Social Interactions And Ideals Of A Public Eating Place Essay

Food is a highly unique commodity, for though it is essential to every single person on earth, there is no other commodity which is acquired and consumed in such diverse ways. It is a multifaceted social instrument, serving to connect people across cultural boundaries while simultaneously drawing lines through society, dividing people across race and class. Though we have discussed the connections between certain alternative food movements and the creation of a ‘white’ identity, I contend that the social mechanisms of food extend beyond the production of ‘whiteness’, and are intricately bound up in the creation and perpetuation of other racial and class identities in Western society. As the ways in which we consume and engage with food

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.

In both suburban and rural areas, public transportation is either unavailable or very limited, with grocery stores miles away from residents’ homes. In cases where public transportation is unavailable people are left with little to no options and must conform to the unhealthy foods due to convenience. If there is a McDonald’s on the corner of a street near you and a Burger King or KFC on the opposite street, it is pretty easy to assume that those will become a person with no transportation’s only options for food. They really do not have much of choice if the nearest grocery store is miles away and these fast food restaurants are within walking distance.

In Lisa Miller’s essay “Divided We eat,” she describes her usual morning breakfast that consists of fancy foods and claims that she is a food snob. She then goes into detail about what her neighbor's routine is like, and what Alexandra Ferguson’s morning routine is like. Food is typically a big issue for these families and the parents will usually spend hours thinking about how they will feed their families. Miller and Ferguson later discuss that some children don’t get enough eat, and some of these children are within five miles of them. Miller then tells us that seventeen percent of Americans are food insecure. The income gap has increased and now more Americans are becoming obese because of this.

Individuals of higher income levels often have private insurance that allows them to see a physician on a regular basis. These individuals are able to prevent many diseases before they exacerbate. They often eat low fat diets or plant based diets. They are educated on their nutritional health and often make better choices when choosing the different types foods to eat. Due to their income, they can afford to eat healthy food and make healthy food choices. Even though these individuals may be predisposed to certain diseases, their diets prevent them from becoming prevalent in their lives. Due to the individual’s socioeconomic status they make enough money that they don’t stress about the necessities in life. These individuals live in areas such as Roswell, Johns Creek. Alpharetta, Buckhead, Kennesaw, and Stockbridge. Individuals of a poor economic status have limited access to healthcare. These individuals often have Medicaid, Medicare, or no health insurance at all. They often eat diets that are high in fat. Individuals of poor economic status aren’t often educated about eating healthy. They often eat unhealthy because it is too expensive to eat healthy. These individuals often receive government subsidiaries such as WIC and SNAP benefits for themselves and their children. There aren’t many healthy food stores if any at all in these neighborhoods. Stores such as Whole Foods, Sprout, and Trader Joe’s aren’t located in poverty stricken communities because the individuals can’t afford the prices. It is a disadvantage that the grocery chains in the neighborhood don’t offer the resident a healthier option. Individuals of poor economic status often fight chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and often cancer. They often live sedentary lifestyles that contribute to these diseases. They eat diets that are high in red meats one that contributes to

All food should be available to all people. The concept of this is dwelled on in the article, “Food justice and Food retail in Los Angeles” by Mark Valliantos. Throughout the article, Valliantos maintains the notion that healthy food should be within everyone’s reach, yet inner cities are still suffering from shortages of fresh produce. To see this issue in action, Valliantos documented this reoccurring phenomenon in Los Angeles. The author gives a description of two areas within the city of Los Angeles, and how they are economically divided based on the amount of healthy produce one has at its disposal. He makes note of programs that already exist to help low income families receive healthy foods that they could not afford. He also

“The food desert concept suggests that the absence of major food outlets in inner-city neighborhoods prohibits consumption of healthy food, thus highlighting geography as a key constraint in food access.” (Kato and McKinney 216) It is unfair that low-income families are targeted by food deserts but it is how society is formed. Most food markets are found located in low-income African American communities. This was the vocal research points in Naa Oyo Kwate’s “Fried chicken and fresh apples: Racial segregation as a fundamental cause of fast food density in black neighborhoods” “In the US, predominantly Black neighborhoods often embody the characteristics of food deserts, where ‘it is easier to get fried chicken than a fresh apple’.” (Kwate 34) The placement of fast food restaurants in comparison to healthy food places is unfair and forces low-income family to consume unhealthy foods. It essentially leads to shorter lives and less and less people in the lower social classes. It is almost as if the higher classes plot to make their money and kill off the low-end families. Kato and Kwate revealed the truth behind the locations of food deserts across the United States. Food deserts are more likely to be seen in black and minority

