The Role of Food in the Culture - Essay Example

Food is culture – this was the principle Massimo Montanari followed strictly, and he was indeed correct. Food essentially has nothing to do with nature. Arguing in the same terms as the Greek philosophers, Montanari maintained that food is artificial. It is a reflection of the values people created for themselves. The moment food is prepared, and in such a way that its original components are changed or almost indistinguishable, it stops being natural. What is more, food ultimately becomes culture when there is a strong element of choice in eating and preparing it. Whether on the basis of taste, price or nutrition, people are driven by the values they place on food as well as by individual social standing, or current events or social conditions (xi-xii). The food industry through the media makes use of these factors to popularize a certain food. Take for instance the cover images of popular food magazines Gourmet, Good Food, and Cooking Light. A 2009 starter edition of the now-defunct Gourmet, which was part of the year-end collection, sported an image of a less Italianized spaghetti and meatballs. The edition included other Italian-style recipes as tribute to American Italians. Good Food’s issue this Christmas Season promotes “Festive Cooking” with a matching picture of a roasted chicken soaked in spices and garnished with what looked like potatoes around the sidelines. Cooking Light, was all for the sweet tooth this Holidays and showed an image of a glass vessel full of various sweets. Though the magazines considered the Holiday Season, summer vacations, and American Italians, they all promoted recipes that do not necessarily sustain life. Not only do they appear complicated to regular persons, these recipes take time to prepare, and are not practical to eat in day-to-day meals. Desserts, for example, have high sugar content and too much intake of sugar could raise blood sugar levels, a condition called hyperglycemia which could lead to kidney failure or other health problems. Judging from the headings, these magazines have not emphasized on nutrition but on how quickly the recipes are prepared and how they appear to the consumers. Gourmet focused speed and being economical as evidence by one of its article entitled “Ten-Minute Mains,” which listed down all fast-cooking affordable foods like hamburgers (Knauer 52). Good Food was more on the aesthetic aspect of the food, which has to be as “festive” as Christmas like the thoroughly garnished roasted chicken. The heading “So Easy, So Elegant: Secret Shortcuts for Spectacular Desserts” suggests that Cooking Light compromised fast preparation and food appearance. All the same, none of the magazines made mention of nutritional values. The magazines, however, are truly a mark of culture, revealing national and regional differences. Gourmet’s recipe tributes to American-Italians such as spaghetti and meatballs indicate close ties with their motherland. The recipe reflects the Italian love for sweet and sour sauces, as well as the American love for meatballs. In addition, it can also be seen that compared to Americans, the British are not minimalistic as portrayed by the British food magazine, Good Food. The Brits prefer to garnish their food, and are very concerned with how it looks but not on the price. Americans prefer fast foods, and price is also of prime consideration. However, these are only for urban Americans. Cooking Light, based on Southern Alabama, reflect that Americans living on the countryside value fast-cooking and elegant-looking foods. Most of the products advertised in these magazines are food ingredients (i.e., flour and sauce) from well-known manufacturers like Pillsbury, and meal offers from fancy restaurants. There are also tips related to food, such as where, when and what to buy or serve and on what occasion, which foods are cost-efficient or fast enough to prepare for unexpected guests, and the like. Prominent figures in the food industry who have made innovations here and there and some issues on food politics are also indirectly promoted. The tips and the varied, quick-serving, and decorated foods depicted in the magazines mirror the prevailing material culture, which is technological determinism. If in ancient times desserts were plain and limited, now, thanks to several food processors and preservatives, there are thousands of desserts with complicated designs, ingredients, and names but with simpler baking or cooking methods. On one hand, symbolic culture is visible through the cover images and headings of the three magazines. They were presented in a manner that would make people believe that they become what they eat (Kenneally). It is like customizing food to suit individual personalities and so that people can establish their identities through food. For example, a fast and inexpensive food would be appealing to always-on-the-go and financially cautious persons. It is believed that those who value beauty, price, and speed in preparing food often apply these values in their lives in general. Perhaps because my mother is an experienced homemaker and has cooked meals and baked desserts that would have compared to the ones contained in the magazines, the contents have not affected me so much. The magazines would affect people who have less exposure to those kinds of food. Yet suppose I had been affected and decided to buy, if I had enough money, satisfied and guilt-free with the purchase, then I could say I benefited just as much as the suppliers and the magazines. If I was making ends meet and impulsively purchased such goods and services, the benefit would not be on my side. Between instinct and culture, neither one is above the other for both are important in shaping human behavior. While culture controls instinct from getting out of hand, instinct sharpens cultural sentiments. Too much reliance on instinct can lead to a disorganized behavior, whereas high dependency on cultural norms and customs would lead to a mechanical behavior, as if the person cannot think for himself. The relationship of the two is evidently mutual. If instinct and culture should be balanced so people could act with discernment, be it food or not. Works Cited “Festive Cooking.” Good Food Dec. 2009. Print. Kenneally, Rhona Richman. “Lecture VIII: The Material Culture of Food.” McGill. McGill University, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. . Knauer, Ian. “Ten Minute Mains.” Gourmet January 2009: 52. Print. Montanari, Massimo. Food is Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. Print. “So Easy, So Elegant: Secret Shortcuts for Spectacular Desserts.” Cooking Light Dec. 2009: 292. Print. Read More