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Background: Academic research examining relationships between time spent in food related activities and obesity using nationally representative data is emerging in the literature and suggests that spending more time in food related activities, including food preparation and primary eating are associated with lower probabilities of obesity or decreased BMI. The addition of race and ethnicity to the investigation of the relationship between food behaviors and obesity adds complexity to an already complicated problem. For example, Black and Hispanic women have a greater prevalence of both overweight and obesity compared to White women in the U.S. In 2009-2010, 58.6 percent of black and 40.7 percent of Hispanic women were obese (BMI>=30) compared to 33.4 percent of White women and a prevalence of 33.4 percent overall (Flegal et al., 2012). In addition, the rate of increase in obesity for Black women is higher than for White women, including severe obesity (BMI>=35) (Ljungvall and Zimmerman, 2012). There is a dearth of literature that examines food related time use in subpopulations defined by race and ethnicity. Objective: to examine time spent eating in twelve different groups of women residing in two adult households with children under the age of 18. Groups are defined by race/ethnicity and body weight, including White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic, and healthy weight, overweight, and obese classifications. Data: Data are drawn from the 2008 American Time Use Survey and the accompanying Eating and Health Module (ATUS). The ATUS provides nationally representative estimates of how, where, and with whom Americans spend their time, and is the only federal survey providing data on the full range of nonmarket activities. In the ATUS (http://www.bls.gov/tus), respondents sequentially report activities completed between 4 a.m. on the day before the interview until 4 a.m. on the day of the interview. The final sample contains 1754 households. Measures: We focus on time spent in primary eating and drinking, secondary eating, and secondary drinking, both in total for the female respondent in the household and with children. Three weight categories were created from body mass data: Healthy weight, Overweight and Obese. Respondents self-identified race and further classified themselves as being of Hispanic ethnicity. Data were coded first on race and then on ethnicity (omitting “other”). The literature highlights several variables that should be controlled for in a study relating time use with obesity. These include whether a respondent is the primary cook, immigration status, education, income/poverty, employment and wages, age, age of children and household type.

Consumer demands for labeling of genetically modified (GM) food products have the potential to dramatically impact the way food crops are produced and distributed in the U.S. In May 2014 Vermont became the first U.S. state to legally require the labeling of GM foods. This study uses several waves of data from an annual survey of Vermont households to explore consumer preference heterogeneity surrounding GM foods as well as changes in demographic and attitudinal determinants of demand for GM food labels since the year 2000. Findings suggest women, some high-income respondents, and relatively educated respondents have consistently been more opposed to GM foods over time, but that opposition to GM foods has decreased over time in other demographic groups, especially women. But at the same time, since 2000 the demand for GM labels has steadily increased among all demographic groups in Vermont, including both pro-GM and anti-GM respondents, reaching 96% support for labeling in 2013.

Building strong local and regional food systems has been suggested as a way to revitalize rural communities, preserve the rural landscape, and improve nutrition of citizens. The challenges of increasing local food consumption focus on key drivers of demand that include geographic proximity, relationships with farmers, and support for local economies. There are also complicated demographic, psychographic and behavioral attributes of local food consumers, and issues of consumer access and affordability. The purported benefits of increasing consumption of locally grown food include improved farm profitability and viability, farmland conservation, improved public health, and closer social ties between farmers and consumers. An online survey of independent grocers was conducted in 2013 to determine the viability of using this retail channel to sell more local food in Vermont. Results show potential for distributing local products through the independent retailer supply chain. The most potential exists for the newer spirits category and the historically profitable local grocery items. There is also potential for increases in sales of prepared foods and meats. And, while there is demand for other product categories, revenue streams are lower. Importantly, the location and size of independent retailers, and population density of these locations, must be considered along with knowledge of demand.

Using data from the 2010 Taste of Place survey conducted in Vermont and three metropolitan areas in the northeast United States, this study examines consumer willingness to pay (WTP), estimates price elasticity, and calculates the optimal premium rates for selected credence food attributes. The empirical results indicate that respondents’ WTP varies significantly across attributes and is closely associated with certain demographic factors. The estimated optimal premium rates and estimation procedures presented in this paper can help producers and retailers identify the optimal premium rates for each attribute in association with geographical or socioeconomic segments of consumers.

This study examines whether membership activities of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms can yield utility directly. Results based on survey data from Vermont suggest that time spent in picking up produce from a CSA farm and time spent in cleaning and putting away produce at home do yield utility directly and the direct utility from picking up is greater than that from cleaning and putting away.