Dr. Biltekoff's research focuses broadly on the beliefs and values that inform American eating habits and specifically on the cultural aspects of dietary health. Her recently published book, Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health (Duke University Press, 2013) investigates the history of dietary ideals and their relationship to social ideals. It argues that despite the seeming objectivity of norms of good health, dietary advice has historically served an important ideological and political role. The book examines four different dietary reform movements and shows how each was shaped by social concerns and provided dietary advice that reflected norms of moral personhood and good citizenship. Her current research project entails in depth interviews aimed at understanding the factors that drive subjects’ food choices and how those factors interact with subjects’ conceptualizations of “a healthy diet” and “good choices.”
Biltekoff is the author of Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health, a book that rethinks "eating right" and what dietary advice is and does. She contributes to discussions about the meaning of food, health, and American culture as a researcher, educator, and ppublic figure.
Charlotte is currently working on a book about the role that science and scientific authority play in the food industry response to growing consumer concerns about the food system in general, and “processed food” in particular. Biltekoff is also co-PI on The UC AFTeR Project, an NSF-funded multidisciplinary research project examining the Bay Area Agri-Food Tech sector.