WHAT DETERMINES OUR FOOD CHOICES? om/v/ /comfort- food-diet/

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES Those that come from OUTSIDE of the individual or family Four Categories: Media Economy Environment Technology

MEDIA INFLUENCES  Media offers a constant source of information about food products and nutrition issues. Which includes…  Television commercial ads commercial ads  Print  Internet & other electronic media  Food Styling: Tricks of the trade… Advertisements vs Reality Buy Me That!

ECONOMIC INFLUENCES Influences affected by consumers willing to pay for products and producers willing to provide them. Which includes… Supply/demand Price- healthy vs. not healthy Food’s availability

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES Environmental influences are factors such as air, water, soil, mineral resources, plants & animals. Which includes… Ecological factors- ex. Food chain Climate issues Land availability Local agriculture- buying what’s in season

CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE Home to a $38 billion agriculture industry San Jaoquin Valley, CA, in the single richest agriculture region in the world Sole producer in the US of almonds, walnuts, raisins, artichokes, & olives. 22% of nations milk & cream MoOo!

TECHNOLOGICAL INFLUENCES Any development that is improving any methods for doing tasks. Food processing/additives Prolonging shelf life Nutritional value of foods- enriched, fortified Additives- thickeners, sweeteners, preservatives Advances in equipment Biotechnology advancements Hormones Genetically modified organism (GMO)- good or bad?

CONVENIENCE FOODS What are they? Who uses them most? Are they more or less expensive than fresh, non- processed foods? Are they more or less healthy ? Why?