| The conventional industrial food system is detrimental to civilization, harming people and the environment. Conversely, there is an alternative food system gaining momentum and popularity which promotes food that is sustainably produced. This new system advocates for ecological farming practices, emphasizes local/regional produce, and access to healthful food for all. However, this crusade is not yet mainstream. In Northern Arizona this is illustrated by the number of students in Flagstaff, Arizona who attend Northern Arizona University and do not know about or advocate for sustainable food. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to discover how college students who do eat sustainably came to do so. More specifically, I investigated: (1) What critical factors influence students to go from a conventional diet to one that is more sustainable? (2) What themes of transformation appear in the narratives of NAU students who support sustainable foods? (3) How can we use these students' narratives about transformation to help encourage other students to be more engaged, active advocates for sustainable food? This study is qualitative and autoethnographic. It embraces the narratives that arise from one-on-one interviews with students who have experienced a transformation, including my own story as a member of this population. The responses of in-depth interviews are assessed using a range of social theories including: Symbolic Interactionism, theories on consumer culture and cultural change, and Transformative Learning Theory. The research reveals five reoccurring themes influential in student transformation: education, health, relationships, gardening, and environmental concern. |
