Food Shared, Prepared, Organic, and Genetically Modified

Transcription

1 Food Shared, Prepared, Organic, and Geneically Modified Jon D. Miller s Universiy of Michigan FOOD IS A CENTRAL PART OF HUMAN LIFE. WE NEED IT TO SURVIVE. We share i wih our families and our friends and we ofen make i a cenral par of our celebraions. We shop for i, cook i, read abou i, alk abou i, and someimes worry abou i. In his repor, he hird of a coninuing series, we look a he ways ha young aduls in Generaion X are involved wih food. Using daa from our 2010 naional survey, his repor will look a he level and kinds of involvemen ha young aduls in he Longiudinal Sudy of American Youh (LSAY) repor abou heir own shopping, cooking, and sharing of food. We will also examine he aiudes of Generaion X oward organic foods and geneically modified foods. And we will ake a brief look a he places from which young aduls obain informaion abou food-based issues such as geneically-modified foods. FOOD IN DAILY LIFE Generaion X spends a good deal of ime each monh shopping for food, cooking i, and sharing i wih family and friends. During he winer and spring of , Generaion X young aduls cooked 42 meals a monh and wen food shopping six imes each monh (see Table 1). Married women repored cooking subsanially more meals and doing slighly more shopping ha married men. Unmarried women repored preparing slighly more meals each monh han unmarried men, and unmarried men repored eaing more meals in good resaurans and fas-food places han unmarried women. Generaion X aduls repored ha hey buy eigh fas-food meals each monh and ha hey ea hree meals each monh in a good resauran. Unmarried men repored a higher rae of fas-food consumpion han eiher married men or women regardless of marial saus. The Generaion X Repor is published quarerly by he Universiy of Michigan Insiue for Social Research on behalf of he Inernaional Cener for he Advancemen of Scienific Lieracy. Subscripion price is $50 per year for elecronic copy; $60 per year for mailed copy in U.S.; $70 per year for mailed copy ouside U.S Universiy of Michigan Subscripion correspondence: Circulaion, The Generaion X Repor, Inernaional Cener for he Advancemen of Scienific Lieracy, 426 Thompson Sree, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA. Ediorial Correspondence: Edior, The Generaion X Repor, Inernaional Cener for he Advancemen of Scienific Lieracy, 426 Thompson Sree, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA. For addiional informaion abou he LSAY, visi

2 Compared o previous generaions, he young men in he LSAY sample were relaively more involved in food shopping and preparaion han heir fahers or grandfahers. Married men in Generaion X said ha hey prepared 34 meals in a ypical monh, compared o he 51 meals prepared by married women. And young married men repored shopping for food five imes a monh, jus wo imes fewer han married women. Alhough married women in Generaion X bear more responsibiliy for food shopping and preparaion han heir spouses, he margin appears o be smaller han similar daa from earlier generaions. Many young aduls in Generaion X repor ha hey engage in a variey of aciviies o learn more abou food. In a ypical monh, he young aduls in he LSAY repored ha hey wached four elevision cooking shows, looked for food-relaed informaion online hree imes, and read wo Table 1: Food-relaed aciviies, 2010 magazine aricles abou food or cooking (see Table 1). Women were more likely o seek food informaion han men, bu a subsanial proporion of men also repored waching cooking shows, seeking food informaion online, and reading magazine aricles abou food and cooking. Preparing and sharing food is a major social aciviy in mos socieies. The young aduls in Generaion X repored ha hey ofen alk o heir friends abou food-relaed maers, rade recipes by , and cook for and enerain guess in heir home. Food is a frequen subjec of conversaion among Generaion X young aduls, refleced in a repored six food-relaed conversaions wih friends in a ypical monh. Alhough heir mohers migh have raded recipes across he backyard fence, oday s young aduls rade recipes by abou once a monh or 12 imes a year. In Bowling Alone (2000), Rober Punam looked a a series of naional adul surveys and found ha he average number of imes ha American aduls repored eneraining oher aduls a home had dropped from 14 in 1975 o eigh in The paern of decline was seady hroughou hese wo decades and Punam concluded ha his represened a decline in social capial in he Unied Saes. In he 2010 LSAY annual survey, Generaion X young aduls repored ha hey enerained guess in heir home abou once each monh or abou 12 imes a year. This resul suggess ha Generaion X young aduls are somewha more social han all American