Food Consumption in Singapore: Negotiating Pleasure, Health and Ethics

Abstract

Food as a palatable source of ¿goodness¿ is often in conflict with the ¿goodness¿ that nutritional health science preaches today; the quest for pleasure, which is inclined to guide consumption practices, is also invariably and intimately tied to the moral fabric of our society. In an affluent city-state like Singapore, where eating is fast becoming a ¿favorite pastime¿, what are the health, social and moral implications that underlie? This thesis seeks to examine how the domains of pleasure, health and ethics collide and conflict in the realm of food and eating in Singapore; it aims to uncover Singaporeans¿ worldview via their food choices and eating habits. As such, consumption practices will be theorized in the context of its urbanity and modernity. The lack of sociological attention on how food features in these three domains does not do justice to its ubiquity in the everyday lived experiences of Singaporeans today and the thesis is built to fill this gap in the existing literature.