Riding the Wave of Food Anthropology

This paper describes the rise of food anthropology through the lens of the author's personal experience of the field from 1974 through 2025. Using food‐centered life history interviews with Florentines in Italy and Hispanics in the U.S. Southwest, the author has focused on women's identity, relationships and power. This work has reflected the growing cultural and political‐economic bent of food anthropology and its strong feminist perspectives. The article identifies key trends in the field and some big questions food anthropologists are facing in the future.