford Road
Manchester
Phone: 0161-2752648
Email: museum@manchester.ac.uk
