Revisiting the American Relationship to Food
December 25th 2010 21:08
It's just moments past Christmas, and some of us may be asking, what happened? How did our waistbands get so bloated? Our heads so out of sorts? Did we eat and drink that much? Our partners and friends claim we did. And we are looking forward to more. It's the American way. A holiday comes around, Americans get together and chow down. But what happens in the days in-between? What is our independent, sometimes existentialist impulse to opt out of routines, to have our own way with food, whether it's too much or too little or none at all, all about?
A recent article in Newsweek brought home the variety of habits that Americans have acquired over the years where food is concerned, the classist attitudes (some of which I also possess), as well as some disturbing statistics.
For example, while some of us make sure to drink expensive Italian espresso out of our delicate espresso cups every morning, and must partake of special croissants along with our drinks, many others don't have that choice at all, or even grub to eat. More than 50 million Americans go hungry every day. A 2008 study found that poor people tend more toward obesity because they subsist on sugary and fatty foods like those you buy at Walmart, since those foods are also cheap. A recent study found that 14 percent of New York City's kids are obese. America, it turns out, is the fattest country in the world!
How we eat in this country has become, according to one expert, our premier indicator of social distinction. I often share details with friends about where I shop for food and what I buy. I am an unabashed food snob, and until now at least, have been proud of it.
It's no surprise to learn that we Americans have extended our intense individuality to our eating habits. We eat when we want, how we want and what we want and consider it an inalienable right. But we are the only culture to treat eating this way. We don't tend to view eating as a social activity or "shared resource" -- like the French do, for example. Did you know most of the French eat at a set time -- 12:30 p.m. -- every day, and only 9 percent of them are obese.
Were we to eat more like the French, the article contends, we'd be truly liberated from our neurotic food habits. I would tend to agree. We are so paranoid about eating the wrong thing, eating too much, drinking too much. The French sit down together, share a meal, and conversation takes over. The food is enjoyed; the wine, imbibed. Everyone feels high and good. No one feels compelled to go to Overeaters Anonymous or AA the next day.
Maybe some of us are more concerned with food than we should be. We should all have the privilege to eat well. But, while I agree that Americans don't share their meals as much as they should, or converse as they dine as much anymore -- and that because of this we are not as happy and healthy as we could be -- I don't agree that Americans are not generous. We are. We like big portions. We like to see others eat well. We like getting together. We just need to be reminded we are not alone in our need to enjoy the best food there is. We just need to remember to include others in our enterprise of enjoyment.
Really Long Link
A recent article in Newsweek brought home the variety of habits that Americans have acquired over the years where food is concerned, the classist attitudes (some of which I also possess), as well as some disturbing statistics.
For example, while some of us make sure to drink expensive Italian espresso out of our delicate espresso cups every morning, and must partake of special croissants along with our drinks, many others don't have that choice at all, or even grub to eat. More than 50 million Americans go hungry every day. A 2008 study found that poor people tend more toward obesity because they subsist on sugary and fatty foods like those you buy at Walmart, since those foods are also cheap. A recent study found that 14 percent of New York City's kids are obese. America, it turns out, is the fattest country in the world!
How we eat in this country has become, according to one expert, our premier indicator of social distinction. I often share details with friends about where I shop for food and what I buy. I am an unabashed food snob, and until now at least, have been proud of it.
It's no surprise to learn that we Americans have extended our intense individuality to our eating habits. We eat when we want, how we want and what we want and consider it an inalienable right. But we are the only culture to treat eating this way. We don't tend to view eating as a social activity or "shared resource" -- like the French do, for example. Did you know most of the French eat at a set time -- 12:30 p.m. -- every day, and only 9 percent of them are obese.
Were we to eat more like the French, the article contends, we'd be truly liberated from our neurotic food habits. I would tend to agree. We are so paranoid about eating the wrong thing, eating too much, drinking too much. The French sit down together, share a meal, and conversation takes over. The food is enjoyed; the wine, imbibed. Everyone feels high and good. No one feels compelled to go to Overeaters Anonymous or AA the next day.
Maybe some of us are more concerned with food than we should be. We should all have the privilege to eat well. But, while I agree that Americans don't share their meals as much as they should, or converse as they dine as much anymore -- and that because of this we are not as happy and healthy as we could be -- I don't agree that Americans are not generous. We are. We like big portions. We like to see others eat well. We like getting together. We just need to be reminded we are not alone in our need to enjoy the best food there is. We just need to remember to include others in our enterprise of enjoyment.
Really Long Link
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