Description
(2026) McLennan AK. Is cheese fit for human consumption? Invited presentation at the What is Food? symposium run by TABLE Debates, London, 15 September.What is Food?
TABLE is pleased to invite you to a day’s workshop in London on the 15th September, to consider the question What is food?
‘Food’ is all that inhabits the domain of the edible. But we all draw the boundaries of that domain a little differently. This is not just a question of personal taste; pork, triticale, cell-cultured meat, meal replacement shakes, a sheep’s brain, Twinkies, the lion’s mane mushroom… Each of these things is a food in some settings but for some people, certain groups or in certain countries, deemed as legally, culturally or culinarily unsuitable for human consumption.
The boundaries of this elusive domain are drawn and enforced by laws, standards, land and climate, state borders, spiritual taboos, cultural mores, markets and their influencers, technology and innovation, tradition and heritage. What food cultures have these boundaries enabled and inhibited? In whose interests do the boundaries act?
TABLE, in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Centre for Food Policy at City St. George's, University of London, and the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, invites you to London on the 15th September, for a multisector, interdisciplinary workshop to explore the question: What is food?
Date: 15th September 2026 | Time: 10am – 5pm | Venue: Northampton Suite, Centre for Food Policy at City St. George's, University of London, Myddelton Street, London, EC1R 1UW | Lunch, tea and coffee provided
| Period | 15 Sept 2026 |
|---|---|
| Event title | TABLE Debates: What is food? |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | London, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |