Mustafa Koc - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Mustafa Koc
Border Crossing, 2021
Afghan refugees are one of the most vulnerable migrant groups in terms of food insecurity status ... more Afghan refugees are one of the most vulnerable migrant groups in terms of food insecurity status around the world. We aimed to investigate the association between Afghan protracted refugees' food insecurity and its socio– economic determinants in Mashhad, Iran. In a cross– sectional design, information was gathered through face– to– face interviews with 299 Afghan main income earners or his/her representative in Golshar district, Mashhad, Iran. In a quantitative approach, the association of socio– economic factors with food insecurity was assessed. The results showed that less than 1% of all the households were food secure, 69.2% of those with children and 47.5% of those with no child faced severe food insecurity. Class of households' income, residency status and personal dwelling were significantly associated with severe food insecurity of Afghan refugees. Determining effective socio– economic factors to formulate appropriate policies and practices is not only necessary but...
Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, 2015
Looking into the food system through the lens of food security, the first decade of the 21st Cent... more Looking into the food system through the lens of food security, the first decade of the 21st Century was a period of broken promises, distrust, as well as fear and anxiety due to multiple crises in the financial markets-in the agri-food sector and in global politics. I will argue that this economically and politically volatile environment and the widespread distrust of major international and national agencies in terms of governance has led to a global legitimacy crisis, which I consider one of the biggest obstacles in mobilizing the public for social change and policy reforms. These failures become clear when we consider past pledges that were made to address world hunger. Emerging during the mid-1970s, food security remained as a public policy priority and a popular discourse defining the conditions of food provisioning in modern society (Koç, 2013). At the World Food Summit of 1996, food security was defined as a condition that exists "when all people, at all times, have physical, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" (FAO, 1996). As I outline below, the global community has failed to ensure food security for all. Failed promises and global distractions One of the notable developments of the 20 th Century was a series of retreats from the previous global priorities set at forums such as the World Food Summit (WFS) and the Kyoto Protocol. Failure to meet established targets had significant consequences for long-term food system
Border Crossing
In Canada, the prevalence of food insecurity is high among low-income households, particularly re... more In Canada, the prevalence of food insecurity is high among low-income households, particularly recent refugees. We evaluated the prevalence of food security among recent Syrian refugees and the associated factors in two Canadian cities, Toronto and Saskatoon. We collected data using the Household Food Security Model, sociodemographic and socioeconomic questionnaires from 151 families. 84% of the Syrian households were food insecure, with no significant difference in prevalence between Saskatoon and Toronto. The risk of food insecurity was four times higher for households with the annual income below $40,000. Households with educated woman (high school or higher) had four times higher risk of household food insecurity compared to families with less-educated women. Our findings indicate the high prevalence of food insecurity among recently resettled Syrian refugees in Canada. Higher-income directly associated with food security. The inverse association between education and food se...
First World Hunger Revisited, 2014
Int Sociol, 2009
This is a voluminous study, with 497 pages and 22 chapters; it has a catchy title that promises m... more This is a voluminous study, with 497 pages and 22 chapters; it has a catchy title that promises more than it delivers. In its intellectual lure, the title itself is likely to attract the attention of many researchers in the field of food studies. It is not, however, necessarily the ...
Online Submission, 2006
The purpose of this paper is to bring together various elements that portray the complex conceptu... more The purpose of this paper is to bring together various elements that portray the complex conceptuality of cultural identity within technological society. It engages in a theoretical inquiry into the questions of how the wideranging uses young people are now making of new information and communication technologies and global media may possess the potential to transform their cultural identity and how educational institutions should understand and respond to this evolving cultural reality. In discussing these questions, it refer to recent theories of cultural identity, especially as they relate to the increasing volume of global flows of ideas and ideologies, people, finance and cultural practices, and specific theories about the nature of technology in terms of explicating the relationship between society and technology. Finally, it concludes with implications for educational practices of technology use. "We now live…in an open space-time, in which there are no more identities, only transformations" (Zygmunt Bauman