Obesity is a problem in different areas throughout the world; obesity is a major problem in the United States of America. The food industry in the U.S. has changed. Food is cheaper and easier to access, but food is lower in quality and is massively produced (Kenner, 2008). Food is no longer as hard to come by as it once was and is not as expensive, but healthy food is more expensive and, most of the time, requires trips to the grocery store. In American society today, American are busy and have minimal time to exercise, cooking, or even go to the grocery store. The lower socioeconomic classes are notably affected as a result of individuals and families of lower socioeconomic classes often can’t afford healthy food from local grocery stores

Individuals who live in low-income areas have to rely heavily on fast food and cheap food from convenience stores because it is the only food close and affordable to them. People in poor neighborhoods are, “Confronted with a high concentration of poor diet choices” and, “End up eating a less healthy diet” because, “Few markets” offer, “Fresh fruit and vegetables” (Cortright 1). Even if

Food insecurity is defined as “the lack of access to enough food to ensure adequate nutrition.”1 The Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) reported that 14.6% of US households were food insecure during at least some portion of 2008 (up 11.1% from 2007), the highest levels recorded since monitoring began in 1995.2 Food insecurity is a concern of under consumption and obesity is a disease of over consumption, yet both outcomes may coexist, seemingly incongruously, within the same household.2 The most popular explanation is that low-cost, energy-dense foods linked to obesity are favored by financially constrained households, who are the most likely to be food insecure.2 Another theory, focusing on environmental context net of individual circumstance, argues that obesity and insecurity are both symptoms of malnutrition, occurring in neighborhoods where nutritious foods are unavailable or unaffordable.2 A separate literature researches environmental roles in poor nutritional outcomes, recent studies link obesity as well as atherosclerosis and diabetes to the food environment, the local context of available food items.2 The theory is that local inaccessibility to healthy foods influences diet composition, a claim supported by evidence.2 Especially in poorer neighborhoods, food options are often limited to fast food restaurants, convenience stores, or grocery stores more poorly stocked both in

“Access to food, mass media, and contemporary busy lifestyles play role in poor food choices” (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).

As a result of the pervasive power of racism, African Americans and Latino’s consume a high fat and nutritionally low diet, which contributes to their declining health by increasing their a susceptibility to disease. According the American Heart Association (2013), African Americans have a greater chance of contracting heart disease and a 15% higher mortality rate as opposed to their white counterparts, illustrating not only the high prevalence of disease in minorities, but the alarming health disparities plaguing the United States health system. Although, more amicable/civil to blame proximate risk facts of the individual such as their individual diet and exercise habits, it blindly ignores the systemic oppression of residential segregation. Health disparities stem from various factors including a poor nutritional diet; however, all come back to one inescapable conclusion that the oppression of African Americans and Latinos due to residential segregation and institutionalized racism is directly responsible for the influx in chronic disease. The aggregation of minorities into low income communities leading to limited access to fruits and vegetables, paired with the financial burden of healthy eating trap these minorities in a pervasive, toxic cycle, which begs the question: how does residential segregation and institutional racism shape African Americans and Latino’s diet? and What are the consequences of a high fat, nutritionally low diet?

Socio-economic status and obesity also relate. A concerning problem is that buying a burger off of the dollar menu can actually be cheaper than buying fruits and vegetables. It has actually become easier and more affordable to buy unhealthy foods such as fast foods and processed foods. In low-income areas, schools also tend to serve unhealthy processed foods in the cafeteria. It has become much more difficult for the poor to access healthy ingredients so they turn to cheap processed foods. The correlation between socio-economic status and income is shown by the fact that Mississippi, the poorest state in America, has the highest obesity rate in the nation (Berl, Rachel).

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

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.