Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The designation “information society” presupposes that →  Information plays a defining role in the way we live today. For many commentators it is because information is more pervasive than hitherto that it is appropriate to characterize the present as self-evidently an information society. There is obviously more media output, more education available, more information and communications technologies about, more information occupations than before. Accordingly, it is obvious that we live in an information society. Such thinking is tautologous. It cannot be doubted that there is a great deal more information than ever before. But so too is there an enormously increased amount of food available, yet we do not designate ours as the “food society.” In terms of expenditure, families now spend a small proportion of their incomes on food, whereas 50 years ago it was the major item of expenditure after rent. Food is cheaper than ever, much more plentiful, and there is a hugely increased range of foods available. Indubitably, food is essential to how we live, and it is cheap and available in ways that even our recent predecessors could scarcely dream about. Indeed, excess of food is now a major health hazard – obesity and associated morbidities such as heart disease and diabetes are well known to be tied to abuse of food. Yet no one seems to want to define our times as the “food society.” ... log in or subscribe to read full text