Thai Food Culture in Transition: A Mixed Methods Study on the Role of Food Retailing

In the modern world a globalized food system has emerged, dominated by transnational food companies. Local food cultures, environments, and diets are being transformed with increased food availability and diversity reducing malnutrition worldwide; however, increased energy availability is driving an epidemic of obesity and diet-related disease. In Thailand modern food retail now controls 50% of food trade and the nutrition transition-a shift to diets higher in processed foods and animal products, fats, and sugars-is well under way. In this chapter an innovative multidisciplinary study is described, sampling from a large national cohort of community-based working Thai adults. A quantitative survey and qualitative interviews and accompanied shopping trips are combined to produce a picture of the differing food provisioning and dietary patterns among modern and traditional shoppers. Combined with cohort data this study design sheds light on the links among food retail systems, food provisioning behavior, dietary choices, and health outcomes.