Food Matters
Fourth Edition ©2025 Holly Bauer Formats: E-book, Print
As low as C$19.99
As low as C$19.99
Authors
-
Holly Bauer
Holly Bauer (PhD University of California, San Diego) worked as a journalist before she began teaching college composition. Currently, she teaches academic writing at the University of California, San Diego, where she has received distinguished teaching and service awards as the Associate Director of the Analytical Writing Program. Dr. Bauer regularly teaches writing courses focused on the themes of food, water, and sustainability. She has taught writing for more than 20 years in various segments of public education in California, including high school, community college, and state university institutions. She is a long-time teaching consultant for the San Diego Area Writing Project and is involved in several programs aimed at fostering meaningful cross-institutional partnerships with high school, community college, and university writing instructors. Her academic essays have been published in South Atlantic Quarterly and Writing on the Edge, and she is a frequent presenter at professional conferences.
Table of Contents
[[New selections are marked with an asterisk]]
About The Bedford Spotlight Reader Series
Preface for Instructors
Contents by Discipline
Contents by Theme
Contents by Rhetorical Purpose
Chapter 1: What Is the Purpose of Food?
Michael Pollan, Eat Food: Food Defined
Eric Schlosser, Why the Fries Taste Good
Jill McCorkle, Her Chee-to Heart
Marion Nestle, Eating Made Simple
Wendell Berry, The Pleasures of Eating
Lily Wong, Eating the Hyphen
*Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Chapter 2: What Forces Affect Our Food Choices?
United States Government, Nutritional Guidelines
Dhruv Khullar, Why Shame Won’t Stop Obesity
Joe Pinsker, Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods
Barry Yeoman, The Hidden Resilience of “Food Desert” Neighborhoods
Taffy Brodresser-Akner, Why I’ve Never Learned How to Cook
Stephen Satterfield, I’m a Black Food Writer. Here’s Why We Need More Like Me
Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung, Are You Really Appreciating the Apple?
*U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Dietary Intakes Compared to Recommendations: Percent of the U.S. Population Ages 1 and Older Who Are Below and At or Above Each Dietary Goal
*David Freedman, Science Says Everything You Know about Food, Diet, and Drugs Is Wrong
Chapter 3: What Does It Mean to Eat Ethically on a Changing Planet?
Barbara Kingsolver, You Can’t Run Away on Harvest Day
Bill McKibben, The Only Way to Have a Cow
Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele, Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear
Yuval Noah Harari, Industrial Farming Is One of the Worst Crimes in History
Blake Hurst, The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals
Jonathan A. Foley, Can We Feed the World and Sustain the Planet?
Georgina Gustin, Can a Climate Conscious Diet Include Meat or Dairy?
Bren Smith, The Least Deadly Catch: Ocean Farming in the Climate Change Era
*Katherine Wu, The Sriracha Shortage Is a Very Bad Sign
Chapter 4: What Is the Importance of Food Justice?
*Ligaya Mishan, The Activists Working to Remake the Food System
Richard Marosi, Hardship on Mexico’s Farms, a Bounty for U.S. Tables
*Bennet Goldstein, Queering the Family Farm: Meet the LGBTQ Midwest Farmers Taking Food Justice Into Their Own Hands
*Katelyn Yee, Black-led Food Co-ops Restore Justice Hope, and Power
*Psyche Williams-Forson, In “Trouble” With(out) Culture: Food Shaming and African-American Foodways
*Leilani Marie Labong, Envisioning Indigenous Food Sovereignty as “a Whole Ecosystem”
*S.E. Smith, Disabled People Carry Bigger Food Access Burdens
*Lela Nargi, Hungry Seniors Need More Than Just Access to Food
Chapter 5: What Is the Future of Food?
Joon Yun, David Kessler, and Dan Glickman, We Need Better Answers on Nutrition
Frances Moore Lappé, Biotechnology Isn’t the Key to Feeding the World
Selina Wang, The Future of Farming is Looking Up
David Biello, Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?
