Food Co-op Research Articles

Changes in unhealthy food consumption among vulnerable elementary-aged children in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: a serial cross-sectional analysis.

Several studies suggest that during the early pandemic, amidst socioeconomic instability, children from underserved families were more likely to resort to consuming cheaper, lower-quality foods with longer shelf lives. This study investigated the change in unhealthy food consumption across different phases (pre, early, mid) of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether the strength of association between unhealthy food consumption and household socioeconomic disadvantage (HSED) varied across phases of the pandemic. This study utilized serial cross-sectional data collected from low-income families enrolled in a school-based food co-op, Brighter Bites. Secondary data analysis included 5,384 surveys from families who had complete data: 3422 pre-pandemic, 944 from the early pandemic, and 1,018 mid-pandemic. Outcome measures included sugary food intake and convenience/fast food intake, each of which was operationalized as a scale using pre-validated items from the surveys. HSED was operationalized as a composite of parent employment, parent education, food insecurity, and participation in government programs; responses were categorized into low, medium, and high HSED groups for analysis. We examined the interaction between HSED and time period to explore how HSED and its association with dietary measures changed over the course of the pandemic. A significant linear negative trend, i.e., a decrease in consumption from pre-to-mid-pandemic period was seen in sugary food intake (p < 0.001), but not in convenience food intake. In data pooled across time-periods, both sugary food and convenience/fast food consumption were inversely associated with HSED, and low unhealthy food consumption was observed among high-disadvantage groups. No significant interaction between time period and HSED was observed on either scale. However, the post-regression estimates from the adjusted interaction model showed a significant association between convenience/fast food consumption and HSED in pre- and mid-pandemic periods. The study highlights the nuances of socioeconomic dynamics on the diet behaviors of children from low-income families during a natural disaster.

Beyond democratic degeneration, horizontal and liberated organization? The agonistic approach of a Belgian food co-op

This research focuses on democratic organizations and the risk of degeneration. The author studies how horizontal management may maintain a democratic organization’s stability through the examination of a Belgium food cooperative with democratic governance. The article reaches two main conclusions. First, it concludes with a simple empirical finding: horizontal organization does not necessarily prevent degeneration. However, it stresses that implementing horizontal management in democratic organizations allows for daily members’ politicization and then the organization’s pluralization. Second, it proposes a theoretical contribution for a better understanding of democratic degeneration. In a horizontally organized structure, the degeneration process differs from what is typically noted in the literature, as it is triggered by the politicization of the members. Therefore, an agonistic reinterpretation of the traditional degenerative stages is proposed: (1) fusion, (2) pluralization, (3) conflictualization, and (4) centralization.

Analyzing the Cultural Contradictions of Authenticity: Theoretical and Managerial Insights from the Market Logic of Conscious Capitalism

This research analyzes the cultural contradictions of authenticity as they pertain to the actions of consumers and marketers. The authors’ conceptualization diverges from the conventional assumption that the ambiguity manifest in the concept of authenticity can be resolved by identifying an essential set of defining attributes or by conceptualizing it as a continuum. Using a semiotic approach, the authors identify a general system of structural relationships and ambiguous classifications that organize the meanings through which authenticity is understood and contested in a given market context. They demonstrate the contextually adaptable nature of this framework by analyzing the authenticity contradictions generated by the cultural tensions between “conscious capitalism”—a market logic that encompasses both global brands and small independent businesses, such as a farm-to-table restaurant or an organic food co-op—and the elitist critique. The Slow Food movement provides a case study for analyzing how consumers, producers, and entrepreneurs who identify with conscious capitalist ideals understand these disauthenticating, elitist associations and the strategies they use to counter them. The authors conclude by discussing implications of the analysis for theories of authenticity and for managing the authenticity challenges facing conscious capitalist brands.

Implementing a Rural Natural Experiment: A Protocol for Evaluating the Impacts of Food Coops on Food Consumption, Resident's Health and Community Vitality.

