Foer Eating Animals

People may have different views about foods depending on their cultural background. Providing range of familiar foods can help make individual feel at home, safe and welcomed.

During this week’s class, I learned even more about where our food comes from with the conclusion of the movie Farmland, our class discussions, and readings. What I took away most from this week was how the societal image of farming and food production is typically not black and white, and how it’s very different from how we imagine our food is produced. The selections from Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma were particularly interesting to me.

Our views of food and what is and is not considered food also divide us. Michael Pollan ("The Omnivore's Dilemma") tells us that even though the French eat fattier food, they have a better relationship with food and are in turn slimmer and healthier. On the other side, we have Americans have a negative relationship with food, constantly dieting and eating low-fat or low-carb and have an obsession with eating healthily, we are in turn not healthy at all. Our ideas of what is food varies depending on culture, socioeconomic status, race, and other factors. While eating dogs in some Asian countries is completely normal, many Americans can't imagine eating dogs, the loyal loving companion to us humans (Wu 2002). As stated earlier, the different classes have differing opinions on what is and isn't ok food to eat. While lower class individuals aren't as shocked by what the upper class eat, the upper class can be shocked at what the lower class eat; processed junk food, fast food, and industrially farmed fruits and vegetables are feared by some people of the upper class. As Counihan (1999) states, food is a commodity to be bought and sold and to be used to emphasize differentiation between groups of people. But what about people who don't buy or sell food? Freegans are glorified dumpster divers, getting all their food from the dumpsters. Freegans are looked down upon and belittled by others for

Eating animals is normal for any carnivore, but abuse to these animals is unacceptable. There are religions and traditions when it comes to eating and killing animals, usually to be viewed sacred and not like they are nothing. Humans have morals and traditions that separate barriers with farm animals and pets.

For those with a taste for muckraking exposés, documentarian Robert Kenner dishes out the dirt on the U.S. food industry, from bad seeds to hog heaven and beyond. If this movie doesn’t make you want to drop your burger and run for the border, nothing will.

In the book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, Pollan introduces some very interesting ideas and positions relating to the how and what we eat. Pollan poses the questions: Is America eating the right kind of food? Is what we are eating healthy? And, where is our food coming from, how is it treated, and what is in the food we eat? Throughout the book Pollan places his own argument alongside the answers to these questions. He moves the reader to reflect on the evidence presented about eating organic foods rather than processed foods. Pollan also puts forth a compelling, and strong argument that contains ideas, like food is of higher quality and has better taste when it is not

“Eating Animals” is written by Jonathan Safran Foer. This book was published on November 2, 2009. Jonathan Safran Foer is an American writer who is known for his novel, “Everything Is Illuminated”. In this book, Jonathan believes that those who eat meat are involved in the most horrifying crimes committed against animals. Foer Cleary admires his grandmother, who believes that you can never have too much food. Throughout the book, Foer also describes his grandmother’s favorite dish, chicken with carrots, even though he is a vegetarian. Foer cannot eat something that seems to cause him some distress. Throughout the book, Foer presents the conflict between cultural traditions involving meat traditions he wishes to share and his views as a vegetarian himself. Anyone who is a meat eater or even an animal lover, this is a must read book. This book is written with clarity, force and passion that will lead anyone to think carefully about eating animals and where it comes from.

Amidst giant supermarkets and effortlessly accessible meals, Americans eat whatever is in the grocery store. But the question remains, where did that “cage-free” chicken really come from? Americans are lost in their understanding as to where their food actually comes from. The author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan, asserts that Americans are facing a modern-day version of the omnivore’s dilemma wherein they don’t know what to eat. This is because of fickle science that influences confused Americans, America’s lack of a food culture, and people’s unfamiliarity with the food process.

I read this article called “The Argument of Eating Dog” written by John Sutter. In the article, Sutter argues that the treatment of the dogs is cruel, that people living in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam shouldn’t eat such intelligent and lovable creatures. I do agree that dogs shouldn’t be treated cruelly on their way to slaughter. However, this is happening in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Here in America, we find it repulsive and unthinkable to eat a dog, just as Muslims find it disgusting to eat a pig.

Kateman claims that despite increased encouragements to remove animal proteins, primarily meats, from the human diet, consumptions rates remain inexorable. For example, the article mentions that “Americans are eating less beef, but chicken sales are on the rise” (Kateman). Additionally, while China pledges to reduce meat consumption by 50 percent, emergent, developing nations anticipate an increase of animal product consumption through meat and dairy. Increasing incomes and population growth correlate with the flourishing trend of consuming a primarily animal-based diet.

In class, an interesting topic brought up was how some foods Americans find disgusting are seen as delicious in others. In Southeast Asia, a dish called Balut is common and served with beer on the side. This plate consist of a developed duck embryo boiled alive and eating in its egg. The ideal Balut is seventeen to twenty-one days old. It is easy to say that most people in the United States would find that revolting. Blodplӓtter, blood pancakes made of milk, rye flour, dark molasses, onion, butter, and pork blood is a popular Swedish food. Like mentioned in chapter seven of our class textbook,

The harm could be the loss of the taste aversion, by the predators. If the animal eats a prey, which only mimic the appearance of a harmful one, it will not associate the alert aspect with a very strong discomfort, bad taste, and harmful food item. It affects the animal that is being copied, because the predator may feed of it at some

Religion is another external factors influencing food habits and food culture. Different culture has different religion, different religion has different custom and food is an important part of a religion. Some religion such as Muslims, consider eating pork as a dirty food, and people should not eat them. Buddhism do not recommend members to eat meat, because they think that is cruel to kill an animal and that we should respect them so we should not eat them. Therefore, a lot of Buddhism followers are vegetarians. Hinduism followers do not eat cow because they think that cows are scarce. People who believe in a religion will follow the rules of the religion, so this will influence their food habit. Some religions do not have rules about food, but they have specific food to eat.

This paper will discuss the multifaceted relationships among food, and culture. I will be looking at the relationships people have with food, and explore how this relationship reveals information about them. Their food choices of individuals and groups, can reveal their ideals, likes and dislikes. Food choices tell the stories of where people have travelled and who they have met along the way.

In Wari funerals before the 1960s, the role of affinity played also an important part. Conklin (1995,80-82) mentions that the male nari praxi were responsible for making the ritual fire and the roasting rack, for the dismembering the body with a bamboo arrow tip, and for the removal of the internal organs. They wrapped the heart and liver in leaves and roasted them. Body parts such as nails, hair, and genitals were thrown to the fire since they were considered inedible. The head was cut to remove the brain and the legs and arms were cut at the joints and cooked on the roasting pit. The nari praxi were also the ones responsible for eating the corpse. The iri’nari were not allowed to eat the corpse since they had the same blood and it would be considered autocannibalism.