Food-Related Desires and Misgivings: its Foreshadowing in 19th Century Utopian Literature

Abstract

We know how we should eat but we don?t eat as we should. This paradox of the modern eaterhas long been the subject of debate amongst sociologists, nutritionists and healthcare workers. The difficulties faced when dealing with this paradox suggest the need for new approaches. By considering food from the potentially conflictive social imageries, it may be possible to shed some light on this paradox. In this work, we have approached this issue from the perspective of four canonical texts of utopian literature that were created at the dawn of the industrial revolution. Our analysis reveals a long-lasting confl ict between two views of the ideal diet: that of modern and enlightened utopias, which is shared by nutrition experts, and that of the ?popular? utopias, in which social rationality, based on culinary habits and traditions, opposed a rational approach to eating.