Background: Local food environments are recognized by experts as a determinant of healthy eating. Food cooperatives (coop) can promote the accessibility to healthier foods and thus improve the health of the population, particularly in remote rural communities. Objective: To measure the effects of implementing a food coop in a disadvantaged community with poor access to food. We have two main research questions: (1). Does the establishment of a food coop in rural areas described as food deserts have an impact on accessibility, frequency of use, food consumption, food quality, and ultimately the health of individuals? (2). Does the establishment of a food coop in rural areas described as food deserts have an impact on food security and community vitality? Design: A natural experiment with a mixed pre/post method will be used. The sample is composed of households that came from geographically isolated communities (population: 215 to 885 inhabitants) which qualified as food deserts and located in rural areas of Quebec (Canada). All communities plan to open a food coop (in the years 2022–2023), and as their opening will be staggered over time, participants from communities with a new food coop (intervention) will be compared to communities awaiting the opening of their food coop (control). Data collection was carried out at three time points: (1) before; (2) 1 to 5 months after; and (3) 13 to 17 months after the opening of the coop. Questionnaires were used to measure sociodemographic variables, dietary intake, residents’ health, and community vitality. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community stakeholders. Results: Few natural experiments have been conducted regarding the impact of implementing food coops. Gathering concrete data on the effectiveness and processes surrounding these interventions through natural experiments will help to quantify their impact and guide knowledge users and policymakers to make more informed decisions.

SNAP participants' purchasing patterns at a food co-op during the COVID-19 pandemic: A preliminary analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the food system, increasing barriers to food access and exac­erbating food insecurity across the U.S. The Vir­ginia state government initiated a stay-at-home order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Prior to the pandemic, the Virginia Fresh Match (VFM) Nutrition Incentive Network partnered with food retail outlets to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants point-of-purchase incentives (e.g., Double Up Food Bucks, SNAP Match), which function as matching discounts on fresh fruits and vegetables (F/V). These can enable participants to increase their purchasing power and potentially reduce food insecurity. In response to COVID-19, VFM removed the limit on incentive discounts (previ­ously $10[1]) to further incentivize the purchase of fresh F/V by SNAP participants. This study sought to characterize the purchasing patterns of SNAP participants at a food co-operative (co-op) partnered with VFM before and during the Virginia stay-at-home order. A total of 654 transactions at the co-op were included. Independent t-tests were utilized to determine differences before and during the order. The results indicated a significant in­crease in the mean incentive discount received dur­ing the order (pre-shutdown=$3.95, inter-shut­down=$5.01, p=0.035); however, simultaneously there was a decrease in the mean number of fresh F/V purchased (pre-shutdown=3.08, inter-shut­down=2.39, p=0.015). Although F/V purchases decreased, the presence of unlimited point-of-pur­chase incentives at the food co-op may have helped prevent a greater decline in fresh F/V pur­chases and helped increase access to fresh F/V in this population during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long-term impact of a school-based nutrition intervention on home nutrition environment and family fruit and vegetable intake: A two-year follow-up study.

Long-term data on maintenance of intervention effects of health promotion programs targeting fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake in children is lacking. We conducted a two-year follow-up of Brighter Bites, a school-based nutrition education and food co-op intervention found to be effective in increasing child intake of F&V. A one-group, pre-post evaluation design was used to assess the two-year post intervention impact of the program on child and parent dietary intake and home nutrition environment. In 2016–2017 school year, we conducted a follow up of 262 parent-child dyads who had previously participated in Brighter Bites in a 2013–2015 evaluation study in six low-income Texas elementary schools. Child dietary intake was measured using a parent-reported food frequency questionnaire, and surveys measured parent F&V intake, and home nutrition environment. Results of a multi-level regression analysis showed that, two years post-intervention, as compared to baseline, there was a significant increase in child intake of fruit, vegetable, and fiber, and significant decreases in total fat intake and percent daily calories from sugary beverages (p < 0.05). Parent dietary data showed significant increases in fruit intake, and intake of F&V combined (p < 0.05). Changes in home nutrition environment included: increased frequency of cooking behaviors, increased usage of nutrition facts labels in making grocery purchasing decisions, and increased food availability of F&V (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates potential long-term sustained impact of a comprehensive school-based intervention among low-income children and their families.

