Abstract
Commensality (the act of eating together) is studied in a range of disciplines and often considered important for social communion, order, health and well-being, while simultaneously being understood as in decline (especially the family meal). However, such claims are also contested in various ways. In this paper, we discuss the expanding field of commensality research and critically reflect on the debates surrounding its social functions, including its role in public health. We illuminate the deep social and cultural significance of commensality, through time and space, and conclude that whether or not commensality is the preferred social form of eating for any given individual, it is difficult to escape its sociocultural desirability and idealization. As a cross-cultural phenomenon in both past, present, and future, we suggest that commensality deserves further research. This includes commensality as a research topic in itself and as an entry point to unveil different dimensions of social relations between people, as well as interactions between humans and material objects.
Highlights
Eating together is one of the most commonly shared practices among human beings, both across space and time
When it comes to the offering of commensality, it seems as if the main experts are located in the low- or mid-range establishments of the food service sector; the small inns, taverns and bistros attract clients that are searching for a commensality experience rather than a gastronomic one
Whether or not commensality is the preferred social form of eating for any given individual, it is difficult to escape its sociocultural desirability and idealization. We hope that this discussion shows that the complexity of commensality should make both researchers and public health professionals cautious with simplistic statements about the values of shared meals
Summary
Eating together is one of the most commonly shared practices among human beings, both across space and time. From a bioarchaeological point of view, sharing food and partaking in collective meals have been analyzed as acts that connect the human being as a biological organism to a social person [4]. Understood in this way, eating together makes up a fundamental part of our social nature. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 6235 never explored as far as we know, would derive the term commensality from the medieval term commensalia, which designates the common symbola (financial contribution to a meal) left on the mensa [5] When we talk about the field as expanding, we are not referring to the quantitative increase of publications—which is a fact of almost all scientific fields—but for the diversification of the concept into a wide range of disciplines and research domains
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