Explaining Trust in Food

Abstract

MacDonaldization and globalization. The ubiquitous rise of the supermarket. Whether by big transnational food companies with worldwide brands or globally renowned retailers bringing an ever-expanding variety of counter-seasonal produce from every corner of the world, food transcends national boundaries. So do panics and scandals. Avian flu knows no absolute barriers, geographical or biological. BSE provokes fear in Europe and Japan. And political responses and frameworks have become increasingly transnational. The European single market and the Common Agricultural Policy have been in place for decades. The World Trade Organization regulates growth hormones in beef and the use of genetically modified foods, supervening over national rules and laws.