Food is more than a basic source of nutrients; it is also a key component of our culture, central... more Food is more than a basic source of nutrients; it is also a key component of our culture, central to our sense of identity. Identities, however, are not fixed social constructs, but constructed and reconstructed within given social formations reflecting the existing and imagined structural constraints and lived experiences of subjects. This paper examines the dynamic relationships among food, social identity and the immigrant experience. As a culturally and spatially transitional stage, the immigration process introduces possibilities for change, as well as resistance to new habits, new behaviours, and new cultural experiences. These changes, in turn affect our physical and mental health, our perceptions of self, and our relations with others. This paper offers some analytical insights into this cultural transition and its impacts on identity drawn from the literature on food and identity. It also examines the impacts of the social constraints of food security among a group of immigrants in Toronto in order to evaluate the complex dynamics of identity reconstruction. It is argued that both the politics of equality and the politics of recognition are relevant to immigrant food security. Food, Culture and Identity: To survive we need to eat. Yet, food is more than a source of energy and nutrients essential for human health and well being. What we eat, how we eat, and when we eat reflect the complexity of wide cultural arrangements around food and foodways, the unique organization of food systems, and existing social policies. Food plays a key role in human socialization, in developing an awareness of body and self, language acquisition, and personality development. As Barthes (1975: 510) argues "[s]ubstances, techniques of preparation, habits, all become part of a system of differences in signification" and we communicate by way of food. As we learn what to eat, how to eat, when to eat, we learn "our" culture, "our" norms and "our" values and through this process we learn who "we" are. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote in the early 19th Century, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are." There exists a rich body of literature examining the socioeconomic and cultural variations in foodways, expressions of ethnocentrism through food habits, impacts of food taboos, and identification of "otherness" through food (
This paper examines the impact of the neo-liberal restructuring since the mid-1970s on the food s... more This paper examines the impact of the neo-liberal restructuring since the mid-1970s on the food system and on conditions of food security. Using examples from Canada and the world, the paper argues that the food security discourse that came out of the crisis of accumulation in the early 1970s aimed to legitimize the dominant practices and institutional arrangements of the capitalist food system in general, and defined conditions of food provisioning for the subaltern during the neo-liberal restructuring of the global economy. The paper further argues that the contradictions in defining food security reflect shifting priorities in the global economy and the contested nature of food provisioning in market economies.
hal etme kararı alıyoruz." Bu dönüşüme daha olumlu bakan Anadolu Ajansı muhabiri Ata Ufuk Şeker'i... more hal etme kararı alıyoruz." Bu dönüşüme daha olumlu bakan Anadolu Ajansı muhabiri Ata Ufuk Şeker'in haberi ise Türkiye'nin hayvancılıkta Avrupa liderliğine göz diktiği iddiasında. "Anadolu coğafyasına uyumlu fiziki yapısıyla küçükbaş hayvancılıkta ise Türkiye zirvedeki yerini son 3 yıldır sağlamlaştırdı. 2010 yılında 23 milyon 89 bin 691 küçükbaş hayvan bulunan Türkiye'de bu rakam 2011 yılında 25 milyon 31 bin 565'e, geçen yıl sonu itibariyle de 27 milyon 425 bine ulaştı. Böylece Türkiye, dünyanın sayılı küçükbaş hayvan üreticilerini geride bırakarak Avrupa'da zirveye yerleşti" (Şeker, 2013). Kişi başına üretim oranlarına baktığımızda 1991-2011 arasında toplam süt üretiminin yüzde 0.54, yumurta üretiminin yüzde 1.24, kanatlı üretiminin yüzde 5.66 arttığını, kırmızı et üretiminin ise yüzde 1.75 düştüğünü gösteriyor sayılar. Yirmi yıllık bir dönüşümün tablosu bu (Akman, 2013: 234) .
First World Hunger Revisited, 2014
Food and Environment II, 2013
While food deserts in urban places have been fairly well studied in North America and Europe, the... more While food deserts in urban places have been fairly well studied in North America and Europe, there is little consensus on the best conceptual and operational definition for food deserts. In most of these studies researchers concentrate on mainstream grocery stores and supermarkets as the only sources of healthy and affordable food options especially in cities with diverse ethnic population. The purpose of this study is to expand this usual approach to food desert studies by investigating the inclusion of ethnic food stores and specialty stores as sources of healthy food options in a multi-ethinic Toronto neighbourhood. The Englemount-Lawrence neighbourhood was selected for this study as it has been identified as a food desert in previous studies in Toronto. An in-store survey was conducted in order to identify ethnic and specialty stores which supply healthy and affordable food options based on US Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, all qualified ethnic food stores in the study area were geocoded into a neighbourhood map and a buffer of 1000m was drawn around each. We found out that ethnic food stores supplying healthy and culturally-accepted food options are evenly dispersed across the Englemount-Lawrence neighbourhood. We conclude that, unlike in previous studies, this neighbourhood is not a food desert. Furthermore, failure to use an inclusive set of healthy food stores and culturally acceptable food choices, in neighbourhood studies of food deserts can significantly alter the results in the study area and hence mislead food planners and policymakers in decision-making.
Sociologia Ruralis, 1989
Despite the pessimistic predictions of the classical theories of capitalist development, simple c... more Despite the pessimistic predictions of the classical theories of capitalist development, simple commodity production (SCP) has continued to persist under capitalism. While it has not been unique to any single branch of the economy, persistence of SCP has been more ...
