Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe

Thinking about the importance and significance of food respective to our health, ethnic culture and society can cause cavernous, profound, and even questionable thoughts such as: “Is food taken for granted?”, “Is specialty foods just a fad or a change in lifestyle?”, and even “Is food becoming the enemy.” Mark Bittman, an established food journalist, wrote an article called “Why take food seriously?” In this article, Bittman enlightens the reader with a brief history lesson of America’s appreciation of food over the past decades. This history lesson leads to where the social standing of food is today and how it is affecting not only the people of America, but also the rest of the world.

Walls and shelves of different treats, and Buc-ee’s even presents its own brand of Beaver Nuggets - a sweet, crunchy corn snack. And in each store, a counter the size of a small New York City apartment is overly stocked with 30 flavors beef jerky, smoked sausages and other cured meats. When standing in that area, you can smell the Bohemian garlic beef jerky, which had a pleasant salty pungency, and the cherry maple, which is a lot more subtly sweet than it sounds. Next to that, there’s a quick-service restaurant, prepping many dishes, ranging from smoked brisket to Tex-Mex tacos. Looking at the options of spicy pickled quail eggs to sweet apple pies, the food provided at Buc-ee’s is more than enough to eat for a small break on the road. The varieties and large portions of food seemed to have a meaning beyond consumption itself. As people carry to go boxes and not even open or taste some of the food during their stop, the food loses its meaning of being eaten and gains a meaning of being a souvenir. The cultural food alone provokes customers to want to keep these seemingly authentic, home cooked items, perhaps to share or give to others as novelties and gifts. With that, Buc-ee’s intends to provide more than necessary.

In “Young Hunger”, M.F.K Fisher uses food to express her lack of attention and love. For Fisher food represents comfort and helps her deal with her problems. Food is one of our three basic needs along with security and love. When Fisher writes about food she is actually writing about the hunger for love, being misunderstood by her godparents, and dealing with her problems with food. Fisher writes, “It was simply that [ her godparents] were old and sedentary and quite out of the habit of eating amply with younger people” (284).

These are expressed through the author's experience in the bread shop, where she describes that the homeless man "wears a stained blanket pulled up to his chin, and a woolen hood pulled down to his gray, bushy eyebrows. As he stands, the scent of stale cigarettes and urine fills the small, overheated room." The imagery used gives the audience the impression they've experienced the situation themselves, placing them in that situation. It emphasizes the homeless peoples' position in society and the circumstances they

When asked about the hunger problems in America one would imagine a homeless person asking and begging for food in the streets. However, what we fail to understand is that hunger is closer to us than what we think. A fellow co-worker or perhaps even the next door neighbor may be an example of someone who suffers from food insecurity. Food insecurity is when a person does not know when or where the next meal will come from. Food insecurity is most likely to develop in food deserts, a place where there is little to no fruits, vegetables and whole healthy foods. The documentary, A Place At The Table, is attempting to shed light on the argument that many Americans suffer from food insecurity because of low income and as result those individuals face various complications.

One does not necessarily expect books about food also to be about bigger ideas like oppression, spirituality, and freedom, yet Pollan defies expectations. Pollan begins with an exploration of the food-production system from which the vast majority of American meals are derived. This industrial food chain is mainly based on corn, whether it is eaten directly, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose and ethanol. Pollan discusses how the humble corn plant came to dominate the American diet through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors. The role of petroleum in the cultivation and transportation the American food supply is also discussed. A fast-food meal is used to illustrate the end result of the

McCorcle, Jill. “Her Chee-to Heart.” Food Matters: a Bedford Spotlight Reader. Boston and NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014, pp.31-36.

For this summer reading, I chose to read Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flag. The book is set in Alabama; it is mostly set in the early 1900s to the late 1980s. While in the early 1920s, this was the time of the Great Depression, a time where poverty and racism were well known. The story is told in both present, from the 1920’s - 1940’s, when the events were occurring, and past tense, when Ninny Threadgoode retold the events to Evelyn Couch, in the 1980’s. Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe begins with “The Weems Weekly” introducing the opening of the cafe ran by Ruth Jamison and Idgie Threadgoode. Then, Ninny Threadgoode and Evelyn Couch meet in the visitors lounge in a nursing home. Mrs. Threadgoode

This line not only addresses actual food, it address the fact that this country is overflowing in resources yet these resources of opportunity have not been offered to all. Our country has also never acknowledged the error of our ways. The people we have hurt, and destroyed such as the Native, and African Americans. Instead with give those in poverty minimal assistance to sustain and oppresses instead of aid to progress. “ Her proud declarations, are leaves on the wind.” We are a proud country, America, Blah-Blah-Blah we are superior.

To begin with, fourteen years old Arnold describes his life while growing up in Wellpinit. He was malnourished. Arnold was a cartoonist, who often drew food and money and wished for it to be real. However, he realized the reality of being a reservation kid living with his family on the poor Spokane Indian Reservation. In the chapter, “Why Chicken Means So Much to Me,” he shares his formula about being poor. “Poverty is empty refrigerator plus empty stomach.” (Alexie 8). He described how sometimes his family missed a meal and slept on an empty stomach. Also, being hungry makes food taste better, especially when he hadn’t eaten for

the Whistle Stop Cafe unravels through conversations that are shared by the two ladies, Evelyn

In the story The Good Food Revolution, Will Allen talks about his struggles as an African American male trying to live out his dream of sustaining a profitable farming career while doing well for the community. What started as a small roadside market is now a national business which helps low-income families gain access to healthy foods and also helps build a better community. Throughout his journey, Allen experienced countless setbacks and was exposed to several issues dealing with race. Access to healthy food is a struggle for the poor, and in particular, African Americans.

Food Inc. opens in an American supermarket and draws attention to the unnatural nature of year-round tomatoes and boneless meat. It pulls aside the curtain that is concealing the truth about food from the consumer. After the brief intro, the movie shifts its focus to the topic of fast food and its impact on the meat industries. Fast food virtually started with McDonald’s. When they decided to simplify their menu and hire employees that repeated one task over and over for minimum wage, the result was the fast food phenomenon that swept the United States, and then the world. Today, McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of beef and potatoes in the United States, and is one of the largest purchasers of pork, chicken, tomatoes, and apples. Though

The lack of dignity that these individuals feel is a direct effect of society’s disrespect for the lower class. The stereotypes of the homeless conceived by upper social classes, cause the lower class to lose any respectable role they may have in society. A homeless man in Oberlin, Ohio says, “Many of us historically invisible people, in our quest for visibility, have chosen to take the routes of organization and alliance building. Often we tend to find that our muted voices have more resonance, bass, and credibility within these snugly, institutionally sanctioned cubby holes” (Laymon). After failing to get sufficient help through

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.