aduls as a group. ORGANIC FOODS If here is one disincive food issue for Generaion X, i is he widespread ineres in and consumpion of organic foods. In our 2010 annual survey, we asked young aduls abou heir awareness of organic foods and heir aiude oward using organic foods. Only seven percen of Generaion X young aduls said ha hey had lile or no undersanding of organic foods and 80% were able o provide an open-ended explanaion of he meaning of organic foods. Given he exensive adverising of organic foods and producs oday, his is no a surprising resul. Since many young men in he LSAY sample also repored high levels of food shopping and cooking, we looked a he frequency of hese food aciviies in a ypical monh regardless of gender or marial saus. The resuls indicae ha young aduls who shop and cook 75 imes a monh or more were slighly more likely o buy organic foods, bu only abou wo percenage poins above he mean for all young aduls. Moreover, he paern of organic buying does no rise consisenly wih progressively more frequen personal involvemen in food shopping and cooking. On balance, he frequency of food involvemen is a weak predicor of buying organic. The resuls from he 2010 LSAY annual survey indicae ha young aduls wih more formal educaion end o buy organic more ofen and ha individuals who are scienifically lierae are more likely o buy organic. The level of educaion iself is also a weak indicaor of organic buying, bu young aduls who did no finish high school were significanly less likely o buy organic han oher individuals (see Table 2). A he oher end of he educaional specrum, 11% of young aduls wih an advanced degree repored ha hey regularly buy organic foods when hey are available. This is only wo poins higher han he average of nine percen for all young aduls, bu i is a srong conras wih young aduls wih he leas formal educaion. Number per monh All Gen X Married No married Men Women Men Women Number of meals cooked Shopping rips for food Ae a meal in a good resauran Bough a fas-food meal* Shopping, cooking, eaing ou Waching food shows on elevision Looked for food informaion online Read magazine sory on food Looking for food informaion Talked o friends abou food or cooking Cooked for/enerained guess a home Cooked wih oher aduls in group <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 Sen/received recipes by 1 < Communicaing abou food All food-relaed aciviies Number of respondens 3,080 1,128 1, * Number of fas-food meals was colleced in he annual survey. When asked abou heir own shopping and buying preferences, only nine percen of Generaion X young aduls indicaed ha hey srongly preferred o buy organic foods when hey were available. An addiional 39% of LSAY young aduls repored ha hey someimes buy organic foods, bu no all of he ime even when hey are available (see Figure 1 and Table 2). Half of Generaion X young aduls buy organic foods rarely or no a all. Given his almos even spli beween young aduls who buy organic and hose who do no, i is ineresing o inquire ino which young aduls buy organic. Having observed ha married women are more frequenly engaged in food shopping and cooking, we expeced ha hey migh also be more aware of and more frequen buyers of organic foods. No so. The various combinaions of gender and marial saus produced no saisically significan variaions, wih nine percen give or ake a percenage poin reporing ha hey regularly seek organic foods when hey are available (see Table 2). The bes predicor of buying organic is an individual s level of civic scienific lieracy. Over he las 25 years, he LSAY has measured he level of undersanding of basic scienific conceps and erms molecule, DNA, radiaion, experimen, and similar core ideas as well as some more applied scienific ideas and hese quesions have been combined ino an Index of Civic Scienific Lieracy. The Index ranges from zero o 100 and scores above 70 end o reflec he abiliy o undersand science news repors in major newspapers or on a PBS-Nova science elevision show. I is a measure of he kinds of science ha a ciizen needs o make decisions abou issues in he news or in he supermarke i is no a measure of occupaional skills in science or engineering. 2 The Generaion X Repor, Spring 2012 The Generaion X Repor, Spring

