ABSTRACT
Everyday food choices in the foodservice system continue to be investigated extensively from varied perspectives. Economics of food decisions, one such perspective, can benefit from a guiding framework to enhance a deeper understanding of the principles guiding food choice decisions. An underlying unit of food choice analysis is the transaction of buying or selling food. Such transactions present the decision maker with choices. Therefore, food decisions are the result of tradeoffs that appear within such choices. These tradeoffs are based on the costs and benefits associated with transactions. In this paper, we present a framework that describes food decisions as a tradeoff of cost and benefits that the decision-maker must resolve. The framework also incorporates the approach decision-makers take for information processing. In doing so, we draw upon the theories of informed choice and bounded rationality. How we evaluate the food choice transaction can help us better understand food decision dynamics. The adoption of this framework in studies of food decision processes and outcomes can be informative to optimize individual outcomes (such as health, utility) and consequences that will impact the broader market.