Nourishing Progressive Ideals in Dark Ages: Boycotts at the Park Slope Food Coop in the 1970s

Consumer-based activism offered the predominantly white and middle-class members of Brooklyn's Park Slope Food Coop meaningful ways to live their politics during the alienated aftermath of the Vietnam War. In historicizing the role of solidarity efforts in the country's largest consumer-owned food cooperative, this article makes three arguments. It points to food as a valuable tool of protest that made tangible the links between the environment, workers, and consumers. It reveals the strategic capacity of solidarity campaigns, especially boycotts, to strengthen local community. Finally, it illuminates the delicate ecosystem of cooperation in a small-scale and relatively unstructured collective enterprise.

Nourishing Progressive Ideals in Dark Ages: Boycotts at the Park Slope Food Coop in the 1970s

Consumer-based activism offered the predominantly white and middle-class members of Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop meaningful ways to live their politics during the alienated aftermath of the Vietnam War. In historicizing the role of solidarity efforts in the country’s largest consumer-owned food cooperative, this article makes three arguments. It points to food as a valuable tool of protest that made tangible the links between the environment, workers, and consumers. It reveals the strategic capacity of solidarity campaigns, especially boycotts, to strengthen local community. Finally, it illuminates the delicate ecosystem of cooperation in a small-scale and relatively unstructured collective enterprise.

Understanding social economy through a complexity lens: Four case studies in Northwestern Ontario

Broadly described, the social economy refers to a series of initiatives with common values representing explicit social objectives. The roots of social economy organizations predate the neoliberal economy and are integral to the human condition of coming together in mutual support to address challenges that benefit from collective efforts. Drawing on a complexity science approach, this paper analyzes four case studies situated in Northwestern Ontario—blueberry foraging, Cloverbelt Local Food Co-op, Willow Springs Creative Centre and Bearskin Lake First Nations—to demonstrate key features of social economy of food systems. Their unifying feature is a strong focus on local food as a means to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits for communities. Their distinct approaches demonstrate the importance of context in the emergence of the social economy of food initiatives. In the discussion section, we explore how these case study initiatives re-spatialize and re-socialize conventional food system approaches.

Food-Stuff: The Phenomenon of the Park Slope Food Coop: The Stakes of De-Politicized Monotony

Food-Stuff: The Phenomenon of the Park Slope Food Coop: The Stakes of De-Politicized Monotony

Challenges of building alternatives: the experience of a consumer food co-operative in Istanbul

ABSTRACTThis paper provides an in-depth analysis of BÜKOOP (Bogazici University Consumer Co-operative), a university-based consumer food co-operative established in 2009 in Istanbul. The pessimism about alternative food movements in general and food co-operatives in particular is challenged by the case of BÜKOOP, which is a “successful” consumer food co-operative that has survived to date without sacrificing its original goals. The overall contributions afforded by the study are twofold. First, the case study speaks to the literatures on alternative food movements and on food co-ops, providing insights regarding challenges of building alternatives as well as how to deal with them. In the case of BÜKOOP, the following intertwined dimensions of the issue have emerged as of crucial importance in this regard: how to handle the tension between “ideals” and “practical necessities,” whether “small is (indeed) beautiful,” how to develop and maintain a “co-op spirit,” and what it means to be a “successful” consumer food co-op. Second, since the authors are among the founders of BÜKOOP, the study also provides a contribution to the growing literature on scholar-activist auto-ethnography.

Social Entrepreneurship and Social Movement Learning: A Reflective Account of the History of the TPSS Food Cooperative

The Problem Numerous generational and satisfaction surveys for the past several years have consistently highlighted that millennials want meaningful work and make a contribution to society. Unfortunately, most organizations, especially for-profit ones, do not offer even one of these criteria, no less both. Social entrepreneurship captures the desire for both millennial goals. Unfortunately, people with the vision and creativity to make a contribution to their community or society at large lack both the social movement learning (SML) and human resource development/organization development (HRD/OD) skills to grow and direct the organization once it gets off the ground. So it dies, or ends up focused more on “the business” aspect of the mission rather than the social aspect of the mission. The Solution There was a social movement in the world of work that emerged during the 1970s and 1980s before the term social entrepreneurship was in use. It was called the food cooperative (co-op) movement. What has reemerged in the past decade under the banner of social entrepreneurship, such as organizations that support fair-trade practices, or collect food waste and turn it into compost for community gardens, or develop learning tools for disabled children, can learn lessons from the co-op movement of the 1970s. This article will present an account of one such food co-op and what was learned from the experience of the co-op’s growth for the past 35 years that can benefit both current and future social entrepreneurships. The article will end with a discussion focused on how SML and HRD/OD can keep today’s social entrepreneurship on the path of providing meaningful work and contributing to society. The Stakeholders HRD/OD specialists, adult and community education specialists, social entrepreneurship leaders, nonprofit and community leaders, and business incubators.

