The Children in Child Health: Negotiating Young Lives and Health in New Zealand

Abstract

her own privilege and lens as a white, middle class mother and Canadian anthropologist, and undoutebly this has affected her framing of this book. She does focus heavily on the food expectations and industry of North America. ‘Healthy’ food is defined using Canadian government guidelines, for example, and the children’s food industry discussion focuses on those foods commonly marketed to children in North America. However, she incorporates literature and her own case studies from elsewhere in the world, ensuring that the book remains relevant to those outside of a North American context. Ultimately, as Moffat notes, children embody our social, cultural and political norms around feeding, as well as environmental constraints on food availability. The anthropological study of childhood feeding does not just tell us about the nutrients children are taking in, but also about the world around them as a whole. In Small Bites Tina Moffat explains how the negative effects of our food systems are disproportionately affecting our children, and this book is a call to action to do something about it.