Real Southern Barbecue: Constructing Authenticity in Southern Food Culture (Kaitland M. Byrd)

This book examines how processes and rhetoric surrounding a specific food product — and food culture as a whole — shape the food appearing on our plates and how they impact people’s health and market dynamics.

The book takes an in-depth look at barbecue chefs and restaurant owners to triangulate the relationship between producers and their products. It explores the intersection of deindustrialization, commercialization, and changing health concerns as well as the changes in food culture, highlighting the need for producers to justify their positioning in response to commercialization and changing environmental laws and concerns. Finally, it analyzes the creation of authentic food products and questions how these products evolve over time in response to changes in broader society.