Can Ancient Grains find their way in modern agriculture?

Can Ancient Grains find their way in modern agriculture?

Lessons Learned From the Implementation of Brighter Bites: A Food Co-op to Increase Access to Fruits and Vegetables and Nutrition Education Among Low-Income Children and Their Families.

Food co-op models have gained popularity as a mechanism for offering affordable, quality produce. We describe the challenges, successes, and lessons learned from implementation of a school-based program using a food co-op model combined with nutrition education to improve access to and intake of fresh fruits and vegetables among low-income children and their families. Brighter Bites is a 16-week intervention comprising of fresh produce deliveries, recipe demonstrations, and nutrition education. A mixed-methods approach was used comprising survey and focus group data collected from Brighter Bites staff, parents, and teachers. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were computed for the survey data collected. Brighter Bites was implemented across 9 schools, serving a total of 1530 predominantly low-income families in the 2013-2014 school year. Brighter Bites distributed an average 60.2 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per family per week. Lessons learned included the importance of leveraging existing infrastructure of food banks and schools to implement the program, early school and parent engagement, and incorporating strategies to track and optimize engagement. Clear expectations and reliable partnerships are keys to the delivery of the Brighter Bites program.

Evaluating a school-based fruit and vegetable co-op in low-income children: A quasi-experimental study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new school-based food co-op program, Brighter Bites (BB), to increase fruit and vegetable intake, and home nutrition environment among low-income 1st graders and their parents. This was a non-randomized controlled comparative effectiveness trial (2013–2015). Six schools received BB (n=407 parent-child dyads); six comparison schools implemented a coordinated school health program (n=310 parent-child dyads) in Houston, Texas, 2013–2015. Brighter Bites (BB) is a 16-week school-based food co-op comprising weekly distribution of fresh produce (50 servings); nutrition education in schools and for parents; and weekly recipe tastings. Measurements included parent-reported home nutrition environment surveys, and food frequency questionnaires for parent and child. Intervention effects were examined using multivariate analyses. At baseline, the sample was 71% Hispanic, 24% African American; 43% of 1st graders were overweight/obese. Children receiving BB had significant increases in intake of fruit servings (P=0.046), vegetable servings (P=0.049), and decreased intake of added sugars (P=0.014). Among parents, there were significant increases in fruit consumed (P=0.032); vegetable intake increased baseline to midpoint but not post-intervention. Among BB families, there were significant improvements in the home environment including understanding and usage of nutrition facts labels to make food purchases (P<0.05), frequency of cooking (P=0.007), rules and practices regarding eating family meals (P=0.022), serving fruits (P=0.005) and vegetables (P=0.028) at meals, and limiting portion sizes (P=0.016).In conclusion, a school-based food co-op model shows promising results in improving dietary habits and home nutrition environment among low-income families.

Why Do Farmers Collaborate with a Food Cooperative? Reasons for Participation in a Civic Food Network in Vienna, Austria

Food cooperatives can be qualified as a civic food network as they can create more embedded market relations between consumers and farmers and increase knowledge about food consumption. In this study, we explore why farmers collaborated with the consumer-initiated food co-op D’Speis in Vienna, and assess the food co-op’s potential to support a peasant mode of farming. Farmers and working members of the food co-op were interviewed. As the food co-op selected their suppliers depending on their production methods, i.e. small-scale and organic farming, all farmers showed some elements of peasant farming. The interaction between farmers and co-op members, especially regarding price negotiations and quality standards, provided farmers with more room to manoeuvre. As the food co-op’s contribution to farmers’ incomes was negligible, the food co-op mainly supported peasant farming in the sphere of social and cultural capital. However, the degree of collaboration differed substantially as more peasant farmers interacted more closely with the food co-op. The farmers and co-op members shared their criticism of the hegemonic food system, but on the other hand missed clear common goals. Both farmers and food co-op members regarded their practices as political acts for a different food system. Values deduced from these practices point towards food sovereignty, which could serve as a compass for common political actions.

