Critical Incident: Eating Food Culture

Ever since I was born culture has played an important role in just about every aspect of my life. One important aspect of my life which has specifically been influenced by culture is food, especially having grown up in a predominantly Hispanic family where food is at the center of life. Yet, it was not until my English class focused on food injustice that I began to realize the magnitude of culture 's impact on food. Without even meaning to I began to draw comparisons between food access and quality in the United States versus in Mexico due to the discussions in class revolving around that subject. While I could note many key differences between access to quality food in the two countries I was unsure of the importance of these differences to the larger discussion at hand. Eventually, I was able to see by comparing the lifestyles of Mexican towns against U.S. cities one can clearly see that American conversations about food justice and access are missing a key socio-cultural element.

In an article written by Amy S. Choi entitled, “What Americans can Learn From Other Food Cultures,” Choi discusses food in ways that pertain to ones culture. Today, our younger generation has become less thankful for simple, traditional foods and more wanting of foods prepared in less traditional ways, almost as if, “the more outlandish the better.” Choi mentioned in her article that, “those slightly younger have been the beneficiaries of the restaurant culture exploding in Shanghai” (Choi, Amy. “What Americans Can Learn From Other Food Cultures.” Ideastedcom. 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 17 June 2015) being from America I agree with her statement. Food in many cultures has become a status symbol; I believe that dining in expensive restaurants that serve

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

The essay “Eat Food: Food Defined,” from Michael Pollan’s 2008 book In Defense of Food was written to address the American general public about the food industry. Pollan focuses on relatable topics as examples, such as family, common food items, and common belief that everyone wants to be healthy. The essay brings across Pollan’s point by establishing his credibility, explaining why this is important to us, and telling us how to react to the given facts. Pollan makes the readers inquire how we define food by drawing our attention to the importance of examining our food before eating it.

Some of the deadliest places when left stranded without proper supplies are deserts. The most popular ones are the Sahara, Arabian, Mojave, and Food. Food? Yes, as much as people say that’s nonsense, a food desert is an occurring anomaly that impacts many people around the world, and in the United States. A food desert is a place where people do not have access to natural healthy food, however they do have access to cheap unhealthy food. Those areas today tend to be densely populated urban communities that again do not have immediate access to a grocery store or fresh healthy food. The occurrence of food deserts in the United States is unacceptable, for a first world country, and the more the government continues to ignore the problem, our country will continue to grow more unhealthy and add to the astronomical increase in obesity. The United States Government needs to do more to regulate the areas considered food deserts, and hold fast food industries accountable for providing the correct nutritional information needed on their products.

In the Introduction, to “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, Mary Maxfield argues that food and the way we consume it isn’t something that should define the obesity epidemic in America. A controversial issue discussed has been whether we should have theories or ideas on which diet works best to increase weight loss or whether we should have any diets to begin with. On one hand, Maxfield argues against the Health Professor Michael Pollan, who proposes an idea to reduce the problem of unhealthy eating in America, when he himself chastises scientists and other health doctors who suggests different diets. On the other hand, she introduces that food is just food and doesn’t need to be differentiated since one may seem

Americans love to eat, but do we actually understand how to eat healthy? In today’s world, everyone wants to be healthy, nonetheless, it seems no one knows how. With the nutritional knowledge of present-day, society’s health should be getting better instead of worse. However, there are so many different ideas regarding food that the public may feel confused. Michael Pollan points out many worthy causes in his book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto; he tends to overuse quotes and research and uses unseemly portrayals, but he also implements excellent information to make a valid argument.

Food and eating as we know are important for our body maintenance and growth process, but can we eat anything we like and trust it? As long as you live in the Western side of this world, you cannot always trust what you digest. As Michael Pollan mentioned, most of the Western food is processed food, which you cannot trust. Pollan is focusing on getting rid of Western diet in the United States and guiding Americans to start eating healthier, and having better eating habits. I agree with his idea because the Western diet is threatening our health and it might become uncontrollable in the coming years. Replacing processed food, and changing bad eating habits can save Americans from many dangerous health problems they are suffering from.

