This slim, dense volume promises a theoretical integration between food systems and gendered inequality (and the gendered division of labor) spanning each aspect of the food system under late industrial capitalism. Four core chapters form the basis of the text: "Growing," "Shopping," "Cooking," and "Eating." In each of these, Koch (sociology, Emory & Henry College) endeavors to tell a story that interrogates the market, as well as the public and private sphere, in how gender (and more broadly, intersections of gender, class, race, ethnicity, and age) shapes the discourse around food production, preparation, and consumption. The book is strengthened by its relatively tight focus in terms of time period and geography, with an emphasis on the modern post-industrial "Global North," though Koch suggests that a more robust research agenda would encompass the Global South as well as an activist bent. A clear and concise use of statistics and visualizations makes the data very accessible and straightforward to follow.

Summing Up: Recommended. All academic levels.

Choice Reviews

This comprehensive book shows how gender infuses all aspects of the food system, from the way our food is grown and sold to household divisions of labor to our beliefs about healthy diets and bodies. Koch argues that changes in our food system can occur only once we recognize and start to address the gendered divisions of labor and power that underlie it.

Sarah Bowen, North Carolina State University

With compelling examples and accessible prose, Koch demonstrates the deeply gendered workings of the food system—from the way our food is grown, distributed and sold, to the practice of cooking, eating, and caring for others. Synthesizing an impressive range of literature, Gender and Food offers crucial insights into dynamics of structural inequality and convincingly argues that feminism is essential to creating a more just and sustainable world.

Kate Cairns, Rutgers University

Koch skillfully connects a looming crisis within our food system to its social counterpart, gender inequality. The book’s message is loud and clear: transforming the food system and its problems requires nothing short of truly recognizing and transforming how we think about gender.

Joslyn Brenton, co-author, Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won't Solve Our Problems and What We Can Do About It