Monnickendam, AndrewAndrewMonnickendam2025-12-012025-12-012025978-3-98989-055-8https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/111821This article invites its readers to engage with the growing interest in food studies as an academic discipline. In the first place, it examines the rather strange phenomenon in which the importance of food and its consumption in world history is not corresponded by scholarly inquiry. In fact, historically, practically no one wrote on the subject. This requires us to return to the Bible, to the very roots of western civilisation, where food and pleasure appear sinful. A vivid contrast is provided by the contemporary world, where the presence of food programmes, celebrity chefs and similar has become global. Once we have an historical perspective, we can reach an understanding of what comprises food studies. The second half of the article examines our current interest in if not obsession with healthy diets. We also scrutinize the counterargument that proposes that we tend to understate the role science, in the form of convenience, has played in recent food history. The article concludes with suggestions as to how food studies can enrich our understanding of the arts.engFood studiesglobal economy and culturefoodiefoodwaysfood systems800bookpart