Accessibility to Food Intolerance and Food Allergy Resources in McLean County, Illinois: An Interdisciplinary Pilot Study

Food intolerances and food allergies are evolving and diagnoses of such conditions are rapidly increasing. Yet our ancient bodies and social resources are not adapting to this dynamic environment. Accessing healthcare and allergen-free foods is necessary for all people with food allergies and intolerances, but gaps in social resources complicate acquiring these resources, especially for low-income individuals. This interdisciplinary pilot study utilizes a mixed method approach, including sociologically and anthropologically-based surveys and participant observation, respectively, and is guided by the action research approach. Data analysis illustrates major gaps in access to healthcare, specifically to dietitians, and in food acquisition from government agencies and food pantries. All grocery stores included in this study have some amount of allergen-free foods, but knowledge of these products varies drastically. The paper is concluded with a resource-neutral plan of action that aims to enhance the lives of people who suffer from food intolerances in McLean County, Illinois

Women Leaders as Change Agents: Mary Campbell’s Story of Academic and Community Leadership

Through this ethnographic study, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Mary Campbell. Mary was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and grew up in a household made up of her mom, her father, and three older brothers. Unlike families that held their daughters and sons to different gendered standards, Mary always received encouragement from her family that she could do whatever her brothers did (see Figure 1). Mary attributes her Catholic upbringing with instilling many of the values that she maintains today, such as giving back to her community. During a service project in which she participated during her senior year of high school, Mary was introduced to two nuns who had devoted their lives to helping inner-city children. From this interaction with those two influential women, Mary was inspired to pursue both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in social work with concentrations in marriage and family studies

Using County-level Data to Illuminate the Economic and Working Conditions of Women in Agriculture

The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between gender, “rurality,” and several measures of economic and work-related variables among farm operators in Midwestern counties. Despite changes in American agricultural practices that have help support shifts towards maximized production on corporate farms, family farms are still vital sources of substantial contributions to the overall agricultural production in the United States. Historically, women held a strong role in agricultural production, but today are considered by many to just be “farm-wives.” The role of women in agriculture is not well-known or regularly studied among social scientists, leaving a gap in our understanding of rural demography. The primary method of this research is secondary data analysis using the 2012 United States Censuses of Agriculture. Variables such as “net cash income” and “hired farm labor”, as well as the Rural-Urban Continuum Codes were utilized in a series of linear regressions that suggest that the gender of the operator, not the “rurality” of the operation, is consistently a stronger predictor of some key indicators of success among Midwest farm operators. This might imply an overall decreasing importance of rurality in overall agricultural production