The State Policies and Changes Of Food Consumption Patterns; The study of Households in Rasht City from 2005 - 2020: Results of a Qualitative Analysis

Throughout the history, food and its supply has been the most important concern of human beings. It is obvious that the food system of any country is affected by the cultural, economic and social policies in which the states have a direct influence. The aim of this article is to conduct a qualitative study of the state policies and their effects on the changes in food consumption patterns among the households in Rasht city. It is conducted by a qualitative method and phenomenological approach and the data were collected through an in-depth interview and observation. The sampling method was purposeful and 21 citizens of Rasht city were interviewed. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed using MAXQDA software. The findings show that the negative consequences of state policies in the 2000s and 2010s dominated the positive consequences. Although the economic and social policies caused many problems for the people with different levels, they also led people towards the optimal economic consumption of the goods. Investigations of the changes occurred in the food consumption pattern among the Rasht citizens show that the categories of demographic and cultural structure, lifestyle change, self distinguishing, the availability of food centers, and the media play a key role in the tendency of citizens towards eating outside. On the other hand, the financial challenges and economic capacity, relatively high food security and adherence to the traditional culture are the reasons tending people towards having the traditional foods.