Sociology is the study of society and people. Food and food ways are often elements associated with particular societies and therefore, studying such a topic can offer valuable insight into the ways of that society and the people who live in it. Although eating is a vital part of survival, with whom, how and where we eat are not. Studying such ways can illustrate and represent the identity of a person or group. The nature of people and their beliefs can be indicated when analysing their food habits. Who individuals eat with is a particularly revealing factor into gaining an understanding of their identity, culture and society (Scholliers P 2001). For this reason commensality is a term frequently used in sociological research concerning

Going to the grocery store when I am hungry has always been a disastrous idea. Usually after those kinds of trips, I come out with too much food. Those foods claim that they are healthy; low in fat, low in sugar, high in protein, and they have all the vitamins that I need to replenish my body after a hard workout. Thus, I usually don’t feel too guilty about eating them, and I tell myself those snacks are healthier than eating at the dining hall. However, I now realize that I have fallen into the trap of buying and consuming the “foodlike substitutes” of which Michael Pollan talks about in his essay “Eat Food: Food Defined” (9).

During the first week of class, four readings were assigned. One of the readings, “Food and Eating: Some Persisting Questions,” by Sidney Mintz, discusses the paradoxes of food. Although food seems like a straightforward concept, it is actually extremely complicated. According to Mintz, there are five paradoxes, including: the importance of food to one’s survival, yet we take it for granted, how people stick to their foodways, but are willing to change, whether the government should allow people to freely choose food or if they should protect the people through regulations, the difference in food meanings according to gender, and the morality of eating certain foods. All of these paradoxes give people questions to think about, making this an extremely philosophical look at food studies. It also mentions that food must be viewed through the cultural context that it is in, which became important in “The Old and New World Exchange”, by Mintz, and “Maize as a Culinary Mystery”, by Stanley Brandes. These discuss the diffusion of foods after 1492 in different ways. The Mintz reading gives an overview of all of the foods spread from the Americas to the Old World, and vice-a-versa, but does not go terribly in depth on the social changes and effects of specific foods. Brandes focuses on the cultural impact of specifically maize on the European diet, noticing that most Western Europeans shunned it. He studies the cultural implications of this, concluding that maize was not accepted

In every culture, habits involving food such as, choosing, cooking, and eating, play a significant role. Eating is understood and communicated in various symbolic ways because it is never a purely biological activity. The consumption of food is always infused with meaning. People with adequate food resources use food not only as a means for survival but a means for communication. Food is symbolic throughout the world in modern human history. The Boston Tea Party was about taxes, not tea. The turkey on Thanksgivings symbolizes the celebration between the Pilgrims and Native Americans. The Great Depression is symbolized with pictures of bread lines and people selling apples.

The family I visited consisted of a mother, father, and daughter. They all greeted me very warmly. I followed their lead and made observations as to whether I should take my shoes off or leave them on. They provided a shoe rack where everyone already placed their shoes. I took mine off and placed them on the rack. After greeting me, the mother and daughter disappeared into the kitchen. The father guided me to the dining table and explained that dinner was almost ready. We sat at a round table that had a large wall hanging of Buddha. The daughter brought out some tea which she served first to her father and then me. The daughter went back to the kitchen. After a few minutes the mother and daughter emerged carrying large plates of food. The mother placed a plate of chicken, beef, and shrimp in the center of a flat glass wheel located at the center of the table. The daughter placed a bowl of rice, saucer, and chopsticks (including a fork just for me) in front of every place

Food brings everyone together no matter what culture you are in. Culture is a way of life shared by a group of people, beliefs, customs, symbols and etc. Many families can spend time with each other by preparing and eating dinner at the table, going out for dinner or just celebrating holidays.

The way we eat food has changed drastically in the past few decades. When I think of the process of how our food is made and produced, I typically think of a farm with animals laying around, eating grass, content with everything. Also, I picture ripe red tomatoes, apples, and sweet smelling fruit being pick right when it is ripened so it can get to our grocery stores. This is typically how most people picture our food coming from a farm. It is how they want us to picture it, because it is a happy image: but, it is far from the reality of how things are.