These nine essays and eponymous introduction address increasing choice and resulting change in the diet of Chinese youth. Contributors from anthropology, sociology, political economy, and nutrition address topics such as the effects of new foods on children's health; consumption of "prestige" foods; the social implications of commercialized children's food on a Chinese Islamic community; adaptations of Kentucky Fried Chicken to indigenous fast-food companies; the generation gap in food consumption; and business promotion of having fun as an aspect of eating well. Jing is assistant professor of social anthropology at CUNY. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Publisher Summary 2 This book focuses on how the transformation of the food habits of Chinese children?involving snack foods, soft drinks, and fast foods from such Western outlets as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken?has changed the intimate relationship of childhood, parenthood, and family life. Publisher Summary 3 Until recently, Chinese children ate what their parents fed them and were not permitted to influence, much less dictate, their own diet. The situation today is radically different, especially in cities and prosperous villages, as a result of a notable increase in people's income and a fast-growing consumer culture. Chinese children, with spending money in their pockets, arguably have become the most determined consumers?usually of snack foods, soft drinks, and fast foods from such Western outlets as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken. With many children, especially pampered only children, now controlling not only their own but also their family's choice of staples, snacks, and restaurants, a major reformation in the concept of childhood is occurring in China.

This book focuses on how the transformation of children's food habits, the result of China's transition to a market economy and its integration into the global economic arena, has changed the intimate relationship of childhood, parenthood, and family life. Since the early 1980s, a drastic decline in fertility and a steady rise in family income have been accompanied by a profusion of new products successfully advertised on television and in other media as ?children's food.鈥?This commercialization of children's diet has become so pervasive that even children in remote villages surprise their parents with demands for particular trendy foods and soft drinks. Many Chinese parents, reared very differently, anxiously question whether their children are eating well and growing up healthy.

The contributors to this book, drawn from the fields of anthropology, sociology, political economy, and nutrition, examine a wide variety of topics: the effects of new foods on children's health; the consumption of ?prestige鈥?foods; the social implications of commercialized children's food on a Chinese Islamic community; the adaptations of Kentucky Fried Chicken in response to indigenous fast-food companies; the generation gap in attitudes toward food consumption; the significance of religion and nutrition in feeding and healing children; the creation of baby-friendly hospitals to promote breastfeeding and scientific childcare methods; the special role of nationalism and traditional Chinese medicine in children's food production; and the business promotion of having fun as an aspect of eating well.

伯娜丁•徐（Bernadine W. L. Chee）：哈佛大学人类学博士。她的研究主题是北京居民的社会认同、城市化和食品消费模式。

马丽思（Maris Boyd Gillete）：哈佛大学人类学博士，目前为密苏里大学圣路易斯分校任博物馆学教授。。她关注西安都市穆斯林的消费文化。

苏珊娜•古德昌（Suzanne K. Gottschang）：加州大学洛杉矶分校人类学博士，目前为美国史密斯学院（Smith College）人类学与东亚研究副教授。她关注中国父母的育儿实践和医药科学的社会意义。

乔治娅•古尔丹（Georgia S. Guldan）：曾任教于香港中文大学，目前为孟加拉国亚洲妇女大学（Asian University ForWomen）公共卫生系教授。她的研究兴趣包括香港和中国大陆的儿童健康问题等。

郭于华：曾任教于中国社会科学院，目前为清华大学社会学系教授。她的研究兴趣包括中国家庭关系和食物消费等。

景军：哈佛大学人类学博士，曾任教于纽约市立大学，目前为清华大学社会学系教授，长江学者特聘教授。他的著作包括《神堂记忆》等。

罗立波（Eriberto P. Lozada, Jr.）：哈佛大学人类学博士，目前为美国戴维逊学院（Davidson College）人类学系副教授。他的研究兴趣包括中国南部的天主教信仰，以及大众文化与媒

体的关系。

华琛（James L. Watson）：哈佛大学人类学系荣休教授，其著作包括《移民与中国宗族》《东方金色拱门：东亚的麦当劳》《帝制晚期中国的丧礼》等。

赵阳：香港科技大学博士，现任职于中央农业政策咨询部门，曾发表多篇有关中国经济改革的论文。