Food Crime: A Review of the UK Institutional Perception of Illicit Practices in the Food Sector

Food offers highly profitable opportunities to criminal actors. Recent cases, from wine and meat adulteration to milk powder contaminations, have brought renewed attention to forms of harmful activities which have long occurred in the food sector. Despite several scandals over the last few decades, food has so far received scant criminological attention and the concept of food crime remains subject to different definitions. This article assesses regulations in the United Kingdom (UK) and UK authorities’ official reports published between 2013 and 2018 through a review of academic literature published in English. It charts the evolution of the food crime concept, its various meanings, and different harmful activities associated with food crime, which originate from unlawful acts and omissions. This article also points out that further criminological research needs to address the definitional issue of food crime and inform a more integrated policy approach by considering activities beyond food fraud and the protection of food safety.

‘Being Affluent, One Drinks Wine’: Wine Counterfeiting in Mainland China

This article focuses on wine counterfeiting and the policing of fake wines in mainland China. Relying on rich data drawn from published materials and open sources, it discusses three important themes in relation to product counterfeiting: the definitional issue; the scope, scale and organisation of the counterfeiting business; and law enforcement against product piracy. The aim is to broaden our knowledge about the counterfeiting trade, to develop a clear understanding of the illegitimate market, and to help to renew countermeasures that not only enable the exercising of tighter control over the counterfeiting industry but also disrupt the illegal behaviours of counterfeiters. Rather than place emphasis on the protection of intellectual property rights, this article stresses public health concerns with regard to dangerous counterfeit goods such as fake wines. Examining wine counterfeiting within the existing analytical framework of organised crime research, this article contributes to analysis of the nature of product counterfeiting and the issue of policing counterfeit goods.

Part VII Rights, Ch.42 Religion

This chapter turns to section 116 of the Commonwealth Constitution in Australia, which prohibits the Commonwealth from legislating in respect of religion. After an overview of the history and context of section 116, this chapter examines the way that the High Court has interpreted the term ‘religion’, the free exercise clause, and the establishment clause. The definitional issue brings the Court closest to the usual interpretative exercise relevant to other constitutional and statutory provisions. Its case law in this area has been more sophisticated and detailed than has been in the other two areas. With respect to religious freedom and non-establishment, the Court has had a focus on technical aspects of interpretation, parliamentary sovereignty, and limitations of the role of the courts that have allowed it to avoid the necessity of engaging in the deeper, more complex issues that arise in similar constitutional contexts.

Le mutevoli spinte della medicalizzazione

- Social scientists and other analysts have written about medicalization since at least the 1970s. While early critics of medicalization focused on psychiatry (Szasz, 1970) or a more general notion of medical imperialism (Illich, 1975), sociologists began to examine the processes of medicalization and the expanding realm of medicine (Freidson, 1970; Zola, 1972). As sociological studies on medicalization accumulated (see Conrad, 1992; 2000) it became clear that medicalization went far beyond psychiatry and was not always the product of medical imperialism, but of more complex social forces. The essence of medicalization became the definitional issue: defining a problem in medical terms, usually as an illness or disorder, or using a medical intervention to treat it. While the medicalization process could be bidirectional and partial rather than complete, there is strong evidence for expansion rather than contraction of medical jurisdiction.Keywords: consumerism, managed care, medicalization, medicine, ADHD, sociology of health.Parole chiave: consumerismo, managed care, medicalizzazione, medicina, ADHD, sociologia della salute.

The Shifting Engines of Medicalization

- Social scientists and other analysts have written about medicalization since at least the 1970s. While early critics of medicalization focused on psychiatry (Szasz, 1970) or a more general notion of medical imperialism (Illich, 1975), sociologists began to examine the processes of medicalization and the expanding realm of medicine (Freidson, 1970; Zola, 1972). As sociological studies on medicalization accumulated (see Conrad, 1992; 2000) it became clear that medicalization went far beyond psychiatry and was not always the product of medical imperialism, but of more complex social forces. The essence of medicalization became the definitional issue: defining a problem in medical terms, usually as an illness or disorder, or using a medical intervention to treat it. While the medicalization process could be bidirectional and partial rather than complete, there is strong evidence for expansion rather than contraction of medical jurisdiction.Keywords: consumerism, managed care, medicalization, medicine, ADHD, sociology of health.Parole chiave: consumerismo, managed care, medicalizzazione, medicina, ADHD, sociologia della salute.