Race and Ethnicity in Food Systems Work

Race and Ethnicity in Food Systems Work

The Edible South: The Power of Food and the Making of an American Region by Marcie Cohen Ferris (review)

Reviewed by: The Edible South: The Power of Food and the Making of an American Region by Marcie Cohen Ferris Mark Sohn The Edible South: The Power of Food and the Making of an American Region. By Marcie Cohen Ferris. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014. Pp. xiv, 477.) The Edible South is a historical and cultural survey of the culinary practices of American southerners. The southerners in this book are tenants, sharecroppers, small farmers, and plantation owners. They are black and white, or slave and slaveholder, with the different life chances of the races coming through on page after page. The content is within the context of the southern states, the South as a region, the United States, and to a lesser extent, the world. While on the one hand this is a food history, it is also a history of slavery, segregation, and white domination. The author, Marcie Cohen Ferris, successfully describes the contribution of blacks to southern food. Her work comes across as both an apology and a thank you to African Americans. And she clearly achieves her goal of describing southern food and the place of food in southern life. She discusses food traditions at farm homes, settlement schools, [End Page 105] dinners on the grounds, and plantation mansions. She presents southern brands and labels: Martha White (flour), Piggly Wiggly (grocery chain), Coca-Cola, Dukes Mayonnaise, and Aunt Jemima. Starting in about 13,000 BC and continuing to the present, Ferris guides readers through the region’s culinary history, without presenting a single recipe. A professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, what she lacks in recipes, she makes up in excellent footnotes and a detailed index. They take up 142 of the 477 pages. Her use of almost 100 “old” black-and-white pictures and the generous amount of white space given by the publisher make this large format text a pleasant, but academic, read. For a recipe-driven approach, one might read An Irresistible History of Southern Food: Four Centuries of Black-Eyed Peas, Collard Greens, and Whole Hog Barbecue by Rick McDaniel (2011). McDaniel presents food history of the same region through 150 recipes. With McDaniel, readers might cook their way through history. Ferris, on the other hand, guides readers through the region, both its history and people. With all those references, about 1000, as well as the fairly complex writing style, this book would be ideal for a graduate class in food history. It includes a history of the dominant crops, cotton and tobacco, and farm tenants. Those tenants, Ferris says, lived on a diet of corn and salt pork—23 percent corn and 40 percent salt pork—according to her footnoted sources on page 101. Ferris completes the book with a discussion of communes, intentional communities, and cooperative farms (or co-op farms) that thrived from the 1970s to the present. She presents the impact of feminism, and she features feminists who established communes. She brings the food co-op movement and food-buying clubs up to the present. Finally, she ends the book with a chapter on New Southern Cuisine, as it developed soon after the French movement, nouvelle cuisine, came to the fore. So, yes, Ferris successfully describes the development of southern food and its social history. But if you are looking for a recipe of any kind or a description of collards, you won’t find it here. Ferris puts grits and gravy in context, but she does not tell you how to make them. Copyright © 2015 West Virginia University Press

Feasibility and Acceptability of Brighter Bites: A Food Co-Op in Schools to Increase Access, Continuity and Education of Fruits and Vegetables Among Low-Income Populations.

