Social Networks and Psychological Conditions in Diet Preferences: Gourmets and Vegetarians

The importance of diet as a means of self-expression has yet to be examined closely enough in terms of a social phenomenon; instead, historians, sociologists and anthropologists tend to see food habits as being the natural and rational standards in society. Two groups, self-defined as gourmets or vegetarians, were examined through questionnaires administered by two magazines: the respondents were rated in terms of social background and mobility, psychological data, and current friend ship networks, and the manner in which these various characteristics were linked to their eating preferences. The responses seem to indicate that in these particular groups, food becomes an analogical representation of the self: gourmets try to integrate a large, fluid, cosmopolitan middle-class culture, while vegetarians define themselves negatively and create strong boundaries against the general society.