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Sociology

Purity and Danger in the Social Classification of Foods

Quick fact

Mary Douglas, in her classic book 'Purity and Danger' (1966), argued that food taboos are not arbitrary but reflect a culture's symbolic order, where foods that do not fit neatly into categories are often considered dangerous or polluting.

Why this is interesting

You might think that the question of whether a food is 'safe' to eat is purely about biology, but cultures have very different ideas about what is 'dirty' or 'clean'. Why do some people consider pork unhealthy while others consider it a delicacy?