Intake of fruits and vegetables (F&V) continues to be low in children in the United States. The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot feasibility evaluation of Brighter Bites, a school-based food co-op to provide access to fresh F&V and nutrition education to low-income children and their families. Brighter Bites is a 16-week school-based food co-op consisting of: (1) Weekly distribution of 50-60 servings of fresh F&V; (2) Weekly bilingual parent handouts and recipe demonstrations; and (3) implementing CATCH, a coordinated school health program in schools. Brighter Bites was pilot tested using a pre-post evaluation design in one charter school in Houston, TX, USA (n = 57 3rd grade parent-child dyads; 94.1 % Hispanic, 91 % low-income). Evaluation, at baseline, midpoint, and post-intervention, included self-reported child and parent surveys on psychosocial factors, dietary habits and mealtime practices. Pearson's Chi square test, Fisher's exact-test or paired t test were used to determine changes pre- to post-intervention (at p < 0.05). Process data using parent surveys, teacher surveys, attendance logs, and produce cost data were used to determine feasibility and acceptability of program. Participants received on average 61 servings of F&V weekly for 16 weeks at the cost of $4.31/family/week. Results showed significant increases in child reported self-efficacy, outcome expectations and attitudes towards consuming F&V (p < 0.05). We found significant increases in child exposure to F&V and child preference of various F&V from baseline to post-intervention (p < 0.05). Parent surveys showed significant improvements in mealtime practices at home: decrease in children eating while watching TV, increase in eating dinner with the family, less fast food, less sugary drinks with meals, more children asking for F&V as snacks. Process data showed 98 % retention rate and high parent acceptability of program components. Brighter Bites is a promising strategy to increase F&V access and education in low-income populations using existing infrastructure of schools and food banks.

From physics to revolution and back.

As a boy, I was not interested in science; I was interested in girls. Upon graduating from high school in Hong Kong, I did not particularly want to work in science; I just wanted a job, because I rarely left the dinner table with my stomach full. For graduate school, I went to Columbia University with a scholarship. There, I was surrounded by Nobel laureates—Isidor Isaac Rabi, Polykarp Kusch, Tsung-Dao Lee—and laureates-in-waiting: James Rainwater, Jack Steinberger, Leon Lederman. The most important moment in my physics education was when I noticed Lee standing next to me in the men's room, peeing. Nobel laureates are ordinary people, I learned, just like you and me. At Columbia, I was influenced by the student antiwar movement and the Cultural Revolution that was raging in China. I and several others (including Peter Kwong, now at Hunter College, and Jean Quan, who would become the mayor of Oakland, California) started the Chinatown Food Co-op; our aim was to “serve the people.” I wasn't interested in solving small problems; I wanted to save the world, to return to China and join the revolution. ![Figure][1] “I wanted to save the world, to return to China and join the revolution.” ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT NEUBECKER I finally made it in 1978, at the beginning of the country's “reform and opening up” movement. I was assigned to do physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Physics. In China, the spring of 1978 is called “Science Spring” because for 10 years science had come to a virtual halt. Basic science was banned. My colleagues and I resumed the work with great enthusiasm; if China was in ruins, we figured, the best option was to fix it. I helped open the door to the West, discovering bowlics—a type of liquid crystal—and publishing the first paper by mainland-only authors ever to appear in Physical Review Letters . We did not have journals—only copies of journals—and there was just one Chinese-made copying machine in the institute, which broke down every half hour or so. Everything was scarce, including tofu and writing paper, but we were not troubled by the minimal calories available to fuel us. We worked diligently, day and night, except on Sundays. Sundays were for washing clothes, by hand. China started sending scientists to the West—many to the United States—as visiting scholars and to international conferences. Among China's billion people were dozens of notable physicists, but the number of excellent ones was smaller; I was the only government-approved doctoral mentor in liquid crystal physics. Physics research can't be learned properly by reading books or papers; it should be learned by working alongside masters. China did have a few masters—those who had been trained in the West before 1949—but they were all busy establishing institutes or working on the atomic bomb. Today, China is making progress scientifically, but there is still some distance to go. The Cultural Revolution sacrificed a whole generation of scientists. Among all the problems this created, it led to a scarcity of experts who could act as academic judges. Qualitative assessment was replaced by counting papers—a poor substitute. The damage lingers. Lately, and happily, China's priorities have shifted toward innovation. Innovation is not easy, though, in a culture that for 2000 years has prided itself on taking the middle course in everything, for the sake of harmony and stability. It's the opposite of the Socratic method that's at the heart of Western science. Great scientists like Galileo show that breakthroughs can be made even in environments that emphasize orthodoxy—but then no one was counting Galileo's papers. China has very good scientists, but the country needs to find its way of doing innovative science. After 6 years, I left China and returned to the United States—not for scientific or political reasons, or due to material want, but for family. During a visit to the United States with our daughter, my wife announced that she intended to stay. Forced to choose between the motherland and a daughter, I chose my daughter. I left China on good terms. [1]: pending:yes