Purpose -This study seeks to show that children are not passive consumers, rather that they have a reflexive attitude towards their eating practice and the ability to override food-use rules invented by the manufacturers.Design/methodology/approach -Drawing on an ethnographic survey conducted among families with children aged from six to 12, the paper will seek to show, from the child's point of view, why fun products, which at first sight are so beguiling, are not in fact much fun when used. From the observations made of the children's eating practices with regard to specific fun foods, and from interviews with the children on these, it emerges that these foods give the child little scope for deciding how to eat them.Findings -Over the years, there has appeared on the market a range of fun food products for which clear instructions are given on how children should eat and play with them. Despite copy, produced with the young consumer in mind, and carefully defined product affordance, consumer practice is far removed from what the product designers expect. For children, however, deviating from prescribed use and re-appropriating products with their own ''art of doing'' or food-use techniques are key elements of their eating practice.Originality/value -Most of the studies on that topic are centred on fun food manufacturers and industry. The most original aspect of this study is to focus on the children's representations, discourses and practices. Thus it provides a new aspect on fun food consumption.
Based on a qualitative investigation comparing the ways in which French and Israeli Bordinary^consumers view naturalness in food, this paper questions the choices they make in terms of food supply and their relations to the food production processes and the retail channels. The results of the study highlight that these representations, with the categorizations in which they are embodied, are strongly influenced by the context of life and the socio-cultural affiliations of these consumers. The comparison between the two countries allows to underline that the logics of categorization of the natural, and the related practices, are characterized by significant differences due to food cultures and relations of trust or mistrust regarding the food chains and industries. More broadly, the article demonstrates that investigating the conceptions that consumers have of naturalness is a relevant analyzer of their dietary decisions and their perceptions of food production and distribution systems.
Drinking of beverages is often studied from the perspective of fluid intake or nutritional input, but rarely in terms of the nature and type of the drinks consumed. Yet the choice of drinks consumed is highly influenced by contexts relating to social, behavioral and psycho-emotional factors that are specific for each type of beverage, the associated setting, and the individual. To analyze this, we conductedtwo quantitativesurveys regarding beverage consumption with two samples representative of the French population that had a similar size and age group (20 – 54 years of age). Drinking categories were defined and analyzed by Principal Components Analysis according to two axes (non-alcoholic soft drinks – alcoholic and hot drinks – fruit juice). The benefit sought for each type of beverage and the circumstances associated with a specific type of beverage (social experience) were identified, and this allowed each type of beverage to be clearly categorized. These findings provide new perspectives in terms of educational and public health strategies.
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