3 Using Miller s Index of Civic Scienific Lieracy, he daa from he 2010 LSAY annual survey show ha young aduls wih a higher level of scienific lieracy were more likely o buy organic foods. Eleven or 12% of young aduls wih a score of 70 or higher on he civic scienific lieracy index indicaed ha hey regularly buy organic foods and approximaely half of hese young aduls repored ha hey buy organic someimes (see Table 2). In conras, approximaely six percen of young aduls scoring less han 70 in his Index were regular buyers of organic foods and less han a hird were occasional organic buyers. Saisically, abou a hird of he variaion in organic buying preferences can be explained by he individual s level of scienific lieracy. This finding is consisen wih numerous oher sudies ha demonsrae ha aduls wih a sronger undersanding of science are able o make sense of compeing argumens abou various subjecs ha involve science or echnology. I is imporan o recognize ha wohirds of he variaion in organic buying is no explained by scienific lieracy, and we expec ha a large par of individual organic buying decisions may be relaed o eiher he availabiliy of organic producs or he higher price of many organic foods. Table 2: Preference for organic foods, 2010 Always if available Purchase organic foods Someimes Rarely Never All Generaion X young aduls ,080 Gender and Marial Saus Female Married ,103 No married Male Married ,128 No married Frequency of shopping and cooking None o 24 imes per monh o 49 imes per monh o 74 imes per monh or more imes per monh Educaion Less han high school graduaion High school diploma or GED ,312 Associae degree Baccalaureae Masers Docorae or professional degree Index of Civic Scienific Lieracy 0 o o , o o N = Number of respondens in each row. GENETICALLY-MODIFIED FOODS A second se of issues abou foods involves geneically modified or GM foods. For cenuries, farmers have used selecive breeding and hybrid echnologies (crossferilizaion) o produce agriculural producs ha have more pleasing characerisics (more whie mea on chickens or urkeys, for example). As science has become able o idenify and move individual genes in plans and animals, i is now possible o combine desirable characerisics and o remove undesirable characerisics (sauraed fas, for example). In boh Europe and he Unied Saes, some individuals and consumer groups have objeced o he new manipulaion of geneic maerial in plans and animals ha are used for food. The 2010 LSAY annual survey asked is paricipans abou heir level of undersanding of geneically-modified foods, how hey learn abou food-relaed issues, and he sources of informaion ha hey would rus in regard o an issue like GM foods. The 2010 survey did no ask abou personal purchasing behaviors N because few geneically-modified producs are labeled per se and many consumers would be unable o esimae how frequenly hey purchase or consume a geneically modified food produc. The erm geneically modified foods enered he American vocabulary afer mos of he young aduls in he LSAY had finished high school and college. A few individuals who majored in science or who reurned o formal schooling a few years laer may have encounered he erm in a school seing, bu he majoriy of young aduls in he LSAY have learned abou geneically modified foods by reading newspaper and magazine sories, waching elevision, looking a online news and science sies, and alking wih heir friends and co-workers. Because i is a erm ha requires some scienific undersanding knowing wha a gene is and ha humans have he abiliy o manipulae hem i is imporan o assess how much he young aduls in Generaion X undersand abou geneically modified foods. To measure he level of undersanding, he 2010 LSAY annual survey included five quesions abou geneically modified foods and asked each responden o indicae wheher hey hough ha each saemen was definiely rue, probably rue, probably false, or definiely false. Respondens were encouraged o check a no sure box raher han guess if hey did no know he answer. (1) Ordinary omaoes, he ones we normally ea, do no have genes whereas geneically modified omaoes do. (2) For cenuries, farmers have modified heir crops and animals hrough he use of cross-ferilizaion and selecive breeding. (3) Geneically modified plans almos always require more pesicides han non-geneically modified plans. (4) The modificaion of plans o reduce he level of sauraed fas is a beneficial use of geneic modificaion. (5) One of he possible negaive consequences of he geneic modificaion of plans is ha i may reduce he amoun of variaion in wild species. The second, fourh, and fifh saemen are rue and young aduls who indicaed ha one of hese saemens was definiely rue received wo poins and hose who said ha he saemen was probably rue received one poin. Saemens one and hree are no rue and respondens received wo poins for saying ha each of hese saemens was definiely false and one poin for saying ha i was probably false. The Index of GM Food Undersanding ranged from zero o 10. The mean score on his index for LSAY young aduls was 3.8, indicaing a moderaely low level of undersanding. Only 16% of Generaion X young aduls scored seven or higher on he Index (see Figure 2). Foryeigh percen scored hree or lower on he Index. Table 