Identities shift through critical food studies courses and intergenerational learning

Intergenerational learning is the process in which knowledge, behaviors, and cultural traditions are passed between generations. This type of learning is important because while children are regarded as the future, some environmental issues require immediate action from adults. Research surrounding intergenerational learning is limited and is primarily focused on how parents or grandparents share knowledge with children. Additionally, research has not significantly addressed how formal learning influence attitudes towards food animals. The authors of this study examined how nontraditional undergraduate students in a food studies course identify with the natural world, particularly animals, and how they view themselves as educators in their families due to their strong familial relationships and their relationships with the environment.

Participants included 3 (out of 20) undergraduate students from the researcher's Critical Food Studies course at a commuter college where many students are nontraditional students (such as older, live with their families, or have kids). The three participants were women of color. To conduct this study, the researchers used educational multispecies ethnography. This technique utilizes some traditional ethnography methods such as interviewing and being a participant-observer, but also includes critical perspectives to capture how non-human entities may experience a phenomenon and how research may liberate them from oppressive conditions. Specifically, the researchers conducted interviews after the course with the participants. The researchers also analyzed student coursework, where were autoethnographic journals depicting their experiences on class field trips at a garden and a local farm. The researchers analyzed the data for each participant, and discovered common themes related to human-animal relationships and human and animal oppression between participants.

Two of students interviewed showed similar themes of discomfort with eating human-animal relationships in their lives and feeling a call to take action on that, like not eating meat. Yasmine, the first student, grew up around farm animals. She connected visits to a petting farm with her childhood pets, like a chicken. Her relationship with this chicken was not like a relationship with a food animal, as Yasmine saw the chicken as a friend, not as a source of food. Yasmine viewed the animals at the petting zoo as other people, not as farm animals. Her interactions with animals pushed her to follow a vegetarian lifestyle. She encouraged her parents to do the same. She used documentaries and other skills she learned in class as facts to prove to her father that he should stop eating meat. While her relationship was changed through connecting to animals, she changed her parents' relationship with animals by appealing to health and social justice concerns.

Patty was the second student that experienced discomfort and a call to action. She also frequently discussed familial relationships in her coursework but did not talk about specific relationships with animals when she was a child. She grew up on a farm in Mexico, and often played with the animals on the farm. She was excited for the farm visit so she could share her childhood experience with her children, who also came on the trip. This connectedness represented her familial and cultural identity and was an opportunity to connect with her immediate family that did not have the same experiences. Patty was also inspired to change to a plant-based diet. Before the visit to the farm, Patty did not have strong opinions about eating animals until she saw a sheep which reminded her of her dog, and she changed her mind about eating meat. Patty's story highlighted two veins of intergenerational learning. She taught her family about new things she learned in class as well as her cultural traditions, and she learned from her children about their discomfort with knowing the chickens they saw would become someone's dinner.

Marie was the third and final student. She experienced discomfort as well, but she did not experience a call to action like Patty and Yasmine did. Instead, she experienced acquiescence. She was concerned with animal welfare but did not feel the need to change her lifestyle. She spoke with her family about the conditions of food animals, but there were no changes to her family lifestyle (who owned a market stand that sold meat) because of the information.. Even though she experienced animals through a different viewpoint, she did not feel inclined to discuss with her parents the adverse experiences that animals in food contexts have. She wrote in her journal that her family could not sustain themselves if they chose to only sell humanely raised animal products. She also discussed how her family was stuck in a capitalist system that has oppressive industrialized food systems.

This article studied how these three women were able to change their relationships with food animals and their culture. Two students had similar shifting identities with food animals and showed how adult learners could overcome some of the barriers to intergenerational learning. Because the participants were non-traditional students, they were able to negotiate complex ethical challenges (e.g., animal rights versus economic needs) when considering how to share their learning with older generations, as well as share with their own children, showing reciprocal intergenerational learning.

One limitation of this study included the small sample size of only three participants. The study could have been strengthened with more participants, and more diversity of participants (such as in gender).

This study showed how critical food studies courses that include experiential learning opportunities, such as field trips, can influence student identity, and the effect intergenerational learning can have on students and their families. The researchers also noted how including deep discussions on race, ethnicity, and class in food systems in food studies classes is important to foster this learning, especially with nontraditional audiences.