Historical and social science perspectives on food allergy

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the insights social scientists, historians and other health humanities scholars have made to our understanding of food allergies. It shows how humanities and social science scholars have tended to address three pivotal issues related to food allergies: first, they have addressed the epidemiology of food allergies, including the apparent rise in the rate of food allergies and the emergence of theories that purport to explain why food allergies may be increasing. These include theories related to changes in food consumption and the hygiene hypothesis. Second, humanities and social science scholars have researched how risks related to food allergies have been constructed, understood, experienced and mitigated. Third, humanities and social science scholars have investigated the experiences of food allergy sufferers and those who care for them, providing valuable qualitative insights that can inform how we respond to food allergy and our understanding of the aetiology of food allergy. The article concludes with three recommendations. First, there should be a more interdisciplinary approach to food allergy research that involves social scientists and health humanities scholars. Second, humanities and social sciences scholars should be more willing to unpack and scrutinise the theories put forward to explain the aetiology of food allergies, rather than accepting them at face value. And finally, humanities and social sciences scholars can play a major role in ensuring that the experiences of patients and their carers are articulated and fed into debates about food allergy, including its causes and how to respond to it.

Anthropological and sociological perspectives on food allergy

“…The In his 2023 review, Smith argues that social science and humanities scholars can be invaluable in answering questions about why food allergies are considered controversial, why they are increasing and what they can tell us more broadly about our societies. 41 He suggests that more interdisciplinarity and large-scale longitudinal studies are needed in food allergy research. I not only concur but also note that most of the research thus far has focused on the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Sweden, with a small number of studies published that focus on other socio-cultural contexts (Figure 1).…”

“…In his 2023 review, Smith argues that social science and humanities scholars can be invaluable in answering questions about why food allergies are considered controversial, why they are increasing and what they can tell us more broadly about our societies 41 . He suggests that more interdisciplinarity and large‐scale longitudinal studies are needed in food allergy research.…”

“…Early anthropological research focused on symbolic and functional aspects of food, its cultural significance and its role in maintaining social unity 30–35 . There have also been some explorations of epidemiology, the hygiene hypothesis and the rise in allergy attributed to changes in food production, 36–41 as well as the potential protective role of food taboos on human health 42 . Since the early 2000s, research in socio‐cultural anthropology and sociology on food allergy has primarily explored experiences of risk and stigma, 13,43–62 aspects of morality related to management, illness and parenting behaviour, 51,59,60,63–71 explorations of gender, 38,65,70 social class and income, 45,55,65,69 disability and justice, 51,54,72 race and ethnicity, 51,65 interactions with the physical and material environment, 38–40,43,44,46,47,57,73–75 sensory, affective and embodied aspects of food allergy experience, 47,74,76 food allergy as a governing project 77,78 and issues of ethics in food allergy treatments 64,79,80 .…”

“…Early anthropological research focused on symbolic and functional aspects of food, its cultural significance and its role in maintaining social unity. [30][31][32][33][34][35] There have also been some explorations of epidemiology, the hygiene hypothesis and the rise in allergy attributed to changes in food production, [36][37][38][39][40][41] as well as the potential protective role of food taboos on human health. 42 Since the early 2000s, research in socio-cultural anthropology and sociology on food allergy has primarily explored experiences of risk and stigma, 13,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] aspects of morality related to management, illness and parenting behaviour, 51,59,60,[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71] explorations of gender, <...…”

Nutrition and Allergy

“…3 And as documented by historian Matthew Smith in last month's issue of the journal, scientific publications regarding food allergy were rare prior to the second half of the twentieth century. 4 At the current time, significant advances are being made in the primary prevention, diagnosis and management of food allergy, and this is an exciting time to be working in the field.…”