The emergent field of Food Studies offers the possibility of a radically cross-disciplinary and trans-national re-engagement of key topics in studies of the Americas. Recent works address topics as varied as race, gender and identity, immigration and community, labor history, and state formation through the perspective of food production and consumption. This LASA 2012 panel examines the role that Food Studies is beginning to play in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and opens the possibility for expanding the geographic boundaries of the discipline to hemispheric analyses of the Americas broadly defined. Panel organizers invite scholars interested working on food and Latin America to submit proposals; recognizing the exciting potential and expansive nature of the field, we encourage prospective participants to submit exploratory papers and works in progress. Please contact Camilo Trumper (ctrumper@buffalo.edu) with any questions or proposals by Friday March 25, 2011.