Food Habits and Culture - Essay Example

Food Habits and Culture All human beings have to eat in order to survive and consequently food is very important in our lives because without it, otherwise we would cease to exist. Food has been seen to be very closely related to the culture of people and because of this, people tend to be very selective of the food they eat because they tend to consider what their culture dictates about certain foods. Every culture has developed its own eating habits, and a good example of this is the fact that while in the West, people generally eat using forks and spoons, in some other cultures, it is unthinkable to use such utensils and instead people tend to eat using their hands. Even though we would find this weird, those who use their bare hands to eat would consider it to be a very normal thing. There are many factors which influence the food habits of people and none of these is more influential than their culture. Culture has for a long time dictated what people eat, how they eat it, and when they eat it. It can also be said that food has also had an influence on culture because there are some cultures around the world which have developed around the type of food which has been available for them to eat. Therefore, food habits and culture are very much related to each other and both have a very significant influence on the other. In relation to people’s food habit in relation to their culture, we shall consider the following: religion, the environment, the availability of food, and food taboos. The environment in which people live tends to shape their culture and food habits and this determines what these people eat and what they do not eat. Every environment has its own type of food which can be eaten by human beings. The food habits of people therefore depend on the environment in which they live because they will tend to only eat that food which is readily available to them. A people’s culture will therefore evolve around their environment and this will also dictate their food habits. Their environment and the past experiences of a people are what determine whether they eat certain types of foods or not. In certain instances, for example in some African and Native American communities, a certain type of food, such as the meat of a particular animal, can be forbidden due to the fact that this animal is the totem of this community (Smart, 987). This means that no part of this animal is to be eaten and if a person within this community is found to have eaten it, then such a person will be severely punished or even expelled from the community. The time and place where food can be eaten are also dictated by culture and in some of these cultures; some types of food have to be shared communally while others can be eaten individually (Shi, 1444). In places such as the Middle East where people tend to live in large, extended families, it is a basic requirement that all people have their meals together as a family. Only when the various members of the family are extremely busy and far from their families can they have their meals alone. It can be suggested that these people tend to have all their meals together due to the fact that the Middle East consists of a desert environment and because of this; the scarcity of food which prevailed in the past encouraged the custom of all the people in a community sharing whatever they had. In every community, there are traditions concerning which foods are acceptable and which are not. A very good example of this is the fact that although there are many alligator species all over the world, in most cultures, it is forbidden for people to eat them, in most cases because they are considered to be unclean. However, it is a universal fact that almost all human beings have a tradition of consuming grains of one type or the other depending on the availability of these grains. However, there are other factors which dictate whether certain types of foods are acceptable or not. For example, when people consume a particular typeof food for a very long time, they come to consider it a staple and they tend to look down on food from other places and different environments as being inferior to theirs and this makes the latter food unacceptable to them. Furthermore, politics play a very big role in determining whether a particular type of food is acceptable or not. Governments can issue decrees to their people forbidding them from consuming a particular kind of food perhaps because this food comes from a country which is in conflict with the country in which this government is. Moreover, religion also plays a vital role in determining food choices of people, because different religions have bindings that limit their followers on the types of food they can consume. For instance, among the Hindus beef meat is prohibited while among the Jew and Muslims pork meat is not consumable. In addition, Christians prohibit their followers to consume alcoholic beverages such as alcohol; however, the Catholics have no such limitations. In addition, other religious sects forbid the consumption forbid consumption of certain foods and drinks during some rituals or holidays of their faith, while others take part in fasting, i.e. abstaining completely from food or from specified food types and drinks till a specified duration elapses. Therefore, religious affiliations and their stipulations concerning food choices to be taken limit the food choices and habits of their followers, but, because of their contradictions among the various religious groups, in the modern society these religious prohibitions have lost ground and are being contravened (Waibel). In addition, the social economic status of people also influences their food choices; this is because the type of food one consumes will vary with the ability to purchase. For instance, the diet of poor people will be limited to the amount of money they have, since they cannot afford to purchase expensive food stuffs compared to rich people. However, economic factors are directly related to the availability of food since if there is low supply of certain types of food their price in the market increase making it difficult for the poor even though they could afford before unable to purchase. In addition, people affiliation to a given social status or group influences their food choices. This is because an individual membership to a given peer group, community, team will influence the food habit he will develop as most often they adopts groups’ habit, since it may be difficult for them to make personal choices. In conclusion, it can be said that food habits and culture are very inseparable things and this is mainly because they tend to affect each other in one way or the other. As we have discussed above, factors such as the availability of food either through, livestock keeping, cultivation or trade, the religious practices of certain communities, as well as their environment, whether political, social, or economic, have a great effect on people’s food habits. This is the reason why although there is plenty of food all over the world, our cultures tend to dictate what we can eat and what we cannot eat and this is one of the most fundamental aspects of who we as human beings are.   Works Cited Shi, Z., et al. "Socio-Demographic Differences in Food Habits and Preferences of School Adolescents in Jiangsu Province, China." European journal of clinical nutrition 59.12 (2005): 1439-48. Smart, Josephine. "Changing Food Habits: Case Studies from Africa, South America, and Europe." American Anthropologist 104.3 (2002): 987-8. Waibel Ruth A. “Religion and Dietary Practices”. faqs.org. n.d. Web.2 Otober 2012 .< http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Pre-Sma/Religion-and-Dietary-Practices.html > Read More