*Bob Brody, Why I Eat Smarter Now That I’m Older
*Jamaal Lemon, Come Hell or High Water - Oysters, Brewing, and How the Come Yahs & Bin Yahs Could End Sea Level Rise in Charleston
*Alex Beggs, What Dinner Will Look Like in the Next 100 Years, According to Scientists (and Sci-Fi Authors)
*Chidinma Iwu, What Nigeria Can Teach the U.S. About Food Insecurity
*Chad Frischmann and Mamta Mehra, Massively Reducing Food Waste Could Feed the World
Product Updates
- S.E. Smith, in “Disabled People Carry Bigger Food Access Burdens,” examines the challenges people with disabilities face accessing healthy food.
- Chidinma Iwu, in “What Nigeria Can Teach the U.S. About Food Insecurity,” offers advice on how to adjust food production to withstand natural disasters.
Authors
-
Holly Bauer
Holly Bauer (PhD University of California, San Diego) worked as a journalist before she began teaching college composition. Currently, she teaches academic writing at the University of California, San Diego, where she has received distinguished teaching and service awards as the Associate Director of the Analytical Writing Program. Dr. Bauer regularly teaches writing courses focused on the themes of food, water, and sustainability. She has taught writing for more than 20 years in various segments of public education in California, including high school, community college, and state university institutions. She is a long-time teaching consultant for the San Diego Area Writing Project and is involved in several programs aimed at fostering meaningful cross-institutional partnerships with high school, community college, and university writing instructors. Her academic essays have been published in South Atlantic Quarterly and Writing on the Edge, and she is a frequent presenter at professional conferences.
Table of Contents
[[New selections are marked with an asterisk]]
About The Bedford Spotlight Reader Series
Preface for Instructors
Contents by Discipline
Contents by Theme
Contents by Rhetorical Purpose
Chapter 1: What Is the Purpose of Food?
Michael Pollan, Eat Food: Food Defined
Eric Schlosser, Why the Fries Taste Good
Jill McCorkle, Her Chee-to Heart
Marion Nestle, Eating Made Simple
Wendell Berry, The Pleasures of Eating
Lily Wong, Eating the Hyphen
*Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Chapter 2: What Forces Affect Our Food Choices?
United States Government, Nutritional Guidelines
Dhruv Khullar, Why Shame Won’t Stop Obesity
Joe Pinsker, Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods
Barry Yeoman, The Hidden Resilience of “Food Desert” Neighborhoods
Taffy Brodresser-Akner, Why I’ve Never Learned How to Cook
Stephen Satterfield, I’m a Black Food Writer. Here’s Why We Need More Like Me
Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung, Are You Really Appreciating the Apple?
*U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Dietary Intakes Compared to Recommendations: Percent of the U.S. Population Ages 1 and Older Who Are Below and At or Above Each Dietary Goal
*David Freedman, Science Says Everything You Know about Food, Diet, and Drugs Is Wrong
Chapter 3: What Does It Mean to Eat Ethically on a Changing Planet?
Barbara Kingsolver, You Can’t Run Away on Harvest Day
Bill McKibben, The Only Way to Have a Cow
Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele, Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear
Yuval Noah Harari, Industrial Farming Is One of the Worst Crimes in History
Blake Hurst, The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals
Jonathan A. Foley, Can We Feed the World and Sustain the Planet?
Georgina Gustin, Can a Climate Conscious Diet Include Meat or Dairy?
Bren Smith, The Least Deadly Catch: Ocean Farming in the Climate Change Era
*Katherine Wu, The Sriracha Shortage Is a Very Bad Sign
Chapter 4: What Is the Importance of Food Justice?
*Ligaya Mishan, The Activists Working to Remake the Food System
Richard Marosi, Hardship on Mexico’s Farms, a Bounty for U.S. Tables
*Bennet Goldstein, Queering the Family Farm: Meet the LGBTQ Midwest Farmers Taking Food Justice Into Their Own Hands
*Katelyn Yee, Black-led Food Co-ops Restore Justice Hope, and Power
*Psyche Williams-Forson, In “Trouble” With(out) Culture: Food Shaming and African-American Foodways
*Leilani Marie Labong, Envisioning Indigenous Food Sovereignty as “a Whole Ecosystem”
*S.E. Smith, Disabled People Carry Bigger Food Access Burdens
*Lela Nargi, Hungry Seniors Need More Than Just Access to Food
Chapter 5: What Is the Future of Food?
