“Our results fit with our impression that Americans are particularly appreciative of choice at many levels, and that, as well, there is a substantial sense among Americans that foods should be modified to meet individual tastes; hence, the wider range of choices in American menus, including extensive options for matching side dishes with the main dish according to individual tastes” (Rozin, Fischler, Shields, Masson, 2006)
This week I read a research report done by the same researchers mentioned by Micheal Pollan a few weeks ago. While I was not able to find the exact study they were referencing I did find another interesting study that I wanted to read. It is entitled “Attitudes towards large numbers of choices in the food domain: A cross-cultural study of five countries in Europe and the USA“ by Paul Rozin, Claude Fischler, Christy Shields, and Estelle Masson. I was drawn to this article because it was posing a point that I had yet to really explore, I have looked at what a lack of choices in our diet can do, but this report dove into what happens when we are presented with an overwhelming choice for every item on our grocery list?
The report starts off with background information on why humans look for a variety of food choices in the first place. It seems to be a variety of biological and evolutionary factors that influence us as generalist animals (animals that can survive on a variety of diets or in a variety of habitats) to seek out options to both seek out nutrients and limit the chance of over-consuming a toxin. They also explain “micro-variety” in grocery stores, which is having a variety of products that are the same thing such as apples or yogurt.
The study was conducted to find the country-by-country variation in consumers’ preference for quality over quantity and included France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The two questions proposed were roughly, “would you go to an ice cream parlor with 10 flavor options or 50 flavor options with no price difference?” and “If you were to go to a high-end restaurant would you expect a large or small choice of dishes?”
The results found that for the first question, consumers from the United States were the most likely group to seek out 50 options versus 10, and for the second that the United Kingdom would expect the most options at a high-end restaurant. Both countries come second in the category the other was first in, but I do not have enough background information to make any inferences about this specifically. Do the USA and UK have higher populations of large grocery stores, or digital food marketing? Is it something to do with the way food gets from the grower to the table?
I also spent a few hours this week on my summary paper. Not all my texts will be reflected in there as there were so many tangents but I have a good structure with room to add as I finish my readings. I’m not sure what I will read next week but I am exited to pick out the last texts to close out my ILC.