If It Feeds, It Leads: Food Journalism, Care Ethics, and Nourishing Democracy

ABSTRACT

This project explores the ethical obligations of food journalists. Using history, normative, and feminist theory, I argue that if specific media is going to be considered food journalism, then we should be able to identify its service to citizens. This project thus seeks a unified view for evaluating the democratic and caring potential of food journalism. I outline some of the contours of quality food journalism – its principles, practices and forms – through both historical and contemporary examples. I show how both sets of food journalists adhere(d) to traditional notions of democracy-serving communication while also employing a more situated ethic of care. Ultimately, I argue that quality food journalists should adopt this care ethic addressing citizen-eaters, as this nourishes the relationships necessary for democratic worldmaking and gives us the best opportunity of collectively eating and living well.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Voltz was the Los Angeles Times food editor from 1960–1973, while Nickerson was the New York Times food editor from 1942–1957. Both have been celebrated as food journalist pioneers, especially in terms of making global cuisine more accessible to an American audience.

² At its most basic, the omnivore’s dilemma recognizes that humans can eat almost anything and asks, so what should they eat? The answer to this question varies across time and space and is the result of history, cultural ingenuity, and circumstance (Crowther, 2018). Simply put, no food culture has a monopoly on what is “normal” or proper to eat.