HW 6 - Food Diary

I believe that throughout the day I had foods that fit into the main food groups, grains, fruits and meats. But what is nutrition? The dominant discourse for nutrition is that in order for something to be nutritious it needs to be fresh and natural, containing no perversities. If something is nutritious it is considered to be healthy like fruit. The actual definition of nutrition is “the process by which living organisms obtain food and use it for growth, metabolism, and repair” (The American Heritage Science Dictionary). In this case most foods would be considered nutritious if all the food needs to do is give you energy. Certainly there are particular foods that are beneficial for the body’s repair better than others.  I thought that Nutrition had something to do with how many nutrients and what different kinds of nutrients were in the food, also how balanced the meal was.

The experience I had while eating the food depended on the setting I was in, who was with me in my environment as well as what mood I was feeling at the time. These things determined whether or not I enjoyed eating what was prepared. For example the night before I had french toast my dad had been pressuring me to have it for breakfast, I was very reluctant and immediately told him no, then changed my mind that night. The next morning I was dreading having to eat it. I took a couple bites and couldn’t stand the dense texture of the maple syrup drenched bread. It could have been that my dad is a horrible cook but I think it’s due to the psychological state I was in. for me the French toast represented my power over my father. When my dad was pleading if he could make the French toast I had the power. By allowing him to get what he wanted I felt that eating the French toast was a task and that by giving in to him I was conforming to my parent instead of rebelling.

There are many ways that the food represents power in our society. Firstly when a parent in punishing their child it is heard of that they would threaten to send their child to bed without dinner unless the child does what the parent orders. Food can also represent social status one has in a community. It’s as simple as the difference between attending a suit and tie five star restaurant and an Olive Garden.

Lamarca Pasta- very yummy calories: unknown i had been waiting all day to eat this for lunch. it was a little chilly and i wanted something simple cheap and comforting as well as wholesome.

Limonada- it was crisp and refreshing i was craving something light during soccer practice. I grew up drinking limonada so its very familiar to me. 150 calories.

HW 5 - Dominant Discourses Regarding Contemporary Foodways in the U.S.

Dominant discourse is what the majority of the people think about a certain topic. The most common value, thought process, idea or opinion with in a certain subject

According to the media there are conflicting discourses when it comes to the subject of whether or not the U.S. food ways have been changed or if there is still more change to be made. Form the article “Told to eat vegetables, America orders fries” the author made the point that the food industry has attempted to make eating veggies easier but that doesn’t necessarily meant that people are actually consuming more vegetables. Although there was reform made in availability of vegetables, the people that make up the country still need to have the will to eat more vegetables. All in all according to the author progress has been made but there still needs to be more improvement. We are only ½ way there.

I think someone who was moderately well informed about the mass media and the food dominant discourse would have probably in the past have been on a lot of diets in order to change the way they appeared to others. Although they were on a diet they would probably also binge on past food or junk foods that are high in saturated fats and starches, and they would have had an unbalanced diet. They might also buy a lot of organic fresh fruit and vegetables in order to relive their guilt of not actually having eaten any. But when they get home they put them in the back of the fridge and don’t reserve the time to cook or prepare them and the produce gets rotten. I think this person would be very talkative about how to make changes in their diets but never actually take the actions that would cause significant change.

One of the current dominant discourses in the U.S. regarding food ways are the whole organic themed movement. Many people are pro organic and they don’t even understand what it means for something to be organic. Others might not be affected by the non-organic products so to them non-organic is just fine. Other discourses are that Americans need healthier lifestyles, meat is unhealthy, pesticides are killing the environment and there is reason to be afraid of certain food products due to “outbreaks”. People such as doctors, nutritionists, Food and Drug Administration representatives, and celebrities get quoted about food topics because they are trusted by the majority of the population. The media knows that if they publish a quote from a credible source then they will receive a larger audience and in return higher ratings. Select places or sources where information about food can be found are in magazines, health shows, newspapers, restaurant and fast food advertisements and television food shows. The over all health of the people in the U.S. is a problem that requires a solution. People need to have their diets or daily exercises. I don’t know if there are any key solutions except for raising the future generations so they are not as exposed to junk foods and they learn to like healthier foods. Or maybe a solution would be to build schools that are grades pre-k to 12^th eleven stories tall that way children would have no way to avoid the exercise. 

HW 4 - Your Families' Foodways

My father (and his side of the family)

My dad eats almost everything that he purchases at Trader Joe's. He absolutely refuses to waste food, not that that’s a bad thing but when he cooks dinner he will guilt my brother and I into eating what ever he has put on our plates. His guilt trick includes a lecture about how hundreds of children just like us don't have food to eat and go to sleep hungry; it doesn’t work on me anymore. Unfortunately my father is a horrible, horrible cook. He doesn't really cook with creativity and if my brother mentions that he liked the "chicken nuggets" then my father would make that for dinner ever single night. Similarly to how I was given peanut butter and jellies every day for lunch from kindergarten to 4th grade. I guess he thinks its easier to not get anyone else's opinion when it comes to dinner or school lunch, and when I attempt to cook dinner by my self he insist on "helping" which really means he takes over and controls aspects of the meal I am trying to cook I think the whole situation is about control for him.

