The noodle narratives the global rise of an industrial food into the twenty-first century

Tasty, convenient, and cheap, instant noodles are one of the most remarkable industrial foods ever. Consumed around the world by millions, they appeal to young and old, affluent and impoverished alike. The authors examine the history, manufacturing, marketing, and consumption of instant noodles. By...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Errington, Frederick, Gewertz, Deborah, Fujikura, Tatsuro
Format:	eBook Book
Language:	English
Published:	Berkeley, Calif University of California Press 2013
Edition:	1
Subjects:	21st century anthropologists Anthropology asian foods capitalism cheap foods consumers cross cultural cultural anthropology demographic studies diverse populations food and culture food consumption food historians food industry food manufacturing food marketing food production globalization industrial food instant noodles Japan nonfiction Noodles Noodles > Social aspects > Japan Noodles > Social aspects > Papua New Guinea Noodles > Social aspects > United States Noodles industry Noodles industry > Social aspects > Japan Noodles industry > Social aspects > Papua New Guinea Noodles industry > Social aspects > United States Papua New Guinea postwar society poverty prison inmates Social aspects SOCIAL SCIENCE SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social United States us purveyors food historians diverse populations prison inmates japan cultural anthropology united states us purveyors postwar society 21st century anthropologists demographic studies food industry industrial food food consumption capitalism consumers poverty food and culture instant noodles food production globalization noodles food manufacturing nonfiction social science papua new guinea food marketing asian foods cheap foods cross cultural
ISBN:	0520276337, 9780520276338, 9780520276345, 0520276345, 0520956672, 9780520956674
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Tasty, convenient, and cheap, instant noodles are one of the most remarkable industrial foods ever. Consumed around the world by millions, they appeal to young and old, affluent and impoverished alike. The authors examine the history, manufacturing, marketing, and consumption of instant noodles. By focusing on three specific markets, they reveal various ways in which these noodles enable diverse populations to manage their lives. The first market is in Japan, where instant noodles have facilitated a major transformation of post-war society, while undergoing a seemingly endless tweaking in flavors, toppings, and packaging in order to entice consumers. The second is in the United States, where instant noodles have become important to many groups including college students, their nostalgic parents, and prison inmates. The authors also take note of "heavy users," a category of the chronically hard-pressed targeted by U.S. purveyors. The third is in Papua New Guinea, where instant noodles arrived only recently and are providing cheap food options to the urban poor, all the while transforming them into aspiring consumers. Finally, this study examines the global "Big Food" industry. As one of the food system’s singular achievements, the phenomenon of instant noodles provides insight into the pros and cons of global capitalist provisioning.
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-192) and index
ISBN:	0520276337 9780520276338 9780520276345 0520276345 0520956672 9780520956674
DOI:	10.1525/9780520956674