THE ETHICS AND SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD IN BIBLICAL CONTEXT: MORAL LESSONS FOR CONTEMPORARY FOOD CULTURE AND RELATIONS

Abstract

The importance of a rational approach to the nature of food cannot be over emphasized. The act of eating forms an integral part of human existence and culture. We cannot continue to exercise the habitual ontological activity of eating without creating time to reflect over the philosophical and anthropological densities of food. Thus, this paper presents the idea of food from the biblical renditions as its subject matter. The aim of this study is to harness the lessons, morals, values and food pathways exemplified in the biblical era and delineate them for contemporary relevance in cultures and relations for food studies. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to academic understanding of food in a world besieged with food insecurity, hunger, malnutrition, health –dietary deficiencies and food shortage, waste and crisis from a philosophical and socio- religious perspective. Again, studies of food from religious perspective are scanted and this work as well adds to literatures on food from religious perspectives. Our methodology is hermeneutics and prescriptive analysis. Hermeneutics offers us the opportunity to presents the Biblical food scenarios as they were, as well as interpret them with the aim to harness their contemporary values in today's food studies. Whereas prescriptive analysis will help us draw, develop and recommend the lessons from these biblical renditions that are useful to contemporary food cultures, relations and policies.