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On Consuming and Constructing Material and Symbolic Culture: An Anthropology of Pictorial Representations of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs)

Arceno, Mark Anthony
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1449764020

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Anthropology.
If we are what we eat, what might it mean if what we eat is not necessarily under our control? My research—motivated by the 2015 release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans—presents a qualitative analysis of 33 pictorial representations of food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) from around the world. FBDGs provide food intake recommendations to achieve adequate nutrition levels. These documents are typically summarized as single images that represent pages of dietary guidance. I ground my work in the theories and methodologies of Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz, Sherry Ortner, Roger Keesing, Pierre Bourdieu, Eric Wolf, Sidney Mintz, John and Jean Comaroff, and John and Malcolm Collier. Through analyses rooted in symbolic anthropology and political economy, I argue FBDG images convey more than just recommendations as to what and how to eat: they reflect socioeconomic and political realities, as well as what it means to be a healthy citizen. Furthermore, I claim the very selection and inclusion of specific imagery suggest a problematic negotiation of power (among branches of government, industry, and the marketplace) in the construction of culture.
Jeffrey Cohen (Advisor)
Kristen Gremillion (Committee Member)
Morgan Liu (Committee Member)
Jennifer Syvertsen (Committee Member)
116 p.
Cultural Anthropology
symbolic anthropology; political economy; anthropology of food; dietary guidance; food-based dietary guidelines; culture

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Arceno, M. A. (2016). On Consuming and Constructing Material and Symbolic Culture: An Anthropology of Pictorial Representations of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1449764020

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Arceno, Mark Anthony. On Consuming and Constructing Material and Symbolic Culture: An Anthropology of Pictorial Representations of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) . 2016. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1449764020.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Arceno, Mark Anthony. "On Consuming and Constructing Material and Symbolic Culture: An Anthropology of Pictorial Representations of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) ." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1449764020

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.