Take politics off the table

A study of Italian youth's self-managed dairy restriction and healthy consumerism

Bibliographic Data

ID3067745
AuthorsNiccolò Morelli (0000-0001-8916-8640, Catholic University of the Sacred Hearth, Italy), Tommaso Vitale (0000-0003-0901-5754, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume59
Issue4
Pages679-703
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science Information (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0539-0184 • E-ISSN: 1461-7412
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0539018420973596
OpenAlexW3111027072
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited43

The last 20 years have been characterized by very different dynamics: massive reduction of milk and, to a lesser extent, dairy consumption; fewer positive attitudes towards milk; no reclaims for affordable, public dairy production; the development of a large conversation about the presumed risks associated with the intake of lactose; and semantic battles on non-dairy 'milk' alternatives. These new attitudes haven't been systematically studied. We explore here the links between milk/dairy consumption, health concerns, and trust in medical expertise. Through an online survey of highly educated youth in Italy (N=378) we have investigated: milk and dairy consumption; attitudes towards items carried out by vegan movements; attitudes towards medical expertise and trust in counseling by general practitioners. Results show that anti-speciesist and vegan movements are very little known among consumers. Data display very limited impact of the ideas and concepts of anti-milk movements within our sample. The results highlight that milk consumption shrinking is due to health concern and an unfavorable perception of dangerous consequences in lactose intake, and additionally to a general distrust towards medical expertise and evidence-based arguments. Indeed, we observe a tendency to self-diagnose intolerance/allergies, questioning the role of physicians and medical knowledge in advising for dietary choices among highly educated youth. The analysis of the patterns of consumption and motives clearly shows that health considerations, not politics, are behind the Italian youth's dairy restrictions. Healthy consumerism emerges as a concept fitting better than political consumerism for interpreting our results

Business · Consumerism · Distrust · Environmental health · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Marketing

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access