Border Crossing, 2021
Afghan refugees are one of the most vulnerable migrant groups in terms of food insecurity status ... more Afghan refugees are one of the most vulnerable migrant groups in terms of food insecurity status around the world. We aimed to investigate the association between Afghan protracted refugees' food insecurity and its socio– economic determinants in Mashhad, Iran. In a cross– sectional design, information was gathered through face– to– face interviews with 299 Afghan main income earners or his/her representative in Golshar district, Mashhad, Iran. In a quantitative approach, the association of socio– economic factors with food insecurity was assessed. The results showed that less than 1% of all the households were food secure, 69.2% of those with children and 47.5% of those with no child faced severe food insecurity. Class of households' income, residency status and personal dwelling were significantly associated with severe food insecurity of Afghan refugees. Determining effective socio– economic factors to formulate appropriate policies and practices is not only necessary but...
Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, 2015
Looking into the food system through the lens of food security, the first decade of the 21st Cent... more Looking into the food system through the lens of food security, the first decade of the 21st Century was a period of broken promises, distrust, as well as fear and anxiety due to multiple crises in the financial markets-in the agri-food sector and in global politics. I will argue that this economically and politically volatile environment and the widespread distrust of major international and national agencies in terms of governance has led to a global legitimacy crisis, which I consider one of the biggest obstacles in mobilizing the public for social change and policy reforms. These failures become clear when we consider past pledges that were made to address world hunger. Emerging during the mid-1970s, food security remained as a public policy priority and a popular discourse defining the conditions of food provisioning in modern society (Koç, 2013). At the World Food Summit of 1996, food security was defined as a condition that exists "when all people, at all times, have physical, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" (FAO, 1996). As I outline below, the global community has failed to ensure food security for all. Failed promises and global distractions One of the notable developments of the 20 th Century was a series of retreats from the previous global priorities set at forums such as the World Food Summit (WFS) and the Kyoto Protocol. Failure to meet established targets had significant consequences for long-term food system
Border Crossing
In Canada, the prevalence of food insecurity is high among low-income households, particularly re... more In Canada, the prevalence of food insecurity is high among low-income households, particularly recent refugees. We evaluated the prevalence of food security among recent Syrian refugees and the associated factors in two Canadian cities, Toronto and Saskatoon. We collected data using the Household Food Security Model, sociodemographic and socioeconomic questionnaires from 151 families. 84% of the Syrian households were food insecure, with no significant difference in prevalence between Saskatoon and Toronto. The risk of food insecurity was four times higher for households with the annual income below $40,000. Households with educated woman (high school or higher) had four times higher risk of household food insecurity compared to families with less-educated women. Our findings indicate the high prevalence of food insecurity among recently resettled Syrian refugees in Canada. Higher-income directly associated with food security. The inverse association between education and food se...
First World Hunger Revisited, 2014
Int Sociol, 2009
This is a voluminous study, with 497 pages and 22 chapters; it has a catchy title that promises m... more This is a voluminous study, with 497 pages and 22 chapters; it has a catchy title that promises more than it delivers. In its intellectual lure, the title itself is likely to attract the attention of many researchers in the field of food studies. It is not, however, necessarily the ...
Online Submission, 2006
The purpose of this paper is to bring together various elements that portray the complex conceptu... more The purpose of this paper is to bring together various elements that portray the complex conceptuality of cultural identity within technological society. It engages in a theoretical inquiry into the questions of how the wideranging uses young people are now making of new information and communication technologies and global media may possess the potential to transform their cultural identity and how educational institutions should understand and respond to this evolving cultural reality. In discussing these questions, it refer to recent theories of cultural identity, especially as they relate to the increasing volume of global flows of ideas and ideologies, people, finance and cultural practices, and specific theories about the nature of technology in terms of explicating the relationship between society and technology. Finally, it concludes with implications for educational practices of technology use. "We now live…in an open space-time, in which there are no more identities, only transformations" (Zygmunt Bauman
