本研究試圖跳脫以往的研究觀點，賦予謠言不同的面貌，問不同的問題。以往多將謠言視為一種虛假的訊息，我們期望能提出一種不同的研究進路，我們視謠言為抗議的聲音，謠言反映的是社會幽暗面，是群眾的邏輯。近年來，臺灣籠罩在食品安全的恐慌中，層出不窮的食品謠言，反映當代飲食活動的深層意涵，人們對食品安全充滿焦慮，食品謠言就是對此種恐懼與失序的表達方式。本研究將食品謠言視為將飲食意義化成風險的一種論述，此種風險論述，在抗議當代社會食物的失序以及混亂，在導引人們如何面對食物，對食物採取什麼行動。謠言除了以特定方式界定食物的風險，謠言亦建構出其間行為者的立場，人們根據所處脈絡、文化以及人際關係，生產出關於食物風險的知識，自我保護，並據以行動。

This study investigates rumors not just as a kind of false information, but as a voice of protest, a reflection of the dark side of society, and a logic of the masses. In doing so, rumors are portraited with different faces and new concerns about rumors are raised. In recent years, Taiwan has been shrouded by food panics accompanied by endless food rumors. Since people share similar confusion, anxiety and instability to food safety issues, food rumors have become a way of people's expression of their fear to food panics. Food rumors thus conceals underlying meanings of contemporary dietary culture. To reveal the meanings, we first take food rumors as a statement in which the meaning of diet is turned into a risk. The risk statements protest the disorder and confusion of food, lead people to face food panics, and form the guide for people to take actions. In addition to defining food risks in a specific way, food rumors also construct positions of actors based on their contexts, cultures, and interpersonal relationships. During the construction, actors can produce knowledge about food risks, protect themselves, and act on them.