Joon Yun, David Kessler, and Dan Glickman, We Need Better Answers on Nutrition
Frances Moore Lappé, Biotechnology Isn’t the Key to Feeding the World
Selina Wang, The Future of Farming is Looking Up
David Biello, Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?
*Bob Brody, Why I Eat Smarter Now That I’m Older
*Jamaal Lemon, Come Hell or High Water - Oysters, Brewing, and How the Come Yahs & Bin Yahs Could End Sea Level Rise in Charleston
*Alex Beggs, What Dinner Will Look Like in the Next 100 Years, According to Scientists (and Sci-Fi Authors)
*Chidinma Iwu, What Nigeria Can Teach the U.S. About Food Insecurity
*Chad Frischmann and Mamta Mehra, Massively Reducing Food Waste Could Feed the World
Product Updates
- S.E. Smith, in “Disabled People Carry Bigger Food Access Burdens,” examines the challenges people with disabilities face accessing healthy food.
- Chidinma Iwu, in “What Nigeria Can Teach the U.S. About Food Insecurity,” offers advice on how to adjust food production to withstand natural disasters.
A brief, affordable, and versatile thematic reader about food
Food Matters explores the seemingly simple concept of food: What is the purpose of food? What political, social, and cultural forces affect our food choices? What does it mean to eat ethically? What problems and possibilities will influence the future of food? Readings by a range of essayists, scientists, journalists, farmers, activists, and ordinary citizens take up these questions and more. Questions and assignments for each selection provide a range of activities for students.Looking for instructor resources like Test Banks, Lecture Slides, and Clicker Questions? Request access to Achieve to explore the full suite of instructor resources.
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Food Matter 4e Transition Guide (.pdf)
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Food Matters 4e Sample Syllabus, 15 weeks (.pdf)
Food Matters 4e Supplemental Resources for Teaching (.pdf)
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Are you a campus bookstore looking for ordering information?
MPS Order Search Tool (MOST) is a web-based purchase order tracking program that allows customers to view and track their purchases. No registration or special codes needed! Just enter your BILL-TO ACCT # and your ZIP CODE to track orders.
Canadian Stores: Please use only the first five digits/letters in your zip code on MOST.
Visit MOST, our online ordering system for booksellers: https://tracking.mpsvirginia.com/Login.aspx
Learn more about our Bookstore programs here: https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/contact-us/booksellers
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Our courses currently integrate with Canvas, Blackboard (Learn and Ultra), Brightspace, D2L, and Moodle. Click on the support documentation below to find out more details about the integration with each LMS.
Integrate Macmillan courses with Blackboard
Integrate Macmillan courses with Canvas
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If you’re a verified instructor, you can request a free sample of our courseware, e-book, or print textbook to consider for use in your courses. Only registered and verified instructors can receive free print and digital samples, and they should not be sold to bookstores or book resellers. If you don't yet have an existing account with Macmillan Learning, it can take up to two business days to verify your status as an instructor. You can request a free sample from the right side of this product page by clicking on the "Request Instructor Sample" button or by contacting your rep. Learn more.
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Sometimes also referred to as a spiral-bound or binder-ready textbook, loose-leaf textbooks are available to purchase. This three-hole punched, unbound version of the book costs less than a hardcover or paperback book.
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We can help! Contact your representative to discuss your specific needs for your course. If our off-the-shelf course materials don’t quite hit the mark, we also offer custom solutions made to fit your needs.
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Food Matters
Food Matters explores the seemingly simple concept of food: What is the purpose of food? What political, social, and cultural forces affect our food choices? What does it mean to eat ethically? What problems and possibilities will influence the future of food? Readings by a range of essayists, scientists, journalists, farmers, activists, and ordinary citizens take up these questions and more. Questions and assignments for each selection provide a range of activities for students.
Select a demo to view:
Sample Achieve