Do you ever stop to ask what, when, where, why, and
how we eat? Really think about it!
Imagine you are part of a different culture, from a
different country, an alien from outer space, or even a made-up race. Now let’s imagine picking any food item
within this new culture to consume. What
are you eating? Is it something similar
to what is found in the U.S.? Are you
eating at the same time you would typically and in the same places? The
possibilities are endless!
You may be asking me, why do I need to do this? If
you actually traveled or have read accounts of those who have, you may have
experienced how difficult it can be to adapt to these different cultural foods,
the way they eat them, when they eat them, and where they get these foods. I’ll call these “unspoken rules” in each society.
For example, in the U.S. we eat a lot of processed foods and quick meals
(think fast food and frozen dinners) in order to sustain our typical
lifestyles. Those who are not used to this are confused by what is typical (yet we never consciously think about the choices we make daily). The links below are examples
of foreigners’ experiences/opinions of food in the U.S.
You may argue you have many choices in the foods you
eat and the ways you choose to consume them.
Wrong! It is all shaped by culture,
beliefs, and industry swaying our choices.
Examples include preservation processes (came from military use), the
invention of the frozen TV dinners, and fast food. Our lives are so fast-paced we consume foods
that compliment this lifestyle. Less
time is spent on preparing foods and more time spent on social media, work,
etc. Industry is really important. Do you notice the trends you participate in
without realizing it? Health food is a
good example. When we find studies that
suggest types of foods are beneficial to our health we tend to jump on the
bandwagon even when there is no real proof.
This is industry controlling our consumption. Hmmm what could possibly be wrong with this?
This lifestyle leads to bad health. The U.S. consumes more processed, packaged
foods that are high in fat and sugars. But
wait! Many ideals are changing in which
we are making our choices healthier.
In his book Stuffed and Starved, Raj Patel states “the choices we make every day, choices which feel normal and well suited to our environments, are far stranger and more unnatural than we might have thought”.
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