Protein is everywhere-praised as a muscle builder, a weight-loss miracle, an anti-aging elixir, and the catch-all solution for everything from exercise recovery to global malnutrition. In Protein, Samantha King and Gavin Weedon argue that protein's rise to nutritional superstardom has less to do with human dietary needs and more to do with how its indeterminate, adhesive qualities are marshalled towards commerce, scientific, and social imperatives. Tracing its path from nineteenth-century biochemistry to the status it enjoys today, they expose how protein has been marketed as a cure for global hunger, repackaged as an eco-friendly meat alternative, and wielded as a symbol of masculinity in the fitness industry. From whey waste in industrial farming to longevity drugs for aging bodies, Protein unpacks the myths behind the macronutrient and challenges what we think we know about food, health, and the forces that shape our diets.
Samantha King is Professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Studies at Queen's University and the author of Messy Eating and Pink Ribbons, Inc. Gavin Weedon is Associate Professor of Sociology of Sport, Health and the Body at Nottingham Trent University.
Acknowledgments vii Introduction. Protein: A Solution in Search of a Problem 1 1. What is Protein and Why Does It Matter? Mystery and Magnetism from Molecules to Meat 23 2. The Great Protein Fiasco, Then and Now 53 3. From Gutter to Gold: A Political Ecology of the Protein Powder Industry 79 4. A Poverty of Flesh? Sacropenia, Aging, and the Economization of Protein Deficiency 101 5. Protein in the Muscular Manosphere: Supplementation, Self-Optimization, and Micofascism in Men's Fitness Culture 127 Epilogue. Between Meat Protectionism and Alt-Protein Futurism 149 Notes 161 Bibliography 177 Index
"Taking on the seemingly sacrosanct yet protean character of protein, this is the book I've been waiting for. King and Weedon skillfully (and bitingly) weave political economy, scientific research, cultural analysis and more to show how protein in various forms has emerged as an imagined solution to all manner of modern ills, from colonial hunger, to agricultural overproduction, to climate change, to the ostensible crisis of masculinity that feeds today's fascist culture. Read this book!"-Julie Guthman, author of, The Problem with Solutions: Why Silicon Valley Can't Hack the Future of Food. "Biting, original, theoretically rich but also deeply readable, this book unpacks the fascinating backstory behind protein's rise to nutritional superstardom. It is a must-read for anyone curious about how one nutrient became a cultural obsession, and who wants to understand why, even in an era of climate crisis, we remain fixated on eating more of it. With sharp interdisciplinary insight,Protein helps us understand how science, culture, and political ecology have shaped the moral weight of this macronutrient."-Josee Johnston, co-author of, Happy Meat: The Sadness and Joy of a Paradoxical Idea
