This book offers a comprehensive understanding of the current scientific knowledge concerning risks associated with food preparation, processing and consumption, with particular attention to the gap between scientific research and public perception. Examining the effects of food on the body from both micro and macro levels, it covers a range of broad themes and current concerns, including obesity and the 'obesity epidemic', the benefits or otherwise of dietary supplements, caffeine consumption, GM food, alcohol, organic food, the consumption of fruit and vegetables, and pathogens and contaminants. Thematically arranged according to the application of broad theoretical approaches in sociological theory – the socio-cultural perspective, the risk society perspective and the governmentality perspective – each chapter focuses on a particular area of interest or concern in relation to food, covering the existing literature in detail and offering illustrative empirical examples, whilst identifying gaps in knowledge and areas for further research. An accessible and rigorous examination of food and health, and the discrepancy between scientific opinion and consumer perception of safe food – the real risks versus the perceived risks – this book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, geography, food, nutrition and environmental ecosystems, as well as health professionals.

In this penetrating account of the impacts of risk on everyday life, Gabe Mythen provides a theoretically informed overview of the regulation of crime and security in a globalized world. By explicating the relationships between risk and crime, security and justice, the text applies risk to specific incidents and events, scrutinizing social processes and cultural practices, and illumining some of the central social and political issues of the modern age. Extending across a range of domains – including law, the environment, media and politics – Mythen embarks on a conceptual and critical exploration of risk theory. In doing so, his incisive text presents both a critical evaluation of the efficacy of competing perspectives on risk, and an authoritative appraisal of the place of risk within the social sciences.

Taking as its point of departure recent developments in health and social theory Health, Medicine and Society brings together a range of eminent, international scholars to reflect upon key issues at the turn of the century. Contributors draw upon a range of contemporary theories, both modernist and postmodernist, to look at the following themes: *health and social structure *the contested nature of the body *the salience of consumption and risk *the challenge of emotions Health, Medicine and Society provides a 'state-of-the-art' assessment of health related issues at the millennium and a cogent set of arguments for the centrality of health to contemporary social theory. Written in a clear, accessible style it will be ideal reading for students and researchers in health studies, public health, medical sociology, medicine and nursing.

The provision of food is undergoing radical transformations throughout the global community. Peter Oosterveer argues that, as a consequence, conventional national governmental regulations can no longer adequately respond to existing and emerging food risks and to environmental concerns. This book examines these challenges.

This compelling book explores the explosive pace of change in China and how its citizens are grappling with a dramatically new world, both in the public and private spheres. China's stratospheric growth has made it the second largest economy in the world--and one of the most unequal. Marxist ideology and socialist ideals have almost completely collapsed, replaced by a combination of materialism and assertive nationalism. The vast migration of labor from countryside to city has continued apace. The pressures of a hypercompetitive market economy are ripping apart the traditional family and threatening the environment. Corruption has reached new heights. The political system is even more rigid, but perhaps more brittle, than a decade ago. There is enormous popular pride in the ascension of China to the rank of global superpower and general satisfaction in the material benefits that the poor as well as the rich have been gaining from an expanding economy. But there is also great restlessness, anger about structural injustice and political corruption, and a search for new forms of spirituality and ethics to replace a collapsing moral order. The question "What does it mean, in the new day, to be Chinese?" lurks just beneath the surface. This unique interdisciplinary book frames this central issue through an innovative set of case studies on such cutting-edge topics as reality dating shows, countercultural invented language, star bloggers, faith healers, and subversive jokes. Contributions by: Jeremy Brown, X. L. Ding, Hsiung Ping-chen, William Jankowiak, Shuyu Kong, Perry Link, Richard P. Madsen, David Moser, Paul G. Pickowicz, Su Xiaokang, Xiao Qiang, Yunxiang Yan, and Yang Lijun.

The 2008 volume of The China Society Yearbook, the third volume in the annual China Society Blue Book series to be translated into English, contains important statistics and analysis from Chinese scholars on a wide array of social issues in China. Topics explored in this volume include employment, social security, national health insurance, labor security, political participation, the internet, food safety, corruption, and quality of life. Along with analysis, this volume offers recommendations and insight into the daunting issues and opportunities facing China as it transitions into a free-market system.

Risk Society and School Educational Policy explores the impact of risk society on policy in the US, UK and Australia through both practical and theoretical perspectives. The book develops an in-depth understanding of risk society itself, and guides the reader in applying this knowledge to the problem of how this impacts policy and practice in school education. Drawing on work by Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens, Rodwell explores the development of risk society as a field of interest, discussing its history, contemporary significance and links with neoliberalism, school education, and both mainstream and social media. He also examines its impact on government policies and the practical implications of how this impacts the educational experiences of children around the globe today. A book for policy professionals, researchers, academics and postgraduate students interested in Education Studies, Theory and Policy, and International and Comparative Education, Risk Society and School Educational Policy is the first international academic monograph published in the field.

Ulrich Beck's best selling Risk Society established risk on the sociological agenda. It brought together a wide range of issues centering on environmental, health and personal risk, provided a rallying ground for researchers and activists in a variety of social movements and acted as a reference point for state and local policies in risk management. The Risk Society and Beyond charts the progress of Beck's ideas and traces their evolution. It demonstrates why the issues raised by Beck reverberate widely throughout social theory and covers the new risks that Beck did not foresee, associated with the emergence of new technologies, genetic and cybernetic. The book is unique because it offers both an introduction to the main arg

The premise of this volume is that business regulations are expected to grow in the near future as a consequence of the emergence of a “(world) risk society.” Risks related to terrorism, climate change, and financial crises, for example, will penetrate all conditions of life. Increasingly, the decisions and actions of some bring about risks for many in this era of globalization. Controlling these risks implies managing the world through high-quality regulation, with a particular emphasis on businesses and financial institutions. Central to this approach is the argument that a major, if not the primary, aim of regulation is to internalize externalities, or in a broader context, to repair market failure. Such repair can only be accomplished when the costs are smaller than the welfare gains. Featuring contributions from researchers and policy analysts from the fields of economics, management, law, sociology, political science, and environmental policy, this book focuses on three major topics: • Social risks and business regulation • Preconditions for better business regulation • Theoretical issues related to better business regulation Collectively, the authors demonstrate that the easier it is for regulated businesses to comply at the lowest costs possible—without jeopardizing the related public goals—the greater the degree of compliance. When successful, the net result is a balance of individual and collective net benefits, and by further implication, sustainable business practice and economic growth.

Bringing together cutting edge academics and researchers, Beyond the Risk Society provides an understanding of the relevance and impact of the concept of risk in various subject areas. Contributions by domain experts critically evaluate the way in which theoretical risk perspectives have influenced their fields of interest, offering the opportunity to reflect upon the problems and possibilities for future work on risk.