Factors Influencing Food Choice

Question 1

What affects our choice of food?

Answer 1

Culture
Peer pressure
Lifestyle
Cost
Health
Religious/moral belief
Storage and cooking facilities
Personal choice
Food trends
Availability

Question 2

How do people save money on their food bill?

Answer 2

Using cheaper protein foods e.g. eggs, cheese and pulses
Buying locally grown vegetables
Buying special offers
Buying foods with a short shelf life that have been reduced in price

Question 3

How does enjoyment affect our food choice?

Answer 3

People will always tend to choose the foods they enjoy and like.

Question 4

How does preference affect our food choice?

Answer 4

We all have our personal likes and dislikes and are influenced by our senses.
We use all of our 5 senses when we eat

Question 5

How does seasonality affect our food choice?

Answer 5

This relates to the availability and use of products when they are in season

Question 6

How does availability affect our food choice?

Answer 6

Choice depends on the type of food available in the country and place where you live

Question 7

How do storage and cooking facilities affect our food choice?

Answer 7

The equipment in your kitchen allows you to prepare different foods.
For example, if you did not have a fridge, your choice would be limited to canned and dried foods

Question 8

How does activity and lifestyle affect our food choice?

Answer 8

Our food choice may depend on the activities we are participating in
E.g. if you are going to be taking part in a strenuous activity, you may choose to eat some starchy carbohydrate foods

Question 9

What are the lifestyle factors that affect eating habits?

Answer 9

More women are employed outside the home
More people live alone
People travel greater distances to work
People have social activities outside the home
There has been an increase in snack foods available

Question 10

How do health and medical reasons affect our food choice?

Answer 10

The nutritional needs of individuals and groups of people are affected by their health
Eating for health means making small changes to the meals that we already eat

Question 11

How does marketing affect our food choice?

Answer 11

Society is strongly influenced by the media

More well advertised food products are more likely to be bought by consumers

Question 12

What are the various ways of advertising and promoting food products?

Answer 12

Advertisements on the television and the internet
Celebrity endorsements
Competitions
Attractive packaging
Displays in supermarkets and shop windows

Question 13

What do the Office of Fair Trading do?

Answer 13

They monitor that advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful.

Question 14

How does food labelling affect our food choice?

Answer 14

There is a lot of information on food labelling which can help you make choices about which food to choose.
If you are on a special diet or have allergies, you would need to look at the ingredients and nutritional information

Question 15

How do food scares affect our food choice?

Answer 15

Food scares in the media have a dramatic influence on food choice and sometimes result in product sales dropping.

Question 16

What are the religious beliefs involving food for Buddhism?

Answer 16

Most Buddhists are vegetarian

Question 17

What are the religious beliefs involving food for Christianity?

Answer 17

During Lent, many Christians give up rich food and will then celebrate Easter when rich foods are eaten again.
Christmas Day is a feast day and is celebrated with traditional foods such as turkey and mince pies in the UK.
Harvest festival is celebrated in many churches in order to celebrate getting the harvest

Question 18

What are the religious beliefs involving food for Hinduism?

Answer 18

The cow is sacred to Hindus, so they will not eat beef or any product from slaughtered cows
They avoid foods that may have caused an animal pain, so are usually fasting and have many days of fasting

Question 19

What are the religious beliefs involving food for Sikhism?

Answer 19

Sikhs have similar eating habits to Hindus
Many are vegetarians
Some do not drink alcohol, tea or coffee

Question 20

What are the religious beliefs involving food for Islam?

Answer 20

Muslims have a set of dietary rules
The pig is considered unclean, so Muslims do not eat pork or any pork products
Other meats and poultry must be slaughtered in a particular way so that no blood remains
This is called halal meat

Question 21

What are the religious beliefs involving food for Judaism?

Answer 21

Kosher food is food that Jews are allowed to eat
Meat must be specially slaughtered, soaked and then treated with kosher salt.
Jews do not eat pork.
Meat and dairy produce must not be eaten at the same meal

Question 22

What are the religious beliefs involving food for Rastafarianism?

Answer 22

Rastafarians eat food that is natural and clean
They do not eat pork and only eat fish that is longer than 30cm
They cook with coconut oil and do not drink alcohol, milk or coffee

Question 23

What are lacto-ovo vegetarians?

Answer 23

They will not eat meat, meat products, fish, poultry, lard, suet, fish oils or gelatine since they involve killing an animal
They will however eat food products from animals such as eggs, milk, cheese, butter etc.

Question 24

What are lacto vegetarians?

Answer 24

They are very similar to lacto-ovo vegetarians but will not eat eggs

Question 25

What are ovo vegetarians?

Answer 25

They will eat eggs but not dairy foods, meat, poultry or seafood

Question 26

What are vegans?

Answer 26

They are strict vegetarians who avoid eating all animal products, including meat, fish, eggs, cheese etc.

Question 27

What nutrients do vegans find difficult to obtain?

Answer 27

A range of proteins to ensure they get all the essential amino acids
Vitamins A and D, which are plentiful in animal fats
Mineral elements calcium, phosphorus and iron
Vitamin B12 as there is no B12 in cereals or vegetables

Question 28

How does animal welfare affect food choice?

Answer 28

Some people will look at how food is produced before deciding whether to buy it
E.g. many people are concerned about food that has been produced using intensive farming methods

Question 29

What does the Red Tractor mark show?

Answer 29

It shows that the food product has been safely produced with high animal welfare standards

Question 30

What are the reasons why people choose to buy locally produced food?

Answer 30

They want to support local farmers and industry
It may have a lower carbon footprint as less energy is used in transport
Reduced food miles
May be fresher