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Research

The research conducted by the Chair of Food Sociology examines food as a social, political and material phenomenon. The focus is on food practices, the body and materiality, as well as social movements, power relations and the transformation of food systems. Our work combines sociological theory with empirical research and takes an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach.

The research of the Professorship of Sociology of Food is structured into two main areas:

1. Food, Bodies and Materiality

One area of research at the Professorship of Sociology of Food focuses on how food is socially and materially shaped in everyday life. We examine eating practices, food cultures, and processes of embodiment, asking how bodies, gender, social inequalities, and materialities interact with food. We are also interested in newer theoretical perspectives that understand food not simply as an individual choice, but as the outcome of interactions between bodies, things, routines, and social orders.

Publications

2. Social Movements, Social Justice and the Transformation of Food Systems

Another area of research at the Professorship of Sociology of Food focuses on the political and societal organisation of food systems. We analyse how institutions, political frameworks, social movements, and community-based initiatives shape and transform food systems. Particular attention is paid to questions of food justice, collective organising, power and governance, as well as the conditions under which more sustainable and equitable food systems can emerge.

Publications

  • S Wahlen & M Plessz (2026): Food governmentality: Considering power in food systems. In: A. Murcott & M Niva (eds.) The Routledge International Handbook of the Sociologies of Food and Drink. 
  • J Parot, S Wahlen, A Gattinger, P Weckenbrock (2026): Risk sharing or market shares? Mapping the organisational governance spectrum of community supported agriculture globally. Journal of Rural Studies (online first). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2026.104090  
  • S Wahlen, F Forno & M Laamanen (2025): Neo-materialist movement organisations’ scaling through strategies and consumer collective action: comparing three European food movement scenes. Comparative Social Research, 37: 93–113
  • J Parot, S Wahlen, J Schryro & P Weckenbrock (2024): Food justice in community supported agriculture – differentiating charitable and emancipatory social support actions. Agriculture and Human Values, 41(2): 685–699. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-023-10511-w

Contact

Prof. Dr. Stefan Wahlen

Zeughaus, Room 416

Senckenbergstr. 3

35390 Giessen

+49 641 99 39310