3: Undersanding of Geneically Modified Foods, 2010 This low level of undersanding of geneically modified foods reflecs a basic problem in modern socieies. Emerging scienific issues such as geneically modified foods occur afer an individual has compleed heir iniial formal schooling, leaving hese individuals o use a combinaion of heir previously acquired undersanding of science (which is ofen referred o as scienific lieracy) and curren media sources o make sense of new issues and conceps. We would expec ha young aduls who have acquired a higher level of civic scienific lieracy would be beer able o undersand emerging news abou geneically modified foods han individuals wih lower levels of scienific lieracy, and he daa from he LSAY suppor ha expecaion. Generaion X young aduls who scored 70 or higher on he Index of Civic Scienific Lieracy had an average score of 5.2 on he Index of GM Food Undersanding, compared an average score of 2.7 for young aduls who had a lower scienific lieracy score. How do hese differences in scienific lieracy and undersanding of GM foods influence Generaion X? A presen, i makes relaively lile difference in food purchasing and use decisions because geneically-modified producs are no segregaed or labeled. Bu i does appear o make some difference in he kinds of informaion Definiely rue Probably rue No sure Probably false Definiely false Ordinary omaoes do no have genes, whereas geneically modified omaoes do. 2% 8% 31% 17% 42% For cenuries, farmers have modified crops and animals hrough he use of cross-ferilizaion and selecive breeding Geneically modified plans almos always require more pesicide han non-geneically modified plans The modificaion of plans o reduce he level of sauraed fas is a beneficial use of geneic modificaion One of he possible negaive consequences of he geneic modificaion of plans is ha i may reduce he amoun of variaion in wild species Answers in red are correc and couned as wo poins oward he Index. Answers in blue are parially correc and couned as one poin oward he Index. Number of cases = 3,080 4 The Generaion X Repor, Spring 2012 The Generaion X Repor, Spring

4 sources ha young aduls rus in seeking informaion abou geneically-modified foods or producs. The 2010 LSAY annual survey asked each paricipan o indicae how much hey rused each of 17 possible informaion sources abou geneically modified foods using a zero-o-10 scale. Zero indicaed no rus in a paricular source and 10 indicaed complee rus in ha source. Generaion X young aduls placed more rus in he Food and Drug Adminisraion (FDA) and he U. S. Deparmen of Agriculure (USDA) han oher sources, assigning mean scores of 7.0 and 6.8 respecively on a zeroo-10 scale (see Table 4). An agriculure professor in a sae universiy was rused a he same level. Young aduls also expressed a high level of rus in science elevision shows such as Nova and he Discovery channel (6.4), informaion from Consumers Repors magazine (6.2), and an exhibi in a science museum (6.2). All of hese sources reflec a high level of experise and Generaion X young aduls appear o be able o idenify credible sources on science-relaed opics. General media sources received middling rus raings. Generaion X young aduls gave a mean raing of 5.8 o sories in a weekly news magazine, 5.8 o newscass on CNN or oher cable news channels, 5.7 for nework elevision newscass, 5.7 for sories in he New York Times or similar naional newspapers, 5.5 for a elevision cooking show, 5.3 for a broadcas on Naional Public Radio (NPR), and 5.1 for a local elevision newscas. Alhough some of hese media sources uilize specialized science reporers, new repors from hese sources end o be embedded in a more general news forma and may lack he appearance of experise associaed wih federal agencies or more clearly sciencerelaed sources. The young aduls paricipaing in he LSAY expressed less confidence in food informaion from friends or family (4.9), a Wikipedia aricle (4.8), or a local newspaper sory (4.7). These sources generally lack he sense of experise associaed wih federal agencies or general naional media, and Generaion X aduls indicae markedly lower levels of rus in hese sources. Ineresingly, he leas rused source of informaion was a elevision commercial from a food company such as Kraf (3.5). Generaion X young aduls apparenly recognize he commercial conen of his kind of message and do no hink of i as providing useful or unbiased informaion. In oher repors, we have found ha Generaion X young aduls do no rus energy informaion from energy companies or medical informaion from pharmaceuical companies. Even hough he spokesperson may be sanding in a green field or wearing a sehoscope, hese young aduls recognize he Table 4: Trus in Seleced Informaion