Argument on the Use of Food to Make Social Connections - Essay Example

The Anthropology of Food Consuming Passions Task: Argument on the Use of Food to Make Social Connections Department Grade Course 21ST November, 2011. Introduction Food study and eating habits have a long history in anthropology. Food and culture research is a broad area of study that can be utilized considerably by the scholars. Foods have penetrated almost all fields of study and have gained acceptance as fields of research.1 The study of food and eating is particularly vital as food is highly essential to human beings existence. This context has brought enormous debates that are valuable in advancing anthropological theory and research methods. The study of food has brought mass light to communal processes such as political fiscal value formation, figurative value formation, and social building of reminiscence.2 Studies of these kinds have also proved to be a significant arena for debating the virtual merits of cultural and historical materialism, in comparison to representative explanations of individual manners, and for refining our understanding of variation in information, from various sources on this context. Various issues have been associated with the growth in food studies being among feminine issues, politicization, the broad scope of the study of foods and others.3 Much importance is attached to food in social places. This paper aims at evaluating the crucial connection between food and its passion to the social connections and cultural aspects in life. The use of food to make social connections People while meeting to deliberate on social issues attach foods as part of their tasks. They will engage in talks and at the same time look for drinks and foods which culminate to the satisfaction of their coming together. Families within various social classes; particularly the upper and middle classes hold parties of various kinds. These involve dinner parties, birthday parties, weddings, social gatherings, family gatherings and so forth. Different types of foods are associated with various parties. For example, in a birthday party or wedding party, a cake must be part of foods to be eaten. Other social events attach certain foods in such events, like during dowry payments; some foods must be present in some social circles.4 These foods bring out the best of these social connections to these events and the probable moods. Consuming passion involves humans not just eating for life sustenance but has an ongoing relationship with the food, its preparation, and the way it is presented to the consumer. According to Armelagos and Farb, eating habits are associated with gender roles, burial rites, hospitality-incorporating mostly all human activities. This clearly illustrates the importance human beings attach to the foods. The occasions are marked by the presence of foods, and the feasting following is used as a measure of value of the occasion. Failure to provide enough food; brings out the notion that the event was not planned for, or brings out the aspect of negative traits of the subjects involved with the event like selfishness or deficiency. This paper seeks to illustrate deeper, the circumstances that causes one to eat, with whom and how. This has extensive attachment to a certain class of people or ethnicity portraying their character in the society.5 The choice of foods and their production is significantly influenced by social and biological needs as well as technology and ecological restrictions.6 Social status of an individual dictates the choices of foods they opt for. A well up individual will afford to take food from an expensive restaurant and get the best dishes, unlike, a poor person. Therefore, food joints affiliation can be used to classify people. This is by wealth or group of interaction. Biological needs arise with the body essentials that have to be incorporated in the foods to get the balanced diet required to build a strong body. This ensures quality health. Technology involves the availability of means to enhance food production to increase out put and meet the requirements of the society. This involves the likes of genetically modified foods. Ecological restrictions involve situations whereby one cannot access certain food by virtue of it not being available at his place of abode. The practical dimensions and ramifications of food making have considerable relevance, to all of anthropology’s branches: socio-cultural anthropology, archaeology and others. Food as theme of study integrates aspects of all the four ancient fields of anthropology. Early anthropological food research dwelled largely on taboo, totem, sacrifice and communion and symbolized them with the cultural aspect food analysis reflects human understandings of their individuality and their possible relation with the physical world as well as the spiritual world. Human beings associate different foods with various beliefs, and thus the emergence of certain foods with particular occasions. According to Cheung Sidney; a Professor of Chinese, foods are the most influential cultural makers of identity in the contemporary Asian societies. It helps in understanding various cultural aspects of different communities. Professor Cheung argues that, food has provided a means of understanding of social relations, family and kinship, consumption and class, gender ideology and cultural symbolism. Most ingredients used in food making today are in deed global by origin. This has come about as a result of spread of foods through imperialism, colonialism and cultural exchange; not to mention international trade, network formation and development economically. For example, most vegetables consumed globally like tomatoes