Abstract :
Testing for food allergy/intolerance is a rapidly expanding market. We present an exploration of
the efforts of one of the market leading companies in this sector to promote and justify their product
in the face of considerable opposition from conventional medicine, as well as a range of alliances
with patient groups, so-called ‘lifestyle gurus’ and their customers. In extracting the latent
value of an immunoglobin called IgG, testing companies engage with and extend entrepreneurial
patienthood and new forms of pastoral expertise in their efforts to identify and manage a group of
low-level chronic conditions that resonate with contemporary social unease about the hazards of
modernity. Rather than foregrounding novelty and hope, we found that a great deal of emphasis
was placed upon establishing conventionality with business practice and scientific method, and
relief from the past. We also found that the local circuits and networks of engagement, in which
the company operated to secure their reputation and extend their market, were vitally important.
We end by reflecting upon the implications of our analysis for contemporary scholarship on
biocapitalism.
Keywords :
Allergy Testing , Food Intolerance , Biocapitalism , food allergy