Sources on Geneically Modified Foods, 2010 Mean Informaion source All CSL Index young aduls 0 o o 100 Food and Drug Adminisraion repor U. S. Deparmen of Agriculure repor An agriculure professor from a sae universiy PBS-NOVA/Discovery TV show Consumers Repors Science museum exhibi or presenaion Weekly news magazine sory CNN or oher cable newscas Nework TV newscas (ABC, CBS, NBC) New York Times or Wall Sree Journal A cooking show on elevision Naional Public Radio (NPR) Local elevision newscas A friend or a member of your family Wikipedia aricle Local newspaper sory Kraf or oher food company commercial Number of cases 3,070 1,564 1,272 Cell enries are he mean scores on a zero-o-10 scale. purpose of commercial messages and do no look o hose sources for rusworhy informaion. Does his paern of informaion rus vary by an individual s level of scienific lieracy? Do young aduls who know or undersand more abou scienific erms and conceps rus informaion sources differenly? The shor answer is ha here are only minor differences in he levels of confidence or rus expressed for differen sources, bu here are some ineresing differences. Regardless of heir level of scienific lieracy, young aduls expressed a high level of confidence in he FDA and he USDA for food informaion. Scienifically lierae young aduls expressed a significanly higher level of rus in an agriculure professor, a science elevision show, and a science museum han young aduls wih lower levels of scienific undersanding (see Table 4). Scienifically lierae young aduls were slighly less rusing of major media sources cable newscass, nework elevision news, or naional newspapers han young aduls wih lower levels of scienific undersanding. This differenial was especially srong for elevision cooking shows and food company commercials, which were rused significanly less ofen by scienifically lierae young aduls. In general, i appears ha scienifically lierae young aduls were beer able o idenify sources wih a high level of experise and were less rusful of general media sources han oher young aduls. THE PERVASIVE INFLUENCE OF FOOD Food does more han provide necessary susenance. All aduls including he young aduls in Generaion X spend a good deal of ime shopping for food, cooking i, sharing i wih family and friends, and alking abou i wih oher aduls. Meals are ofen a ime ha families gaher ogeher o share informaion and experiences and can be a form of enerainmen for one s family, friends, and neighbors. In he 21 s cenury, food ofen involves making judgmens ha may require some scienific undersanding. In recen decades, organic foods and organic farming have become a par of he American vocabulary and mos aduls have a reasonably clear undersanding ha organic foods are grown or raised wih fewer pesicides or oher chemicals. The daa from he 2010 LSAY annual survey found ha abou half of Generaion X young aduls preferred o buy and use organic foods a leas some of he ime and ha abou one in en are commied o buying organic when hese producs are available. Food sores and producers acively marke organic producs and here are now federal definiions and regulaions abou which producs can be labeled as organic and which do no mee ha sandard. The geneic modificaion of foods involves he exension Figure 2: Scores on he Index of GM Food Undersanding, 2010 Percen Index of GM Food Undersanding of a radiional farming pracice hrough he use of new and more precise mehods o add, delee, or modify geneic maerial in plans and animals inended for food. Some consumer groups have expressed concern abou he applicaion of hese new echnologies while oher groups have aken a more wai-and-see aiude. The debae over he geneic modificaion of food ineviably involves a more scienific discussion han was rue of organic foods and mos geneically modified producs have found heir way o he markeplace as one ingredien among several in food producs ha appear in sores. Mos Generaion X young aduls appear o have a relaively low level of undersanding or concern abou geneically modified foods, bu i is clear ha scienifically lierae young aduls are more acive in monioring he news on his subjec and ha hey are able o idenify and use a variey of credible sources o monior his subjec. These resuls indicae ha Generaion X young aduls are acive in shopping, cooking, and sharing food. They are aware of is sources and some of he conroversies abou is producion, and hey coninue o read and alk abou food sharing heir experiences and monioring any poenial problems. 6 The Generaion X Repor, Spring 2012 The Generaion X Repor, Spring

