What I have had for the past 48 hours are as follows: both breakfasts consisted of Fiber One cereal with milk and a glass of water, the first lunch was a hamburger from a burger joint, the second a pizza accompanied by a rice and bean dish, the first dinner was a calzone and the second consistef of pita and hummus as well as some microwavable dumplings (I was still full from the large lunch). With the snacks that were incorporated between meals which were anything from cookies to cold cuts of salami to bananas which puts my estimate for the number of calories very close to 3000. I have a fast metabolism and I like to eat, what can I say. Not like I have to worry about my weight.
The foods I like very much usually contain a fair amount of salt, I noticed this especially in the foods I ate in the past 48 hours. As for the liquids its usually milk or water, except during a typical lunch I'll buy a soda. As much as I try to avoid them its hard to find a cheap alternative, I just feel too much of a sucker if I payed for water.
As I wouldn't like to admit it this is probably what the average person would eat, something that is salty or sweet (unless they're really gross and mix those flavors). We eat these because we get a certain pleasure from eating those types of food, so much that food for a long time would usually contain alot of sugar, and when we got even greedier and wanted more sweets we now grow ridiculous amounts of corn to make corn syrup (among other things) out of the crop.
So it's no wonder McDonalds is more successful than green market when they offer sugar paste on chicken scraps its so good!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Contemporary Foodways in the U.S.
We involve ourselves with food everyday. Luckily, we put up a pretty big fuss about the stuff we put in our mouths; whether it will kill us, whether it will make us live longer, look younger if it's cheap, if it's fresh &c. If one were to have the intent to learn about the food they eat I feel like their is enough information in the newspaper and on certain websites that they could acquire it. However the person who reads it must have an objective reading lens because of there is alot of people who say some things that contradict others. Because of this availability of knowledge the ease, reform will occur more rapidly than ever in the U.S.
I think in just the past 40 years there have been advancements in our foodways. I think the media has played a major roll in this as people currently are very aware of their health, and food since is very connected to one's health food is often a topic of health experts. For instance you might read an article in the New York Times about Salmonella poisoning, "A major egg producer linked to an outbreak of salmonella" (NY Times). But 40 years ago food wasn't even in the American media's dominant discourse. With public awareness about something like eating an egg and getting ill people will be more conscientious about the eggs they might buy and eat. Thus, food is in our current discourse for health and if there is a potential threat to our health it is put under the public's eye thanks to media.
By looking at a reliable source for food such as the New York Times someone who wants to inform themselves about anything involving food they can well do so. This can impact the average citizen, they choose (for the most part) what they want to know about the food they eat. That person can choose to not look up on food and remain ignorant but the alternative of educating themselves about what they are putting in there mouths they only may lack the motivation to do so.
I think in just the past 40 years there have been advancements in our foodways. I think the media has played a major roll in this as people currently are very aware of their health, and food since is very connected to one's health food is often a topic of health experts. For instance you might read an article in the New York Times about Salmonella poisoning, "A major egg producer linked to an outbreak of salmonella" (NY Times). But 40 years ago food wasn't even in the American media's dominant discourse. With public awareness about something like eating an egg and getting ill people will be more conscientious about the eggs they might buy and eat. Thus, food is in our current discourse for health and if there is a potential threat to our health it is put under the public's eye thanks to media.
By looking at a reliable source for food such as the New York Times someone who wants to inform themselves about anything involving food they can well do so. This can impact the average citizen, they choose (for the most part) what they want to know about the food they eat. That person can choose to not look up on food and remain ignorant but the alternative of educating themselves about what they are putting in there mouths they only may lack the motivation to do so.
Monday, September 27, 2010
FOODWAYS
Food affects us in our every day lives, yet we don't always ask ourselves simple questions about: how the food was brought here? How was it prepared? What's in the food? What do I do for this food? Some questions we might be able to answer easily, some we think we can answer but would be wrong. But one fact will remain the same, through generations these questions will always change. This also applys to different economic levels and different ethnic backgrounds. I will be sharing why these changes occur from knowledge of my own family's foodways and the generations before me.
