Chemical Substances and Food Scares in Cambodia

Abstract

Chemical substances in food is a source of growing concern in Cambodia. Despite the invisibility of these substances, the idea that food contains chemical residues harmful to health is gaining ground. A full range of food scares emerge. A new imaginary of food is spreading and everyone try to develop strategies to arrange with the fear of being contaminated. Based on an ethnographic study conducted in Cambodia between June 2018 and March 2019 with urban people, farmers, rice, fresh fruits, vegetables and input sellers, this article examines the collective imaginaries of food and the adaptations developed in response to the fear of being contaminated.