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Abstract
This research explores the social distribution of food knowledge in Ribeirão Preto, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Through an analysis of the distribution of individual expertise in regard to the cultural model of food along the dimensions of healthfulness, practicality, and prestige, this research demonstrates that knowledge of the cultural model of food is most strongly shared in the upper class of the city. Qualitative and quantitative ethnographic research suggests that the social patterning of health-related food knowledge in Ribeirão Preto may serve to maintain class distinction.
Notes
1. This research was supported by research grant BCS-0090193 from the National Science Foundation, William W. Dressler, Principal Investigator. The data were collected by Christine N. Newkirk for her master's degree thesis at The University of Alabama and as a part of the larger research project. For a previous version of this paper, Ms. Newkirk won the Student Paper Competition of the Society for Anthropological Sciences for 2004, the Student Paper Competition of the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition for 2004, and the Award for Outstanding Research by a Master's Student at The University of Alabama, 2005. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Débora de Bortoli, Camila D. Borges, and Mauro C. Balieiro in the research.
2. There is a significant, positive relationship between the income and education levels of individuals in the sample (F = 3.4, p < .001). Furthermore, there is a significant increase in family income (F = 7.3, p < .001) and education level (X2 = 26.7, p < .001) from the poorest to wealthiest neighborhoods sampled.