Introduction
This site synthesizes readings pertinent to cultural foods and therapeutic meal patterns to provide a complete view of the social, historical, and health contexts of foods. From the list below, select the week’s theme and check your syllabus for the assigned readings. All other readings are recommended.
OER Textbooks about food, culture, and/or dietetics
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Food Studies: Matter, Meaning, Movement. (2022). Editors David Szanto; Amanda Di Battista; and Irena Knezevic. Food Studies Press. Ottawa, CA.
Food, Diversity, and Cultural Competence/Humility in nutrition science & dietetics practice
- Setiloane KT. (2016). Beyond the Melting Pot and Salad Bowl Views of Cultural Diversity: Advancing Cultural Diversity Education of Nutrition Educators. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 48(9), 664-668.e1.
- Goody, CM and Drago, L. (2009). Using Cultural Competence Constructs to Understand Food Practices and Provide Diabetes Care and Education. Diabetes Spectrum, 22(1), 43-47.
- Slow Food in a Fat Society: Satisfying Ethical Appetites
- Guthman J. (2008). “If They Only Knew”: Color Blindness and Universalism in California Alternative Food Institutions. The Professional Geographer, 60(3), 387-397
- Hassel, C. (2012). Nutrition Education: Toward a framework of Cultural Awareness? Whole Grains Summit, American Association of Cereal Chemists.
- Hassel, C. (2014). Reconsidering nutrition science: critical reflection with a cultural lens. Nutrition Journal, 13(42).
Theories & Tools to Develop Cultural Humility and Competence
- Gingras J, Asada Y, Fox A, Coveney J, Berenbaum S, Aphramor L. Critical dietetics: A discussion paper. Journal of Critical Dietetics, 2(1), 1-12.
- Schwartz S, Unger J, Zamboanga B, Szapocznik J. (2010). Rethinking the Concept of Acculturation: Implications for Theory and Research. American Psychology, 65(4), 237–251.
- Campinha-Bacote, J. (2002). The Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Healthcare Services: A Model of Care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3), 181-184.
- Arrendondo, P, Toporek, R, Brown, SP, Sanchez, J, Locke, DC, Sanchez, J, Stadler, H. (1996). Operationalization of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 24(1), 42-78.
- Cultural Competence Self-assessment Checklist. (2015). Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society.
- Multicultural Counseling Competencies as Tools to Address Oppression and Racism. (1999). Journal of Counseling and Development, 77(1), 102-108.
- Communication Patterns and Assumptions of Differing Cultural Groups in the United States
Perspectives on Food and Culture in the US
- Gora LS (2022). Today’s Special: Reading Menus as Cultural Texts. In: Food Studies: Matter, Meaning, Movement.
- Maclennan AF and Knezevic I. (2022). Advertising Food for Health and Happiness: Bovril to Superfood. In: Food Studies: Matter, Meaning, Movement.
Cultural Humility in Food and Dietetics in US media
- In Defense of Cultural Appropriation, New York Times, June 2017
- What Americans Can Learn From Other Food Cultures, Ideas.TED.com, 2014
- My column’s name does a disservice to the immigrants whose food I celebrate. So I’m dropping it. – The Washington Post, January 2, 2019
- What did ‘authenticity’ mean in 2019? – Eater, December 3, 2019
- Southern Food Alliance film series: Diane Williams: Stick of Finger of Love in There
- The Sporkful Podcast, Other People’s Food (all episodes available via link), 2016
Worldwide Food Overviews
What the World Eats: This National Geographic page provides interactive infographics and details about dietary patterns for many regions (1961-2011)
Weeknight Dinner Around the World – New York Times, September 24, 2019
Regions & Cultural Topics
Caribbean/Central America/South America
Therapeutic Topics
Eating in the US
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Kate Gardner Burt, PhD, RD is an assistant professor at Lehman College and a registered dietitian and culinary nutritionist. She teaches courses in community and public health nutrition and cultural food and sustainability. Dr. Burt’s research broadly aims to reduce racial and ethnic inequities in community food systems in the Bronx and NYC as a whole. She does this by exploring strategies to strengthen efforts to grow food locally and improve community cohesion and social connectedness to build a more just food system. She also aims to reduce inequities in food systems by increasing opportunities for low-income people of color to excel in dietetics and food-focused careers. She takes a mixed methods, community-based approach to research and currently works with several New York City based non-profit organizations. Dr. Burt received her BS in film and television from Boston University and her MS in exercise physiology and nutrition, RD and PhD in food and nutrition policy from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her first cookbook was published in 2015 by Sterling Publishers, a subsidiary of Barnes and Noble.
