Gender Differences in Consumption and Perception of Local Produce among High School Students

As farming practices have moved towards large-scale production methods, the average individual has become further removed from the practice of agriculture. As a result, many high school students gain the majority of their knowledge of farming in a classroom setting. This case study was conducted to...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:NACTA journal 2014-12, Vol.58 (4), p.317-323
Main Authors: Colton Flynn, Kyle, Popp, Jennie, Hausmann, Sonja, Whisenhunt, Jeremy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Demographic aspects
Farmers markets
Food consumption
Fruits
Gender differences
Health aspects
High school students
Local food
Local foods
Men
Sustainable agriculture
Vegetables
Women
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:As farming practices have moved towards large-scale production methods, the average individual has become further removed from the practice of agriculture. As a result, many high school students gain the majority of their knowledge of farming in a classroom setting. This case study was conducted to better understand if gender plays a role in differing experiences, knowledge and perceptions of agricultural practices, local produce and produce consumption among high school students in Northwest Arkansas. Eleventh-grade students (n=50) from three school districts were asked to answer questions about their agricultural and local produce experiences, knowledge and perceptions. Young men were (p=.01) more likely to have taken an agriculture class in high school and were (p=.02) more likely to be able to identify the average farm-to-plate distance of produce. Furthermore, we found that female students were more likely to have positive perceptions of locally grown foods, whereas male students were (p=.04) more likely to believe that there are disadvantages to local foods. However, neither young men nor young women were meeting Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption. Further study is warranted to explore the gender differences and the impact that education may have in the formation of knowledge, perceptions and healthy food choices among high school students.
ISSN:0149-4910