How food is prepared we can usually determine because before we eat it we can see the person who prepared it. As for how the person who prepared it got it from can often be a different story. Currently my mom does the shopping for the food and as she will rarely go to the supermarket to buy it, the food will most frequently come from fresh direct as she is often busy. This is the same as the generation before me in terms of where the responsibility fell for the "gatherer of food", which I am obviously referring to the mother. As for how it was gathered is now much different, instead 40 years ago my grandma going on a computer and putting a purchase for food via the Internet and then having it driven over to the home in a refrigerated truck she had weighed her options between two supermarkets having cost being the biggest factor on her mind while she had a pocket full of coupons. Before that it was even trickier than a click of a button or driving to one of two supermarkets. When my grandfather was young his parents would give him the responsibility to get what to eat (changes from 2 generations of the mother finding it to young son) he would take trips to the butcher and produce pushcarts to get what he needed for the family as his father would be labouring at the house while his mother would be at her job (not typical for the time). The mother of the family for many generations would be the one to prepare the food, in my generation you see more often that it gets more balanced that if someone is to prepare the meal in the household it is almost as likely that the Father will as the mother will. It is clear that how food was gotten has changed tremendously and up now more recently the female gender role isn't to prepare the food anymore.
People who don't frequently eat with their elders might not be aware of what food was available at their time or even what they ate in their younger days at the family table. The dinners I eat will always have a vegetable in them and the courses themselves can often be diverse (based on what's on sale at freshdirect), this can range from classic American burgers or steak to Indian, Mexican, Chinese and even Japanese food, all prepared at home. When my mother was growing up however the food she ate was "WASP Italian food". The vegetables she only ate were either out of a can or when they were in season and not expensive. When my mother brought up canned vegetables the idea was very foreign to me and a little unpleasant. In my mother's generation out of season vegetables could be flown in and probably could be delivered by refrigerated transport such as trains and trucks but the cost of that was so expensive that it wasn't readily available and if it was, the grown up depression babies would never have bought it at out of season price. To get vegetables in my grandparents youth was a seasonal thing only. The very depleted nutritional valued canned vegetables were'nt even an option. The food they usually ate at that time would typically be a soup or stew of somesort with the cheapest of meats (as it was the depression). Over time the food itself can change, very much so by whats available, will the food in the future be more exotic as the trend seems to show over these generations or will there be a spontatnous decline and the foods we eat today will become less and less available?
What are the rituals of food before we actually eat them? Are we completely aware of everything we do before we eat? To be honest I don't think I am aware of everything I do before I eat but I think the customs I may or may not do aren't as noticable as what was done before my time. When my mother was young her family would always have dinner at the dinner table in the kitchen. This is much different to what it is now, assuming everyone is at home, dinner is usually consumed infront of the T.V. on a small table. My grandparents foodways in terms of where they ate dinner is very similiar to my parents upbringing, they ate at a dinner table, they definitly didn't eat infront of a T.V. and I'm sure eating infront of a radio wasn't very entertaining. As for the time of eating this seems to change pretty drastically by generation, I would say that the frequent time to eat would be around 9:00, whereas 7:30 would be the appropriate time for my parents when they were younger and and over an hour sooner for the generation before. This is probably due to the fact that with profits increasing for companies they hire more workers and use the middlemanage to pile on more tedious work. With adults coming from work at later times the time that dinner can be available to the family is at a later time.
Bob Dylan was onto something when he said "The Times They Are a-Changin'". As cliche as it may be it is no doubt true, and where ever you look it can be applied. Foodways especially since some many things have affected it; a frugal generation born in the worst economic crises in the country, increased trade between countries and the affordablity they can be transported, the role of a woman in the household and even how companies currently manipuate their employees. All these factirs and countless more have changed the way comming generations eat and go about their own foodways.
How food is prepared we can usually determine because before we eat it we can see the person who prepared it. As for how the person who prepared it got it from can often be a different story. Currently my mom does the shopping for the food and as she will rarely go to the supermarket to buy it, the food will most frequently come from fresh direct as she is often busy. This is the same as the generation before me in terms of where the responsibility fell for the "gatherer of food", which I am obviously referring to the mother. As for how it was gathered is now much different, instead 40 years ago my grandma going on a computer and putting a purchase for food via the Internet and then having it driven over to the home in a refrigerated truck she had weighed her options between two supermarkets having cost being the biggest factor on her mind while she had a pocket full of coupons. Before that it was even trickier than a click of a button or driving to one of two supermarkets. When my grandfather was young his parents would give him the responsibility to get what to eat (changes from 2 generations of the mother finding it to young son) he would take trips to the butcher and produce pushcarts to get what he needed for the family as his father would be labouring at the house while his mother would be at her job (not typical for the time). The mother of the family for many generations would be the one to prepare the food, in my generation you see more often that it gets more balanced that if someone is to prepare the meal in the household it is almost as likely that the Father will as the mother will. It is clear that how food was gotten has changed tremendously and up now more recently the female gender role isn't to prepare the food anymore.
