Most teenagers do not know how food is produced
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Too many teenagers and young people in the UK do not know how most food is produced
Call them stupid, uneducated or not from the world, but one thing is clear: too many teenagers and young people in the UK do not know how most food is produced. These results were found in a recent review by the LEAF, a British charitable organization for the protection of the environment and agriculture.
During the survey, 2000 consumers were asked to associate images of food and animal or grain crops from which the product was produced. Despite the fact that 43% of young consumers aged 16 to 23 consider themselves knowledgeable about food production, this circle of young people showed the greatest lack of knowledge about food production.
"We often hear that our knowledge about food production is declining, but this new study shows how bad the situation really is," says Carolina Drummond, executive director of LEAF.
Less than half of this young generation of consumers know that butter is produced from milk, and milk comes from dairy cows. Among adults, 58% know how butter is produced, but about 2% strongly believe that oil is produced from pigs or chickens.
Only 40 percent of young people were able to tie milk to a cow. Even more shocking was the fact that about 7% associated the production of milk with wheat.
Other interesting research results:
- 33% of respondents did not know that eggs are produced by chickens, 11% said eggs are made from wheat or corn flour
- 36% that they did not know that bacon is made from pigs
- One in 10 respondents thought that the young potatoes grow less than a month
- Every fifth stated that jam is made from cereals
- Young people are sure that meat cows exist not only for the production of beef, 68% said that they produce milk for human consumption, another 1% of the respondents reported that meat cows are carrying eggs.
[