Food and the economy

The recession means different things to different appetites

By Culinate staff

July 9, 2009

On his blog, Tufts University food economist Parke Wilde recently highlighted a lengthy article by Julie Flaherty entitled “Stomaching the recession: What the slumping economy will mean for the American diet,” from the spring issue of Tufts Nutrition (now available on the Tufts website). The article ranges far on the topics of hunger and obesity and income, and doesn’t settle for easy conclusions:

“How people respond will depend a lot on who they are as individuals,” says Professor Jeanne Goldberg, director of the Nutrition Communication Program at the Friedman School. “A lot will depend on the importance people place on their personal health and the health of their families.”

The article also discusses the fact that many Americans lack cooking skills, a state of affairs that’s also been labeled “kitchen illiteracy” by Tom Laskaway over at Grist. Time to bring back home economics, as well as economics at home.