People who don't frequently eat with their elders might not be aware of what food was available at their time or even what they ate in their younger days at the family table. The dinners I eat will always have a vegetable in them and the courses themselves can often be diverse (based on what's on sale at freshdirect), this can range from classic American burgers or steak to Indian, Mexican, Chinese and even Japanese food, all prepared at home. When my mother was growing up however the food she ate was "WASP Italian food". The vegetables she only ate were either out of a can or when they were in season and not expensive. When my mother brought up canned vegetables the idea was very foreign to me and a little unpleasant. In my mother's generation out of season vegetables could be flown in and probably could be delivered by refrigerated transport such as trains and trucks but the cost of that was so expensive that it wasn't readily available and if it was, the grown up depression babies would never have bought it at out of season price. To get vegetables in my grandparents youth was a seasonal thing only. The very depleted nutritional valued canned vegetables were'nt even an option. The food they usually ate at that time would typically be a soup or stew of somesort with the cheapest of meats (as it was the depression). Over time the food itself can change, very much so by whats available, will the food in the future be more exotic as the trend seems to show over these generations or will there be a spontatnous decline and the foods we eat today will become less and less available?
What are the rituals of food before we actually eat them? Are we completely aware of everything we do before we eat? To be honest I don't think I am aware of everything I do before I eat but I think the customs I may or may not do aren't as noticable as what was done before my time. When my mother was young her family would always have dinner at the dinner table in the kitchen. This is much different to what it is now, assuming everyone is at home, dinner is usually consumed infront of the T.V. on a small table. My grandparents foodways in terms of where they ate dinner is very similiar to my parents upbringing, they ate at a dinner table, they definitly didn't eat infront of a T.V. and I'm sure eating infront of a radio wasn't very entertaining. As for the time of eating this seems to change pretty drastically by generation, I would say that the frequent time to eat would be around 9:00, whereas 7:30 would be the appropriate time for my parents when they were younger and and over an hour sooner for the generation before. This is probably due to the fact that with profits increasing for companies they hire more workers and use the middlemanage to pile on more tedious work. With adults coming from work at later times the time that dinner can be available to the family is at a later time.
Bob Dylan was onto something when he said "The Times They Are a-Changin'". As cliche as it may be it is no doubt true, and where ever you look it can be applied. Foodways especially since some many things have affected it; a frugal generation born in the worst economic crises in the country, increased trade between countries and the affordablity they can be transported, the role of a woman in the household and even how companies currently manipuate their employees. All these factirs and countless more have changed the way comming generations eat and go about their own foodways.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Fast food and the green market
When visiting both Wendy's and the Greenmarket at Union Square there were things that I picked up on instantly. Firstly the Wendy's was indoors and had places to sit and eat the meal you had purchased. This obsevation I think is important, Wendy's and many other fast food resturaunts do alot of extra things to make you feel comfortable in their resturaunt i.e. the seats, tables and public restrooms. And if you feel a bit shitty because you're sitting down in a place where there are way too many fatties they'll throw on some pictures of salad that no one will eat just to make you feel even more comfortable about yourself coming there. Why would a very cheap place go out of their way for customers comfortablility? Because if they can get a costumer happy enough and feel welcomed enough he or she will keep coming back.
When strolling through the Green Market all the food you may or may not want to buy is visable. No pictures of spray painted plastic models of food, no tricks done behind the counter, what you see infront of you is what you get. The people know a fair amount of the food they are selling much better than the cashiers at Wendy's. When you ask "What part of the chicken does the chicken nugget come from?" their response is "Are you alright?", so comparitly the cashiers at the green market care about what they sell.
