The politics of the language of food

The always stimulating Thinking Allowed on BBC4 devoted last week’s episode to food. There were two interviews. The first was with linguist Guy Cook on his project looking at the specific words and language strategies that the food industry uses to describe its wares. There’s a paper about it too. A number of interesting observations in there, but here’s the one that stuck with me: Prof. Cook’s databases suggest that the word “frankenfoods” is now used much more often by GM enthusiasts to ridicule their opponents than by the green lobby to describe the alleged dangers of playing God.

Sellers at the Piazza Vittorio market in Rome
Sellers at the Piazza Vittorio market in Rome
The second interview was with Rachel Black, Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator of the Gastronomy Program at Boston University, who talked about her book on what is apparently Europe’s largest open-air food market, Porta Palazzo in Turin. The money quote there was an observation by a native Italian stall-holder that the vegetables being sold by a neighbouring merchant, who happened to be Chinese, were not “nostrani”, meaning “ours”, even though they were pretty much the same as what he was selling, and grown just a few kilometers away.

Nowt so queer as folk, and nowt like language to prove it.

One Reply to “The politics of the language of food”

  1. Dear Dr. Luigi
    kindly ask,,, you like food which is now used much more often by GM?
    what is link between God and food ?
    God give human brain smart to do every thing in best health not in worse .
    what you think about the enzymes in plant grow by GM? it is same in natural plant ?

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