Changes in the Practice of Eating
Top Cited Papers
- 1 December 2007
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Acta Sociologica
- Vol. 50 (4), 363-385
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699307083978
Abstract
This article examines changes in aspects of the eating habits of the populations of five countries between the early 1970s and the end of the 1990s. Time-use diary data provide the main evidence, which is subjected to techniques of statistical description and regression analysis. The study of France, UK, USA, Norway and the Netherlands shows considerable national variation in patterns of food preparation, eating at home and eating out. Each of these components of the practice of eating is examined for indications of whether there are any tendencies towards dedifferentiation within countries or convergence across countries. There are some common patterns across countries, notably a decline in the amount of time devoted to food preparation. Time spent on eating at home reduces in all countries except France. In the USA, time devoted to domestic food preparation and consumption is minimal. Internal differentiation shows continuities — of gender divisions and age-related behaviour — but also new emergent tendencies — with the presence of children and levels of cultural capital becoming significant predictors of behaviour. It is maintained that the analysis of time-use provides a useful framework for comparing practices in different countries and that the variation revealed might best be understood in terms of different modes of institutionalization of consumption.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- The changing practice of eating: evidence from UK time diaries, 1975 and 20001British Journal of Sociology, 2007
- Shifting responsibilities for food safety in Europe: An introductionAppetite, 2006
- Disappearance of the traditional meal: Temporal, social and spatial destructurationAppetite, 2005
- Consumption and Theories of PracticeJournal of Consumer Culture, 2005
- Local consumption cultures in a globalizing worldTransactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2004
- Toward a Theory of Social PracticesEuropean Journal of Social Theory, 2002
- The Rush Hour: The Character of Leisure Time and Gender EquitySocial Forces, 2000
- Long‐term trends in food consumption: A French portraitFood and Foodways, 1999
- A Cultural Field in the Making: Gastronomy in 19th‐Century FranceAmerican Journal of Sociology, 1998
- The Dream of a Secular Ecumene: The Meaning and Limits of Policies of DevelopmentTheory, Culture & Society, 1990