are native products of South America.7 There are many types of foods just like there are fashion, speech, music, manners and the likes. We have various fashions for various occasions, same as music and food. These are vivid examples of how food global movement can be compelling in the sense that food exchange between regions, continents across all races and creed can be achieved. The study and observation of food trends and their social affiliations enable us to further evaluate the changing tastes and cultural values of people in the last centuries. With the movement of people around the world in search of a better place to prosper in life, food exchange and food ways are inevitable. Global trade and development, migration and upcoming technology pose a significant challenge to the traditional concepts of food and its processing as well as consumption locally and globally. Food exchange can be traced back into ancient times, when English, middle class people in London, used to make foods for their friends on certain occasions apart from just giving out presents.8 Renzende argues that food exchange was opted for by the English, middle men as it was viewed as more spontaneous and less guided by a concern of reciprocity, and virtually involved shared consumption. This firmly re-asserted the fundamental value of friendship. From food exchange, dinner parties to feast and rites, we find that the value of friendship is highly upheld and nurtured. Social eating and gatherings are organized with the aim of enhancing closeness and friendship among the targeted groups. Thus, this clearly exemplifies the idea that food is substantially associated with fostering harmonious relationships among individuals. Commensality is practices that can be illustrated clearly and further describe my topic of study. Commensality is the practice of sharing foods and coming together in a social group to eat as a family. Usually, commensality can be illustrated as centrally as defining and supporting the family as a collective unit. Commensality in most communities involves eating together at the same time. Eating together is upheld strongly in some communities, and it is used by many families as an opportunity to discuss issue arising whenever they have such meals. This is viewed as a method of concluding or solving issues once and for all as all the stake holders of the issue are present or represented during such gatherings. For example, in the United States, dinner time is highly value due to the tightly working schedule of parents. This coming together round a common table for dinner is the only time a family cherishes together. Thus, much importance is attached to this dinner event. On clearly evaluating dinner parties, they are used not only in homes but also at companies to consolidate the employees at certain times of their working progress. These occasions are used to give out the progress made in the organizations or the projected success. These occasions are categorized by high planning and dining lists. Guests are classified as per their class or status in the company.9 Dinner event are held at given times and on certain occasions. Although arrangements are made prior to the utmost dinner events: all actions and deliberations culminate to the given date and time of the event. Any pre-preparations and meetings are done to plan and perfect the material event. The cultural aspects of these dinners come in the sense that they are use in the social aspect of promoting oneness and consolidate the various people. It is exceedingly common in the current globalised world that when high dignitaries visit a foreign country; dinner parties are held to bring the two parties together, and discuss social issues rather than the official discussions made during the day. This enhances cooperation and promotes unity as the parties involved get to discuss issues in a friendlier manner. Conclusion Food and culture are two aspects that cannot be separated easily. Food and culture are intertwined in the sense that food defines the culture of a given group of people. Major studies done on the anthropology of food has significantly emphasized on the concept of the cultural aspect and the responsibility it plays in the food and social connection to it. Culture growth and development asserts its intense propagation in culture. Food has been used to portray various aspects of social virtues and traits in various societies as discussed. This study clearly illustrates that the use of foods in social circles clearly describes food passions and uniqueness in that context. Foods bring out the key differences in various festive events thus play a vital role in giving color and splendor to them. Eating together brings out the aspect of socializing and sharing. With the study, of food culture and their evolution, as well as their connection with dinner parties and food exchanges; key, cultural values are understood. Thus, food and culture are inseparable, and the study of food is ever bringing new finding on the cultural value across the board. References Counihan Carole and Esterik Penny Van (Ed). Food and Culture. New York: Routledge, 2007 Farb, Peter, and George J Armelagos. Consuming Passions: The Anthropology of Eating. Houghton Mifflin. 1980. Renzende, Claudia Barcellos Gifts of Food: sociability and Friendship among English Middle Class people. Vol. 2 (2) p5-26available at http://www.vibrant.org.br/downloads/v4n2_rezende.pdf Sidney Cheung. Anthropology of Food. (June 28, 2011) available at http://www.scitopics.com/Anthropology_of_Food.html The Anthropology of Food and Eating: Annual Review of Anthropology. Vol. 31(October, 2002) available at http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/ Read More