Food is more than a basic source of nutrients; it is also a key component of our culture, central... more Food is more than a basic source of nutrients; it is also a key component of our culture, central to our sense of identity. Identities, however, are not fixed social constructs, but constructed and reconstructed within given social formations reflecting the existing and imagined structural constraints and lived experiences of subjects. This paper examines the dynamic relationships among food, social identity and the immigrant experience. As a culturally and spatially transitional stage, the immigration process introduces possibilities for change, as well as resistance to new habits, new behaviours, and new cultural experiences. These changes, in turn affect our physical and mental health, our perceptions of self, and our relations with others. This paper offers some analytical insights into this cultural transition and its impacts on identity drawn from the literature on food and identity. It also examines the impacts of the social constraints of food security among a group of immigrants in Toronto in order to evaluate the complex dynamics of identity reconstruction. It is argued that both the politics of equality and the politics of recognition are relevant to immigrant food security. Food, Culture and Identity: To survive we need to eat. Yet, food is more than a source of energy and nutrients essential for human health and well being. What we eat, how we eat, and when we eat reflect the complexity of wide cultural arrangements around food and foodways, the unique organization of food systems, and existing social policies. Food plays a key role in human socialization, in developing an awareness of body and self, language acquisition, and personality development. As Barthes (1975: 510) argues "[s]ubstances, techniques of preparation, habits, all become part of a system of differences in signification" and we communicate by way of food. As we learn what to eat, how to eat, when to eat, we learn "our" culture, "our" norms and "our" values and through this process we learn who "we" are. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote in the early 19th Century, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are." There exists a rich body of literature examining the socioeconomic and cultural variations in foodways, expressions of ethnocentrism through food habits, impacts of food taboos, and identification of "otherness" through food (
This paper examines the impact of the neo-liberal restructuring since the mid-1970s on the food s... more This paper examines the impact of the neo-liberal restructuring since the mid-1970s on the food system and on conditions of food security. Using examples from Canada and the world, the paper argues that the food security discourse that came out of the crisis of accumulation in the early 1970s aimed to legitimize the dominant practices and institutional arrangements of the capitalist food system in general, and defined conditions of food provisioning for the subaltern during the neo-liberal restructuring of the global economy. The paper further argues that the contradictions in defining food security reflect shifting priorities in the global economy and the contested nature of food provisioning in market economies.
hal etme kararı alıyoruz." Bu dönüşüme daha olumlu bakan Anadolu Ajansı muhabiri Ata Ufuk Şeker'i... more hal etme kararı alıyoruz." Bu dönüşüme daha olumlu bakan Anadolu Ajansı muhabiri Ata Ufuk Şeker'in haberi ise Türkiye'nin hayvancılıkta Avrupa liderliğine göz diktiği iddiasında. "Anadolu coğafyasına uyumlu fiziki yapısıyla küçükbaş hayvancılıkta ise Türkiye zirvedeki yerini son 3 yıldır sağlamlaştırdı. 2010 yılında 23 milyon 89 bin 691 küçükbaş hayvan bulunan Türkiye'de bu rakam 2011 yılında 25 milyon 31 bin 565'e, geçen yıl sonu itibariyle de 27 milyon 425 bine ulaştı. Böylece Türkiye, dünyanın sayılı küçükbaş hayvan üreticilerini geride bırakarak Avrupa'da zirveye yerleşti" (Şeker, 2013). Kişi başına üretim oranlarına baktığımızda 1991-2011 arasında toplam süt üretiminin yüzde 0.54, yumurta üretiminin yüzde 1.24, kanatlı üretiminin yüzde 5.66 arttığını, kırmızı et üretiminin ise yüzde 1.75 düştüğünü gösteriyor sayılar. Yirmi yıllık bir dönüşümün tablosu bu (Akman, 2013: 234) .
First World Hunger Revisited, 2014
Food and Environment II, 2013
While food deserts in urban places have been fairly well studied in North America and Europe, the... more While food deserts in urban places have been fairly well studied in North America and Europe, there is little consensus on the best conceptual and operational definition for food deserts. In most of these studies researchers concentrate on mainstream grocery stores and supermarkets as the only sources of healthy and affordable food options especially in cities with diverse ethnic population. The purpose of this study is to expand this usual approach to food desert studies by investigating the inclusion of ethnic food stores and specialty stores as sources of healthy food options in a multi-ethinic Toronto neighbourhood. The Englemount-Lawrence neighbourhood was selected for this study as it has been identified as a food desert in previous studies in Toronto. An in-store survey was conducted in order to identify ethnic and specialty stores which supply healthy and affordable food options based on US Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, all qualified ethnic food stores in the study area were geocoded into a neighbourhood map and a buffer of 1000m was drawn around each. We found out that ethnic food stores supplying healthy and culturally-accepted food options are evenly dispersed across the Englemount-Lawrence neighbourhood. We conclude that, unlike in previous studies, this neighbourhood is not a food desert. Furthermore, failure to use an inclusive set of healthy food stores and culturally acceptable food choices, in neighbourhood studies of food deserts can significantly alter the results in the study area and hence mislead food planners and policymakers in decision-making.
Sociologia Ruralis, 1989
Despite the pessimistic predictions of the classical theories of capitalist development, simple c... more Despite the pessimistic predictions of the classical theories of capitalist development, simple commodity production (SCP) has continued to persist under capitalism. While it has not been unique to any single branch of the economy, persistence of SCP has been more ...