5 A Brief Hisory of he LSAY Today, he Longiudinal Sudy of American Youh (LSAY) is he longes and mos comprehensive longiudinal sudy of a naional sample of public school sudens ever conduced in he Unied Saes. To provide a more inensive longiudinal examinaion of he developmen of suden achievemen in middle school and high school (and he relaionship of hose paerns o career choices), he Naional Science Foundaion (NSF) funded he LSAY in Afer a year of pilo esing of insrumens, he LSAY began collecing daa from a naional sample of 7 h and 10 h grade sudens in 50 U.S. public school sysems in he fall of During he nex seven years, each of approximaely 5,900 sudens in he wo naional probabiliy cohor samples were given mahemaics and science achievemen ess (based on he Naional Assessmen of Educaional Progress iem pools) each fall and were asked o complee aiudinal and selfrepor quesionnaires each fall and spring. In addiion, one paren of each of he LSAY sudens was inerviewed each spring by elephone, and all of he mahemaics and science eachers who served one or more LSAY sudens were asked o complee a quesionnaire for each course, including informaion abou he objecives of he course, he exbook used, and he allocaion of ime and effor in he course o various kinds of insrucional aciviies. The principal of each of he paricipaing schools was asked o complee a school invenory and quesionnaire periodically. The iniial period of daa collecion ended in he spring of 1994 when he 7 h -grade cohor was one year beyond high school and he 10 h -grade cohor was four years beyond high school. Wih suppor from he NSF STEP program in 2005, he LSAY was able o locae or accoun for more han 95% of he original sample of sudens. Daa collecion was resumed in 2007 and four addiional cycles of daa collecion have been compleed wih NSF suppor. The LSAY paricipans in he wo cohors are now 36 and 39 years of age, respecively. Because of is exraordinary longiudinal record of hese young aduls who represen he core of Generaion X he LSAY is commied o coninuing an annual program of measuremen and analysis in fuure decades. During he years in which sudens were enrolled in middle school and high school, daa were colleced primarily hrough he use of prined quesionnaires and ess adminisered in school by a local school saff member employed par-ime by he LSAY. Teacher quesionnaires were prined and colleced by a combinaion of mail and he use of a local in-school coordinaor. During he inschool years, one paren of each paricipaing suden was inerviewed by elephone once each year. Currenly, approximaely 75% of paricipaing young aduls complee an annual quesionnaire online and he remaining 25% use a prined quesionnaire and a posage-paid reurn envelope. Curren paricipans are offered a small paymen in appreciaion for heir ime and effor. All of he daa collecion and daa managemen procedures used by he LSAY are approved by he Universiy of Michigan Insiuional Review Board. In earlier years, LSAY daa collecion procedures were reviewed and approved by he Insiuional Review Boards a Michigan Sae Universiy, Norhwesern Universiy, and Norhern Illinois Universiy. The daa are deposied (in a blinded forma o proec he ideniy of individuals) in he Ineruniversiy Consorium for Poliical and Social Research (ICPSR) a he Universiy of Michigan and are available for secondary analysis according o ICPSR rules. Over he las wo decades, LSAY daa have been used in approximaely 40 disseraions and more han 200 aricles in refereed journals. A more comprehensive descripion of he LSAY is available a The Generaion X Repor is based primarily on daa from he Longiudinal Sudy of American Youh (LSAY). The LSAY has been funded by he Naional Science Foundaion (NSF) since 1986 (NSF awards MDR , REC , RED , REC , DUE , DUE , DUE , DRL , DUE , DUE ). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendaions expressed in his maerial are hose of he auhor and do no necessarily reflec he views of he NSF. We acknowledge he coninuing cooperaion and suppor of he more han 4,000 LSAY paricipans who have volunarily compleed quesionnaires, elephone inerviews, and daa forms over he las 24 years and hank hem for heir coninuing suppor. Wihou heir acive involvemen, he LSAY would no be possible. We also acknowledge and hank he parens of LSAY sudens and he eachers, principals, and adminisraors in public school disrics hroughou he U.S. who conribued heir ime and energy o his sudy. And, we acknowledge and hank he several hundred saff who have worked on he LSAY over he las wo decades o make his sudy possible. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor; Laurence B. Deich, Bingham Farms; Denise Ilich, Birmingham Farms; Olivia P. Maynard, Goodrich; Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor; Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Poine Park; S. Marin Taylor, Grosse Poine Farms; Kaherine E. Whie, Ann Arbor; Mary Sue Coleman, ex officio