The Socio-Environmental Aspects of Students’ Food Literacy: An Exploratory Case Study of Two Ontarian High Schools

Abstract

North American food environments have gone through dramatic shifts over the past six decades. During this period, we have witnessed the consolidation of a globalizing industrial agrifood regime, accompanied by new types of foods available and an excess of marketing. In recent years however, a growing number of scholars, environmentalists, rural organizations and consumers have highlighted the negative environmental and social impacts of this model of large scale, intensive monocultures. Another critique that has been more and more common is the lack of a comprehensive food literacy among youth populations. This thesis starts from the assumption that such knowledge is crucial to equip younger generations with the ability to understand the connections among these issues, to make conscious and informed choices and become engaged citizens, participating in transforming today’s predominantly unsustainable agrifood systems. This is essential as younger generations are the future consumers, heads of households and decision-makers in Canadian society. As such, one of the primary objectives of this research was to (re)situate the concept of food literacy amidst the many literatures while also providing an original comprehensive framework of analysis, reaffirming both its health and well-being and agrifood systems components. Consequently, and based on such assessments, the thesis offers an original and exploratory analysis of high school students’ food literacy levels. Using a mixed methods approach, it draws from qualitative and quantitative primary data resources and secondary literature to survey and compare eight groups of students in grades 9 and 10 in Ontario. Four of these groups took a food-related class and four were control groups, between two different types of food-related curricula. The research shows that a majority of the high school students who participated in the study have a basic level of food literacy. This is especially notable when including socio-environmental considerations in order to assess their level of agrifood systems’ literacy, which is the main focus and contribution that this research sought to evaluate.