My father’s food ways could be brought back to the fact that when I was younger he was a vegetarian. He stopped eating meat because he didn’t think it was well for his body, he was also against the curtly to animals. But since my father stopped being a vegetarian he has become very healthy he will only buy fresh and foods with limited preservatives in them. No microwaveable meals. No microwaves. No pop-tarts. Everything needs at least a 10 minute preparation. He rather pay a high price and get a better quality freshness, then a low price for a lot of chemicals.

My grandmother (his mother) is extremely cautious about what she puts into her body. She keeps a lot of unusually natural things in unlabeled jars in her fridge. I wouldn't eat them. She pays a lot of money for specific things like bread without wheat, and jams made naturally without refined sugars. She was born a raised in upstate New York where there are a lot of farms so I think that attributes to the fact that she insists on buying locally. Due to where she was nurtured she was more exposed to farm land and farmers and the work that they must do to make a single gallon of milk, this causes her to appreciate it more.

I think that buying locally is great if it is possible, a lot of times the grocer won’t specify where the meat or vegetables or dairy is actually from and people like me don’t have the will to take the extra step to find out. Personally I think my grandmother’s life style is a little extreme but if she is happy with it and comfortable then it works for her. Then again location really does make a big difference because if I lived up state and there were fresh ingredients being sold next door, down the road or in a stand on the side of the road then I would certainly buy them instead of grocery store products.

HW 3 - Food - Fast Food Insights and Green Market Realizations

Based on the trip we made on Tuesday I noticed many differences between the fast food business and the farm market business. The fast food restaurant had florescent lighting which is not as stimulating as natural light. Unlike the Wendy’s the farmers market was filled with sunshine this could possibly change the mood of the shoppers somehow.

At the farmers market the produce and all the products were on display. Most of which were packaged in large boxes or crates instead of individually wrapped, although most of the baked goods were wrapped individually in cellophane. By fruits and veggies being together in a box instead of being individually wrapped the supplier can save money and there is no excess waste created.  I am familiar enough with fast food to know that each meal is individually wrapped with layers of wax paper and a cardboard container for fries or hamburgers and then a cardboard or Styrofoam cup for a drink. That’s not even including all the packaging the food was in before it was put together as a meal.

At a cooking demo at the farmers market all of the ingredients being used were visible to the consumers to me this promoted a sense of honesty from the vendor.  At the Wendy’s none of the ingredients were directly on display instead there were a lot of posters of what the food should look like after purchasing.  There was also no clear view into the kitchen to view how the food was being prepared it almost seemed as if the designers of the kitchen made it that way, which raised questions about how the food was actually being prepared. When asked, the employee answered that they grill their chicken and other meats while McDonald’s microwaves their animal protein.

HW 2 - Food - Initial Thoughts

My priorities in food would be to cook more often and eat out a lot less. My mom bought a huge wooden dinning room table with beautiful chairs and an area rug along with a chandelere for our dinning room. but we only use it on holidays usually the chairs are all tucked in under the table and my cats are spralled across them. my mom and i also eat out for more then 1/2 our meals. which is extreamly expensive. so one priority i would have would to be eating out less and cooking at home more. I eat semi-healthy and I basically eat what ever I am in the mood for so I am not on a diet or trying to change what I put into my body. But I don't eat fast food from chain restaurants like McDonald's or burger king or kfc or anything like that. I have this idea in my head that its healthier not to eat from those places but I don't  know if thats actually true, I think it's a physiological thing and I was raised to think that eating from chain fast food places wasn't healthy. I eat a lot of salad when I have enough money but it surprises me how expensive salad is... like 9 bucks! Thats crazy I think I would rather eat something cheaper and more unhealthy: like pizza before I spend 9 and change on a salad. If I have a choice between water and soda or soda and juice I'll probably pick juice or water, because it's supposedly less sugar. Regardless of the sugar content i prefer juice over water and water over soda.

Usually after my typical meal I am not completely full especially at lunch and I really don't enjoy the setting of the deli or restaurant I am usually in at lunch. I much rather eat at a park or a beach if I was close to one. Also the conversation at lunch amongst my friends is dull and superficial a lot of the time. Last year I tended to isolate myself and got to a park and eat where I liked the setting (tress, grass, birds) and I would read but when I tried to eat with people on some days I felt out of place because I wasn't close enough to anyone in particular.

Is food sacred? hrrmm I don't consider it to be sacred. I don't pray before I eat or anything but I think people should be grateful for what they are eating and not take their meals for granted because someone worked hard to grow or prepare what ever it is. I think maybe if people had grown the greens from their salad or the tomatoes for the tomato sauce they are eating they would certainly take their food more seriously. But one of the "luxuries" of the city is that the people who live there are not connected to where their merchandise or commodities come from they don't have the knowledge so they don't have guilt which makes it extremely easy to disconnect themselves from making a change with in the situation. I think for food to be sacred you have to believe that its part of a higher power, but I am not sure.