Sociology

A sociologist on my plate

“Québecers seem to be of two minds when it comes to food,” comments Olivier Riopel, “and this makes it hard to control our eating habits. On the one hand we find people who spend as little time as possible over the stove, and on the other hand gastronomy is alive and well here in Québec.”

The effects of the paradox can be seen on supermarket shelves. In 15 years, sales of precooked and frozen foods have risen by between 470% and 700%, according to a recent Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food survey. Similarly, sales of vegetables, fish and tropical fruits have jumped drastically, by amounts varying from 10% to 107%.

Olivier Riopel does not hide the fact that he is wild about cooking; he even vacillated between studying liberal arts and a career in the restaurant trade when he was younger. Now he holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, and has no regrets. And he still gets a lot of enjoyment out of planning his next five­-course meal for his girlfriend or guests. No instant chicken noodle soup for him. “Taking the time to simmer a vegetable soup relaxes me,” said the 23 year old student.

He is aware that people like him are a rarity among young academics, but he’s not troubled by it. On the contrary, when the student association was looking for fund-raising activities for its graduation last year, they leapt on his suggestion: sell small jars of olive oil with basil, vinegar and spices, and rosemary honey. “Our relationship to food tells us a lot about our culture,” explains the student, who received a $17,500 scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to perform his study. In fact, “I will attempt to analyze the relationship people have with their food. I will observe how they eat, as well as meal preparation. What I want to find out is how people eat. But I also want to know how eating habits have changed in Québec in recent years.”

Oddly enough, modern Sociology has little to say about this, even though eating is intimately linked to family rituals and interpersonal relations. Mr. Riopel has found a few pages from Pierre Bourdieu and Max Weber, but overall, the sociology of eating appears rather… lean. Nevertheless, his thesis director, Barbara Thériault (a specialist from Germany), has been very receptive to the young man’s project. “In a course on Max Weber’s theory of rationalization, Olivier made a brilliant presentation on the food. We then agreed that there were grounds for taking this idea further. I am very happy about it,” she told Forum.

The methodology Olivier Riopel plans to use will be a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. First, he will question a dozen people about their food habits. The volunteers will have to tell him in fine detail what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and how these meals are integrated in their daily routines. Then, through interviews, he will try to better understand the importance of culinary habits in their life.