Jumbo Lollipops

Through this, it can be seen that the ‘white’ consumer often assumes that the choice of what to eat is similar for all, and is ignorant that “levels and practices of food consumption have been shaped by social ranking and

Paula J. Johnson, a curator at the National Museum of American History, says that foods such as wasabi, Sriracha, and hummus would have been considered “foreign foods” 50 years ago, but today they are common, everyday staples for many people across America. Ramanathan briefly states before this that the only constant in American foods is global influence and then goes on to say that it’s not uncommon in modern times for people to eat, for example, Thai food for lunch and then Italian for dinner. She writes that America has people from all backgrounds, cultures, and countries and their influences are present everywhere, especially the food. In America today, there are so many influences on our foods that using the term ethnic to describe them makes it sound foreign when the food is something people eat every

Food is used in different circumstances in life represents a culture, but can also reflect one's personality, lifestyle, and socio-economic

For many people, culture and identity are closely tied to identity-- sometimes so closely that the things they do, eat, or say may not even feel like a conscious decision. However, from an outsider’s point of view, it is easy to note the differences between cultures in many different ways. One of the most tangible examples of this is, of course, food. When speaking to many people from older generations, it is easy to see how much food is entwined in their stories from the past, whether they come from far away or are still living where they were born. Throughout Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, food is heavily used in many different ways to represent multiple races.

The food we eat and how it impacts our day is a substantial part of being a human being. Food is very effective in a vast majority of ways and can impact a person variously in negative and positive ways. The food we eat is definitely linked to the healthiness and lifestyle that we acquire. In “Escape from the Western Diet”, by Michael Pollan and “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” by Mary Maxfield, to the very interesting point of views are sought out, and I am firmly behind one of them. One author believes that the food we eat is an extreme determining factor in how our lives are lived, and the other believes the food we consume has no actual impact on the well being of human lives.

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

Native American delicacies have shaped American culture as a whole. Today’s society owes much of what it has learned about food and the natural American resources to the early Native Americans. Included in this book are many recipes that cover a wide range of Native American cooking. Some recipes are tradition while others have been redeveloped over the years to include new ways of cooking and include new spices and ingredients. The recipes in this collection have been chosen in a way to stay true to the Native experience.

When considering food as a part of my identity, there are multiple components that make up who I am. It is a mix of family heritage, experiences, and personal preferences, which all culminate together to form my food identity. While some might see their food identity as one culture, concept, or idea, I see my food identity as a variety. This variety consists of what foods I like and the memories associated with them. Specifically, my memories and experiences with my family have contributed to what I believe to be my food identity.

In class, we watched a documentary, called Forks over Knives. The film, introduced to the audience, the importance of eating right. In addition to this, the broadcast centered around promoting a whole-foods based diet. I actually learned a whole bunch of mind-boggling facts throughout the movie, as well. One fact I learned, was that in the early 1900s, milk and meat were sought out as the only source of protein. Recent research then contradicted this fact, stating there are many fruits and vegetables, that can be sources of protein in place of yogurt, meat, cheese, etc. I also learned that among majority of the ethnicities contained within America, African-Americans and Mexicans are the most likely to become obese. The film not only mentioned

Food, has a specific meaning to all of us; for some it is a form of nourishment, for others it is a cultural act,

The food that people prefer changes from family to family, but many different things affect what a certain person might like. For example, “The areas in which families live— and where their ancestors originated—influence food likes and dislikes” (Food). I think my family is a great example because my grandparents are from Italy, but I was born in Texas. We don’t eat the typical southern food because my grandparents have passed on their love of Italian food down to my parents which have passed it on to my brother and me. However, unlike my parent’s I love both Italian and southern food. This stems from where I live, and where my ancestors originate.

You are what you eat, is a common phrase characterizing the idea of food and identity. Several questions that discuss the notion of using food as a cultural clue will be addressed, such as: What do food choices represent? How do food choices represent cultural identity? Is it important to recognize the difference between what you eat representing what you are and what you eat constructing who you are? Our 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

According to Delaney (2004) suggests that food is not biological, it is cultural. The food that is consumed shapes culture and culture shapes food and intern shapes our identity (Delaney, 2004). Counihan (1999) agrees and suggests that food is a “product and mirror of the organisation of society…it is connected to behaviours and meanings” (p. 6). The way in which food is produced, distributed and consumed illustrates power relations, gender and sex within societies (Counihan, 1999). She explains that each society has a distinct food way which structures the community, personalities and families within the society (Counihan, 1999).

Food is very much a part of pop culture, and the beliefs, practices, and trends in a culture affect its eating practices. Pop culture includes the ideas and objects generated by a society, including foods, and other systems, as well as the impact of these ideas and objects on society. For example, Mcdonald's is another of the thousands of fast food chains that populate our cities though they often use the term “popular culture” only to refer to media forms. Their popularity has also increased internationally. Although all humans need food to survive, people's food habits and how they obtain, prepare, and consume food, are the result of learned behaviors. Mcdonald’s, like other food chains, has made an effort to ‘localize’ its products so that they will be more successful in each different cultural context. These collective behaviors, as well as the values and attitudes they reflect, come to represent a group’s pop culture.