A Family Day At Los Angeles

When studying food in its entirety: its classification, structure, and the way it’s utilized, it becomes obvious that food is closely tied to food-getting strategies; social, democratic, and political constitution; intimate ties of social relationships; ecological vigor and vitality; and the physical and mental wellness of an individual and group. Besides water, food is the most fundamental element of life that we need for our species to survive and thrive; everybody has an appetite for food. Food is a cultural artifact that is central to human life, identity, and bonds we share with our communities. As an artifact, food plays a significant and meaningful role in our everyday connections with “nature through culture,” that translates

In Jessica Harris’s “The Culinary Season of my Childhood” she peels away at the layers of how food and a food based atmosphere affected her life in a positive way. Food to her represented an extension of culture along with gatherings of family which built the basis for her cultural identity throughout her life. Harris shares various anecdotes that exemplify how certain memories regarding food as well as the varied characteristics of her cultures’ cuisine left a lasting imprint on how she began to view food and continued to proceeding forward. she stats “My family, like many others long separated from the south, raised me in ways that continued their eating traditions, so now I can head south and sop biscuits in gravy, suck chewy bits of fat from a pigs foot spattered with hot sauce, and yes’m and no’m with the best of ‘em,.” (Pg. 109 Para). Similarly, since I am Jamaican, food remains something that holds high importance in my life due to how my family prepared, flavored, and built a food-based atmosphere. They extended the same traditions from their country of origin within the new society they were thrusted into. The impact of food and how it has factors to comfort, heal, and bring people together holds high relevance in how my self-identity was shaped regarding food.

Food is essential in sustaining good health and strength. However, this was a major concern for the Sanchez family. Consequently, this family existed in a more modern time when so social workers and welfare embraces a more modern systematic nature. However, if one should picture this said family in a different era such as the centuries below 19. This family would have fallen into the

Tradition has been said to mirror a way of life. Observation has concluded that participants in tradition “actively construct as well as reflect culture and community” (Sacks 275). For most people in the 21st century, tradition only reveals itself during special times or certain seasons. For others it is simply a way of life. The foodways of Mexicans and Native Americans are of particular interest in this study because of the food that grew from necessity and is maintained as sacred or reserved for only special occasions. The tamale is one such food. Significantly changed and altered throughout history it has remained a

In “Immigrants” by Pat Mora, they are struggling to achieve acceptance and help their family have a better future. The parents are trying so hard to associate their children with “American traditions” and still are left wondering if they will be accepted in America. In my opinion nothing is worth loosing your actual culture or values. They are literally willing to do whatever it takes to transform heir children into American traditions. “Feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie” (Line 2 Mora). Both Hot dogs and Apple pie are both American food and American culture. Wait there is more they are even considering changing the names of their children. Buying them blonde dolls and football cleats both have typical American

When first beginning this assignment, I thought of choosing Vietnamese food because I miss having Vietnamese food for most of my meals, which was a luxury when I lived at home with my parents. Also, I have not fully prepared a Vietnamese dish or meal myself, as cooking never appealed to me. However, as I thought more about it, I would just be returning to the comforts of what I had already known instead of challenging myself and expanding my experiences. Eventually, I decided to pursue learning more about the Hispanic food culture because I greatly enjoy Hispanic food, whether it is Americanized Hispanic foods such as burritos or enchiladas from restaurants like Taco Bell or La Paz, or traditional, authentic foods I have had at my Hispanic friends’ houses. I love exploring the infinite variety of ethnic dishes this world has to offer, but I do not pay much attention exactly to what I am eating, what is in it, and how to prepare it myself. This assignment gave me the opportunity to go out and adventure into Guerrero’s Market on 11th and G street. I brought David with me, a friend from Honduras who has exposed me to most of the authentic hispanic foods I have eaten. I decided to make ceviche, and the two ethnic ingredients not used in mainstream American cuisine I selected were avocados and tostadas.

