Public Perceptions of the Food System: Differences across the generations
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Date
2010-12
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Public perceptions of the food supply are increasingly viewed as impacting the organization of the food and farming system. This study looks at various public attitudes of the food and farming system and evaluates how attitudes and food choices differ between generations. Age, organized into categories (34 and younger, 35 to 49, 50 to 64 and 65 and older) is related to several dependent variables including knowledge of food supply, number of farmers known, health concerns, factors that influence food choice and trust of sources of agricultural information. Data for this study are from the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 Ohio Survey of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Issues, a statewide survey of Ohioans (N=~1,750 per year). Bivariate analysis was conducted, including one-way ANOVA and cross tabulations, using the SPSS statistical analysis program. It was found that older adults are more knowledgeable of the food supply and have closer physical and social proximity to agriculture than the younger generations. Older respondents also report increased health concern, which may account for several of the food choice factors more commonly reported by them than younger consumers. There were differences in trust of various sources of agricultural information, with the older generation tending to have higher trust of farmers and the extension service and the younger expressing greater trust in World Wide Web. These findings have implications for how producers and retailers market their product, with obvious needs to account for these differences in views. Future research should further explore the generational differences in trust of information and be attendant to which electronic/internet resources are viewed most favorably by young and old. Also, an interesting question for further consideration is how views of the food system might evolve across the life cycle.
Description
1st place in Economics and Social Sciences division at the 2010 College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Research Forum
Keywords
public perceptions, food supply, attitudes, generation differences, age, agriculture proximity