Magazine articles and self-improvement books tell us that our food choices serve as bold statements about who we are as individuals. Acquired Tastes reveals that they say more about where we come from and who we would like to be. Interviews with Canadian families in both rural and urban settings reveal that age, gender, social class, ethnicity, health concerns, food availability, and political and moral concerns shape the meanings that families attach to food. They also influence how parents and teens respond to discourses on health, beauty, and the environment, a finding with profound implications for public health campaigns.
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. Josée 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.