The Deadly Migias cooking program is enabling the Indigenous women to not only develop healthier lifestyles, it is changing their perspectives and attitudes of nutrition. According to Brimblecombe (2014 pp.392) traditionally knowledge about food is passed from adults to children in their community. Children grow up learning from their families and the strong influence of the family environment. Through these relationships they were able to develop their knowledge on food, food preferences and eating, and this was generally the role of the mother and grandmother in the family. The Deadly Migias cooking program the women are able to become confident again in their knowledge of these “new foods” and once again be able to take this information

Millions of people come to America, the most diverse country in the world, in search for the American Dream. Everyone has their own of American Dream leading them to success. Culture shapes our way of life and is learned through the society that we were born into. Many different kinds of immigrants come to America including white, black, rich, poor, religious, etc. Each have their own way of life and their own customs. Coming to America will be a different lifestyle and it will take time to get used to adopting the various mannerisms. Being born into a certain culture can determine one’s values and behaviors. Traditions change when entering a new setting. Immigrants coming to America have to assimilate to a great degree in an economic and social

Acculturation often occurs at different rates, and with different aims for different groups of people. When people migrate from their birth country they can lose their sense of identity, and are forced to form another one in their new country. People are forced to adapt to a new way of living with a foreign culture, which is not always an easy process. Like oppression, acculturation is a two-part

One of the families assessed for this assignment was a first generation Mexican American family originally from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The family consists of a young couple and two young children. Religiosity plays a big part in the lifestyle of this Mexican American family and this was evident in the rosaries worn by the couple. The couple regularly attends a local Roman Catholic Church for spiritual renewal and to pray for good health. Like other Catholics, they believe sickness is a sign of spiritual weakness and whenever individuals are sick members of the family pray for them (O’Brien, 2011). The family strongly prefers to prepare its own food, and its favorite dishes are traditional Latin American cuisines such as Chile, tamales and tortillas. Latin American cuisines are high in calories, high in salt, cooked in grease or deep fried, and contain lots of flour. When the family cannot cook they usually eat out, mostly in Mexican restaurants. Mexican Americans have a strong attachment to their families so they talk to their parents and siblings on an almost daily basis. Members of the family interviewed also communicate with their cousins, uncles, and aunts back in Mexico through online social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Communication between the couple and with other family members is almost always in Spanish.

“Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change” (Boundless, 2016). Immigrants are going to adjust to the new circumstances and soon be shaped to their environment. In the United States if you were to visit a heavily populated city you would see the interactionist theory at work. You would find several different restaurants that individuals have impacted with their cultural diversity, many who have been around for several years and are trusted by the vast community. For the most part several of those restaurants were founded and created by immigrant

Throughout each immigrant generation, there has been hope to achieve better. Some have increased their chances of improving their lives from leaving behind cultural values, and adapting to their new culture providing better chances of living a better life. Balancing both cultures can make one lean closer to another side and forget to equal out both sides. In this process of identification, it can bring problems to kids from all generations to find themselves in this new society. This can affect their educational, social, and economic life, but be a push to work hard and achieve for greater. Some improve for the better while others stay in the same road they began in. Each generation grows a new concept of life, whether it deals with changing their life completely and starting their own culture.

The question of identity is always a difficult one for those living in a culture or group, yet belonging to another. This difficulty frequently remains in the mind of most immigrants, especially the second generations who were born in a country other than their parents. Younger generations feel as if they are forced to change to fit the social standards despite previous culture or group. Furthermore those who wish to adopt a new identity of a group or culture haven't yet been fully accepted by original members due to their former identity.

In this age of globalization, people are moving from their birth countries to other countries to improve their lives. In the case of the US, we have immigrants from almost any corner of the world thus leading to food diversity. While the diversity is a good thing, people often do not change their eating habits despite knowing that the lifestyle in their new home country is completely different from their previous country. In addition, they do not change food habits to preserve their culture and identity. However, if they do not modify their diet as per the new living conditions, they might

There were four acculturation strategies that was proposed for minority migrants, depending on their level of cultural awareness: (a) assimilation occurs when individuals abandon their cultural identity in favour of adopting the new culture, (b) marginality occurs when individuals abandon their cultural identity and yet have little interest in adopting the new culture, (c) integration occurs when individuals maintain their cultural identity as well as adopting some characteristics of the new culture, and (d) separation occurs when individuals maintain their original cultural identity and do not adopt the new culture (Heggins & Jackson,