Why research the food environment?
Food is something everyone has experience with. Investigating the food environment doesnt require special knowledge or tools. It, therefore, may be less intimidating than researching a traditional subject such as ecology or physics. More importantly, the food environment directly impacts the health and well being of students. Eating behavior isnt solely based on the willpower of the individual. The food environment has an important impact on what students eat every day as it determines what choices they have both in the school and in their neighborhood. Student food choices are a direct result of the food that is available but the students, themselves, have little power to determine what is provided. By conducting research on the food environment, teachers and students can potentially provide compelling evidence for the need to change their food environment to increase the health of the students. Why action research vs. a formal research project? Action research is useful and particula
