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Understanding Food Choices of Cincinnati Women: A Life-course Perspective

Tomko, Kristen M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1448037533

Abstract Details

2015, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Anthropology.
This purpose of this study is to describe and better understand how women of two generations remember, evaluate and describe their past and present food choices. To do this, a sample of eighteen females from the Cincinnati, Ohio area participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews about their past food choices, present food choices and the foods being prepared for their children. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts revealed some thematic similarities among the informants in each generation. The older generation evaluated and expressed their food choices based on whether the foods yielded high quantities, whether the foods were low-cost, and if the foods were convenient to make. On the other hand, the younger generation evaluated and expressed their food choices based on whether the foods were organic, “less processed,” contained fewer additives and were homemade. Both generations were influenced by the political and economic environment in which they grew up. This study suggests that WWI, industrial farming, and packaged food manufacturing tended to impact the older generation’s food purchasing decisions. The younger generation, as suggested by this study, seem to be influenced by the organic movement and new agricultural technologies including genetically modified crops and the use of pesticides. This study suggests that food choices are complex, multifaceted, and often times specific to one area or region, but important to study none the less. Future research is needed on younger generations in order to better understand how food choices are being impacted by more recent historical and economic events.
Clement Jeffrey Jacobson, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Daniel Murphy, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
47 p.
Cultural Anthropology
Food choices; Cincinnati; Women; Anthropology; Memory; Evaluate

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Tomko, K. M. (2015). Understanding Food Choices of Cincinnati Women: A Life-course Perspective [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1448037533

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tomko, Kristen. Understanding Food Choices of Cincinnati Women: A Life-course Perspective. 2015. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1448037533.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tomko, Kristen. "Understanding Food Choices of Cincinnati Women: A Life-course Perspective." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1448037533

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1448037533
322
© 2015, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Understanding Food Choices of Cincinnati Women: A Life-course Perspective by Kristen M. Tomko is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.