Alan Beardsworth

Women, men and food: the significance of gender for nutritional attitudes and choices

This article reports the results of the re‐analysis of a substantial set of survey based quantitative data relating to food beliefs, practices and preferences. The particular focus of attention was upon gender contrasts. Several statistically significant differences between men and women were identified. These differences occurred in such areas as views on food and health, the ethical dimensions of food production and food selection, nutritional attitudes and choices, dietary change, food work and body image. Two distinctive patterns emerged, which the authors termed “virtuous” and “robust”, the former exhibiting attitudes more typical of women, and the latter attitudes more typical of men.

The wild animal in late modernity The case of the Disneyization of zoos

This article begins with analysis of four of the principal ‘modes of engagement’ which articulate the human/wild animal nexus: encounter; representation; presentation; and quasification. It then goes on to focus upon the zoo as a key site of animal presentation and of mass tourism. The argument is presented that the zoo in late modernity is undergoing crucial changes in its legitimating narratives. In addition, it is suggested that zoos are exhibiting a tendency towards Disneyization, which entails the following interlinked features: theming; dedifferentiation of consumption; merchandising; and emotional labour. We illustrate this tendency through the discussion of a variety of contemporary developments in zoos and wildlife parks.

Late Modernity and the Dynamics of Quasification: The Case of the Themed Restaurant:

The themed restaurant is an example of a process of theming which is characteristic of many of the leisure experiences of contemporary society. This paper seeks to trace the origins and prototypes of the themed restaurant to provide a typology of theming devices and to offer an analysis of theming strategies. The various perspectives on theming as a cultural device are discussed, and the concept of quasification is introduced in order to advance our theoretical understanding of the theming process in its broader cultural context. Specifically, it is argued that the techniques of quasification entail the active and knowing involvement of both those who engineer themed settings and those who purchase participation in them. Late modernity, it is argued, has an unprecedented capacity for creating quasified experiences as antidotes to the tedium of its mundane everyday settings.

Health-related beliefs and dietary practices among vegetarians and vegans: a qualitative study:

A SNOWBALL sampling technique was used to con tact 76 self-defined vegetarians between October 1987 and February 1989. Respondents were ques tioned in the course of loosely-structured interviews on such topics as the type of vegetarianism they practised, the process of conversion, and nutritional attitudes. The interviews were taped and fully tran scribed, the transcripts being subjected to detailed qualitative analysis. The present paper sets out those findings which relate specifically to health concerns and motives. The findings suggest that while health motives are not necessarily the dom inant ones for the majority of this group of respondents, for many of those interviewed the per ceived health advantages represent significant ad ditional benefits of vegetarianism, benefits which complement and confirm their ethical stance.

Meat consumption and vegetarianism among young adults in the UK

This article is based on a six‐year survey of first year undergraduates and their meat consumption. The main focus is vegetarianism and the declining consumption of red meat over the past two decades. The levels of meat consumption and avoidance were analysed by gender, father’s occupation, voting intention and the reasons given for reduction/avoidance. The results found that the majority of vegetarians were women, although they were also the majority of the sample. Age, political inclination and social class appear to have had little bearing on meat consumption. There is also the suggestion that vegetarianism has reached a plateau. A wide range of further studies is suggested.

Meat consumption and meat avoidance among young people

This paper reports the findings of an 11‐year longitudinal study of the food preferences of first‐year social science undergraduates at a UK university. Argues that this predominantly young and female response group constitutes a “critical case” that can be used to assess broader trends in meat consumption and meat avoidance. Relatively high levels of meat avoidance (in terms of reduced consumption or vegetarianism) were detected, although in recent years the trend appears to be away from avoidance and towards an increase in the reported inclination to eat meat. An attempt is made to interpret the findings of the study within the broader context of long‐term shifts in attitudes towards meat consumption in general, and towards beef consumption in particular.

Dietary dilemmas: nutritional concerns of the 1990s

Reports new research into stability and change in contemporary foodways. Uses survey and in‐depth interviews to uncover familiar features which could be described as traditional, as well as more novel patterns. Highlights the ways in which the two are interwoven. The picture is characterized by a number of serious nutritional concerns, including health, weight control, food safety and food ethics. There is also familiarity with official nutritional guidelines, despite a widespread perception of contradictory and confusing nutritional messages. Finds mistrust of farmers, food companies and the government as far as the provision of safe food for the public is concerned. Such negative findings by no means represent the whole picture, however. Shows that, in the midst of such perceived contradiction and mistrust of external agencies, there is a personal confidence in dietary decision making and pleasure in food and eating.

Putting the Menu on the Agenda

Nickie Charles and Marion Kerr, Women, Food and Families, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1988. £29.95, viii + 244 pp. Joanne Finkelstein, Dining Out: A Sociology of Modern Manners, Oxford: Polity Press, 1989. £25.00, 200 pp. John Burnett, Plenty and Want: A Social History of Food in England from 1815 to the Present Day, (third edition) London: Routledge, 1989. £12.95, viii + 355 pp. Harvey A. Levenstein, Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. £16.50, xii + 275 pp.

A comparison of dietary behaviour in central England and a French Mediterranean region.

Objective: The investigation involves comparison of dietary behaviour between UK and Mediterranean France by characterizing the pattern of the current French Mediterranean diet compared with the current British diet.Design: The findings of two dietary surveys, one in the UK and one in France, are compared. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used in both countries. Questions on food frequency were used to assess dietary behaviour, which were regrouped in the French survey to correspond with UK groupings. Dietary indices were constructed to describe dietary behaviour in relation to cancer recommendations for intake of fat, fibre, meat, fruit and vegetables.Setting: The UK study was conducted in Leicestershire, central England and the French study was carried out in Hérault, southern France.Subjects: UK: n=418 subjects (57.9% female and 42.1% male; mean age=45.0 y); France: n=635 subjects (50.1% female and 40.9% male; mean age=49.8 y). Age range of both samples: 20–74 y.Results: There were positive and negative trends in food consumption in each country. UK respondents reported eating more beans and pulses (P=0.000), less cheese (P=0.000), red meat (P=0.001), and processed meats (P=0.000) than French respondents. However, on the negative side, they ate less fruit and vegetables (P=0.000), fish and poultry (P=0.000), cereals (P=0.000), and more sweets and chocolates (P=0.000), and cakes, pastries, biscuits and puddings (P=0.000). Women had healthier diets in both countries.Conclusions: Overall the southern French diet was healthier as French respondents scored significantly better for indices for fat, dietary fibre, fruit and vegetables (P=0.000 in all cases). However, the French sample scored poorer for the meat index (P=0.000).Sponsorship: This study was supported by a grant from l’Association de la Recherche contre le Cancer (ARC) awarded to M Holdsworth.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 530–539

Changing the nation's diet: a study of responses to current nutritional messages:

This paper reports on a survey of 420 adults and in-depth interviews with 75 of these respondents in Leicestershire in 1994. The study examined how respondents made dietary choices in the context of their social, cultural and economic circumstances, and considered the place of nutritional guidlines and healthy eating messages. The survey findings showed that 64 per cent of respondents reported having made dietary changes due to interviews revealed a more complex response to dietary information which had implications for health promotion policy and practice.