Organivore or organorexic? Examining the relationship between alternative food network engagement, disordered eating, and special diets
Introduction
The alternative food network (AFN) refers to connections between consumers, producers, and sellers of organic, local/regional, “sustainably grown,” and other artisanal and niche food not produced by the conventional system (Goodman & Goodman, 2007). Increasing awareness of the ecological, social, and ethical problems associated with the conventional agro-food system has caused certain subsets of consumers to participate more actively in the developing AFN by consuming food that emerges from the AFN; some even identify as “locavores” (consumers of local food; Stanton, Wiley, & Wirth, 2012) or “organivores” (a neologism used to describe consumers of organic food). The AFN assures consumers of sustainable and/or ethical food based on certification schemes, shortened supply chains, and process-based farming techniques (Maye, Holloway, & Kneafsey, 2007). Differences between agricultural methods at sites of production, whether real or perceived (see Goodman et al., 2012, Guthman, 1998, Guthman, 2004), create a dualistic, complex global foodscape that mandates a higher level of reflexivity (i.e., constant reflection and assessment of impact of food choice on self and environment) for ethical consumption (Sassatelli, 2004).
The new food paradigm constructs “conventional” food as poor quality, ethically “wrong,” and ecologically irresponsible while positioning the consumption of “alternative” food as the high quality, healthy, ethically “right” choice (Goodman et al., 2012, Guthman, 2007, Honkanen et al., 2006). By engaging in the AFN, consumers construct an identity as ethical individuals and trust that they are opting out of the conventional, industrial agro-food complex (Barnett et al., 2005, Goodman and Goodman, 2007, Goodman and Sage, 2013, Maxey, 2007). For some consumers, the complexity of the current foodscape and the ensuing moralization of food choices requires onerous attentiveness and can produce fear and anxiety (Beardsworth and Keil, 1997, Goodman and Sage, 2013, Guthman, 2003, Honkanen et al., 2006, Lang et al., 2009).
A moral positioning of food, avoidance of certain food groups, and anxiety elicited by food consumption choices bear disquieting similarities to subclinical disordered eating behaviors (e.g., skipping meals, fasting, dieting, etc.) and clinically significant eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder; Lang et al., 2009). Eating disorders involve a preoccupation with food and often the refusal to eat certain foods based on individually constructed moralities (e.g., “fat is bad”) with the aim of controlling weight and shape (Fallon, Katzman, & Wooley, 1994). The various “food rules” for good consumption promoted by the AFN could prompt the development of disordered eating symptoms, such as restrictive eating or preoccupation with food, that mirror those of eating disorders. Conversely, disordered eating behaviors could lead individuals to participate in the AFN, as it already classifies food into convenient categories. Foods positioned as sustainable, organic, local, or alternative might provide another way for individuals with eating disorders to restrict and control their food intake in a socially acceptable way.
To date, there is no known research that has directly examined the connection between AFN engagement and disordered eating behaviors. However, a few studies have explored orthorexia nervosa (ON), a new eating syndrome that involves the exclusion of foods considered “impure” that may be contaminated with pesticides or artificial substances (Donini et al., 2005, Korinth et al., 2009, Vandereycken, 2011, Zamora et al., 2005). Although ON has not been well-defined or researched, it is gaining currency in the public realm with articles citing ON as an eating syndrome driven by the “clean eating” trend (Kaplan, 2015, Williams, 2015). ON is characterized by an extreme preoccupation with food production methods in regards to health and purity (Bosi et al., 2007, Korinth et al., 2009, Zamora et al., 2005), and Rangel, Dukeshire, and MacDonald (2012) postulate that awareness of the problems associated with industrial agriculture can escalate risk perception and produce the dietary anxiety associated with ON. Consumers engaged in the AFN are more likely to be aware of these problems and be more attentive to the type and quality of food they consume (Maye et al., 2007). For example, a scale that seeks to diagnose ON (ORTO-15; Donini et al., 2005, p. 30) asks questions that appear associated with engagement in the AFN (e.g., willingness to spend more money on healthier food and valuing the quality of food over taste). Although there is no known research linking AFN engagement and ON or other disordered eating behaviors, research has suggested connections between AFN engagement and following a vegetarian diet (Fox and Ward, 2008, Hughner et al., 2007), as well as connections between vegetarianism and disordered eating behaviors (Bardone-Cone et al., 2012, Hughner et al., 2007, Sullivan and Sadhana, 2000).
Vegetarians are more likely to purchase and consume organic food (Hughner et al., 2007), a component of AFN engagement. Studies have suggested that following a vegetarian diet is sometimes used to disguise restrictive eating patterns employed to control weight and shape (Kadambari et al., 1986, Martins et al., 1999). One study found that nearly half of their participants with a history of disordered eating reported following a vegetarian diet at some point and cited weight control as a primary reason for this choice (Bardone-Cone et al., 2012), while another found that semi-vegetarians, as opposed to “true” vegetarians, were more likely to report a disordered relationship with food (Timko, Hormes, & Chubski, 2012). The higher incidence of eating disorders in connection with vegetarianism suggests that other special diets may also be connected to disordered eating behaviors and engagement in the AFN. Other special diets, including pescatarian, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and raw foods, may serve as socially acceptable means to mask disordered eating behaviors while also being associated with higher AFN engagement. To date, however, there is no known research exploring these relationships.
The current study seeks to address gaps in the literature by exploring connections among engagement in the AFN, disordered eating behaviors, and adherence to special diets. We hypothesized that greater engagement in the AFN would be associated with more disordered eating behaviors. We also hypothesized that following a special diet compared to no special diet would be associated with greater AFN engagement as well as higher incidence of disordered eating behaviors.
Section snippets
Participants
Men and women, 18+ years of age, were recruited through advertisements at a small Southern liberal arts college and through local alternative food network (AFN) hubs (e.g., local organic groceries and food co-ops) and environmental organizations to participate in a study about “eating habits and participation in local, organic, sustainable, and ethical food networks” via posters, listserv emails, social media, and word-of-mouth. Participants younger than 18 years of age were excluded from
Sample demographics
The final sample comprised 284 adult men and women who were on average 38.2 years old and had a mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of 24.9 kg/m2. Participants were predominantly female, had completed at least some college, and did not follow a special diet (see Table 2). Overall, participants reported high alternative food network (AFN) engagement and orthorexia nervosa (ON) tendencies, and low rates of current and past eating disorders. There were no significant differences between special diet groups
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the relationship between engagement in the emergent alternative food network (AFN), disordered eating behaviors, and special diets. Our results were mixed, as our findings suggest that engagement in the AFN was generally not associated with disordered eating as measured on the EDE-Q but was associated with more orthorexia nervosa (ON) tendencies as measured by the ORTO-15. We also found that those following a special diet (versus no special
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