Household Producer Effects of Rural Diet Transformation

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The Food and Agriculture Organization is encouraging people to return to traditional foods, some of which many have abandoned because they have been stigmatized by the spread of Western dietary tastes, foods, and norms. This project looks at what the FAO-recommended change would actually mean: who would produce, what factors would affect production, the downstream effects in the household and the local economy, the connections to increasing mobility. This project asks, can the development of niche traditional diet become a pathway to economic success for rural communities? Understanding how the use of traditional foods can promote healthy eating as well as economic growth for socioeconomically disadvantaged rural communities is critical to the development of sustainable food programs and fostering food security for at-risk populations throughout our country and world.Dr. Jeffrey Cohen of the Ohio State University will explore how marginalized residents meet the challenges of a changing economy and the escalating costs of a changing rural diet. The PI will investigate these questions through the lens of a relatively accessible, low-cost source of protein that is produced at home. While once looked down upon as not modern, traditional food demand has increased in recent years, both for local consumption, as an alternative to expensive packaged foods, and in response to increased interest from tourism. The project asks how producers rethink production, the market, and labor, as they produce for the market rather than domestic consumption; and how this impacts household structure, household organization, and gender roles. Data will be collected through surveys, market mapping, food journals, pile sorts and photo elicitation to develop food taxonomies, and household food-focused interviews.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.