New WSU Course Focuses on the Food We Eat

TRI-CITIES, Wash. — Why do Americans love fast food?  Will the “slow food” movement make a difference? Given the vast amount of food produced, why is there hunger in the world? Why is there hunger in the United States?

These and other provocative questions are the focus of a new course, offered for the first time this semester, on the Washington State University Tri-Cities campus in Richland.

Taught by rural sociology professor David Sonnenfeld, the Food and Society course in the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences covers food production, consumption and safety, and also explores the rapid expansion and acceptance of fast food across the planet.

“Fast food is a relatively new phenomenon and has to do with the expansion of the industrial model for food delivery,” Sonnenfeld said. That expansion, he said, has led to the globalization of fast food. “It’s not just local; fast food has expanded rapidly around the world.”

Sonnenfeld said that globalization of food and the politics involved fascinate him. “In developing this, a brand new course, I thought about issues and items people will be interested in their day-to-day lives, so there’s a connection between scholarly and academic interest and everyday life. After all, we all eat, we all drink, and it’s these basics that make for a very interesting course.”

The class meets Monday and Wednesday from noon to 1:15 p.m.