Do we experience wine in the glass or in our minds? Is there such thing as the real taste of an apple? As what we call 'taste' is usually made up of several different components of taste and smell - not just the data we get from our tastebuds - can we understand it as a unified sense? What are the implications of this? What is the relationship of taste and smell to the larger historical discussions that centered around perception, for example debates over empiricism and rationalism?

Could taste be a non-aesthetic sense? Is there an objective beauty that can apply to taste? Why is taste singled out as being preference that no standard can be applied to? Can wine be an aesthetic object? How are we to assess the inclusion of smells in works by contemporary artists such as Ernest Neto? How are we to think of the skills of wine and food experts? 

Is it wrong to eat animals? Do we have obligations in the face of a global foodcrisis? What are the ethical issues surrounding genetic modification? Is food a basic human right and how far does that extend? Is it permissable to control the diets of others (looking particularly at eating disorders and obesity)?