When strolling through the Green Market all the food you may or may not want to buy is visable. No pictures of spray painted plastic models of food, no tricks done behind the counter, what you see infront of you is what you get. The people know a fair amount of the food they are selling much better than the cashiers at Wendy's. When you ask "What part of the chicken does the chicken nugget come from?" their response is "Are you alright?", so comparitly the cashiers at the green market care about what they sell.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
FOOD (CONT'D)
I thought it was necessary for me to detach these paragraphs for the sake that they have very different realms of thinking. When on the topic of food we might talk about ourselves and our own eating habits but I think it is important to talk about things we try and stray away from. I'm talking of coarse about the hungry homeless. So instead of me talking about how I can blow money on overpriced food or how my mom will occasionally spoil my sister and I with a greatly prepared steak, because if I did you can't not feel a little bad when people are digging through your trash and recycling for pocket change. We all know it happens so why do we focus our attention on Africa and India and Haiti when we think of starving families who need our help and not our own Lower East Siders or what have you who've lived here all there life like you or I may have? For a world that believes in arbitrary boundaries I find it interesting we don't help "our" people first, by this I mean of coarse the people in my neighborhood who are starving or even the people in other parts of this country who need help i.e. New Orleans a place which has received much aid in the first year after it's natural disaster as us good Americans might do but still it is need of help because it has still not gotten close at all to a full recovery. Well "soup kitchens" someone might critic me, "they help the hungry of our country", well do they? If people are begging for money or something to eat there must be something wrong with that system. I'm not an expert on soup kitchens I've never been to one but if they are anything like other institutions that help the needy i.e. homeless shelters the people who might want to seek them can be at risk, many people in homeless shelters have what little they have stolen from them and can ofter be victims of other violent crimes. So why then are there dozens of police cars parked on every block in Tribeca? I was not aware Tribeca was the most dangerous neighborhood in NYC. So why have all these police stationed there when in a center for people who are at their most needy time in their life be rejected of proper police attention. Is our law enforcement system that black and white? Station unnecessary amounts of police in this rich white people area and leave those bums to fight over their cheese.
"So then, what would you have us do to combat this problem John?", why simply abolish all property, state and our financial failure we call capitalism of coarse! Instead of having the man on my block be subjected to the racism he was born into which was probably the 50's or 60's in a poor income area, then get drafted in a the army to fight a war he doesn't believe which is of coarse to fight those goddamn communist charlies in southeast Asia. Then return home with no help from the government especially after witnessing his childhood friend killed and see babies napalmed and be shunned by liberal hippies then have no money to support a home, be rejected of a job for a lack of home. Finally on the streets I will ignore him as I make my way home as he begs for food so I can go to my modest home of the middle class of which I was born a white male (exactly the same as his birth except I was much luckier) and dine on the food which is waiting for me as I get there. We can live in this society which I don't have too much objection to since I am not penalized in anyway by my economic level or skin color or living area, OR we could live in a society which the state property and finances are seized by the people and distributed appropriately which means no starving Vietnam vet I see on my block so I don't have to feel bad when I decide to write about how my mom will occasionally spoil my sister and I with a greatly prepared steak.
"So then, what would you have us do to combat this problem John?", why simply abolish all property, state and our financial failure we call capitalism of coarse! Instead of having the man on my block be subjected to the racism he was born into which was probably the 50's or 60's in a poor income area, then get drafted in a the army to fight a war he doesn't believe which is of coarse to fight those goddamn communist charlies in southeast Asia. Then return home with no help from the government especially after witnessing his childhood friend killed and see babies napalmed and be shunned by liberal hippies then have no money to support a home, be rejected of a job for a lack of home. Finally on the streets I will ignore him as I make my way home as he begs for food so I can go to my modest home of the middle class of which I was born a white male (exactly the same as his birth except I was much luckier) and dine on the food which is waiting for me as I get there. We can live in this society which I don't have too much objection to since I am not penalized in anyway by my economic level or skin color or living area, OR we could live in a society which the state property and finances are seized by the people and distributed appropriately which means no starving Vietnam vet I see on my block so I don't have to feel bad when I decide to write about how my mom will occasionally spoil my sister and I with a greatly prepared steak.
FOOD
First thing that would come into consideration for getting a certain meal or deciding what to eat, like most people would be taste. The sense that matters most when eating something; what's in the food? what's in the food to make it taste good? All questions that come into consideration before wanting to enjoy a meal. If deciding on this priority alone (taste), I would probably be fat. My other priority which is probably secondary would be the quality of the food, how healthy it is. What's the origin of this food? Where did it come from? I'd like to say I ask myself these questions often but I don't I usually, instead I just avoid fastfood as a whole and from that I usually make a decision on what to eat.
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