Ryzia De Cássia Vieira Cardoso is an Associate Professor at the School of Nutrition, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. Michèle Companion is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA. Stefano Roberto Marras is a Sociologist and president of Street Food SQUARE, a non-profit organization based in Milan, Italy.
This book cites a UN report that 2.6 billion people eat street food daily, so these conditions are apparently met on many streets. In a collection of 15 studies, plus a final discussion, academics trained in sociology, nutrition, political science, business, and other disciplines produce a broad picture of the functions of street-food vendors around the world. Some vendors, especially in developing countries, provide both an important source of nutrition and employment opportunities in cities growing faster than their infrastructures can keep pace with. Other vendors offer prosperous consumers in richer countries an introduction to a variety of ethnic foods. An interesting look into an understudied industry. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. - CHOICE, J. M. Nowakowski, Muskingum University