Magazine articles, news items, and self-improvement books tell us that our daily food choices - whether we opt for steak or vegetarian, a TV dinner or a sit-down meal - serve as bold statements about who we are as individuals. Acquired Tastes makes the case that our food habits say more about where we come from and who we would like to be.

This intimate portrait of eating habits and attitudes towards food in over one hundred Canadian families in both rural and urban settings reveals that our food choices never solely reflect personal tastes. Age, gender, social class, ethnicity, health concerns, food availability, and political and moral concerns shape the meanings that families attach to food and their self-identities. They also influence how its members respond to social discourses on health, beauty, and the environment, a finding that has profound implications for public health campaigns.

This intimate portrait of food habits and attitudes towards food in Canadian families uproots the notion that our daily food choices stem solely from individual tastes and preferences.

About the Author
Brenda L. Beagan is a medical sociologist and associate professor in the School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University. Gwen E. Chapman is a professor in Food, Nutrition and Health in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia. Josee Johnston is an associate professor in Sociology at the University of Toronto. Deborah McPhail is an assistant professor in Community Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. Elaine M. Power is an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen's University, Kingston. Helen Vallianatos is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta.


Book Information
ISBN 9780774828581
Author Brenda L. Beagan
Format Paperback
Page Count 292
Imprint University of British Columbia Press
Publisher University of British Columbia Press