Food for Thought: How Princeton Undergraduate Students Navigate Eating and Food Choices

Abstract

The effects of the modern diet is often attributed to an individual’s action. Previous studies have addressed the social dynamics of food including how cultural barriers, identity, and food consciousness form within communities. Other literature examines the discourse around diet and the health effects on college students. College campuses as a place of study remain absent from the research around the sociological aspects of food and experiences of eating. Therefore, the primary purpose of this thesis is to explore how Princeton University undergraduate students make food choices. Princeton University represents a microcosm of food in modern society. Students of diverse backgrounds must navigate the challenges of food such as changing preferences, culture, innovation, consumption patterns, and sustainability issues. A mixture of twenty administrator and student interviews were conducted, and the findings reveal that the dining spaces hold social hierarchies, and mealtimes are highly ritualized as students both engage in and observe the dining experience. The significance of food shifts over time for students, depending on dynamics of social circles, individual beliefs, and specific social structures at Princeton. Globalization, gender, and the environment were recurring themes throughout both the student and administrator interviews. There remains a communication gap between the students and administrators despite the growing consciousness of sustainability and food. The research provides several intervention opportunities and directions for future studies.