Food
This was such an interesting presentation... and, as others have commented, it was very well put together. You incorporated some wonderful concepts from the reading and this made for a great analysis. Of course, I enjoyed the point about food choices being tied to masculinity and other markers of identity such as class and ethnicity. I think this is especially the case in the US where food really conveys meaning. For example, what identities do we associate with people who shop at Whole Foods and those who might shop at Walmart?
I also very much enjoyed the work on 'mediscapes' and the way in which food (and how it is consumed) actually has an effect on the culture it is imported to. As all presentations seemed to appreciate, McDonalds affects not only the cuisine, but also the cultural fabric..
A few questions:
I was not quite sure how you were using the concept 'ideoscape' during the presentation. There are many ideologies around food and its consumption... The McDonaldization of food is a good case in point here, where ideologies of commercialism and capitalism are spread through the fast-food industry. Can you think of other examples?
I would love to hear more from this group - but also classmates - how food ties in with your own identities. How do your food choices help create your identities? How does food mark you apart from other identities? Do you think that your eating patterns will change as you go through life?
Finally, and this is to everyone. what sort of identities might be associated with:
And
Any guesses as to what my favorite is out of these two!?
12 comments:
I thought this was a very interesting presentation. Food has a lot to do with our identities and it is funny how effect it actually has. When looking at the two pictures, for the McDonald's one I see an overweight, lazy, lonely and unhappy person. With the berry, I see an energetic, active, happy, and friendly person. The thing is, I eat both in equal amounts and I feel as though I don't have any of the qualities I associate with someone who eats McDonalds. As a college student, I eat quick and unhealthy meals most of the time which reflects my identity of a college student. As I get older, my food choices will change to be healthier and that will reflect the fact I am wiser and more settled down.
-Lauren
I would have to guess that your favorite of the two is the fruit because you did ask us to bring you fruit from the cafeteria. But, this may be a trick question so I have a feeling that your favorite is the McDonalds. Yet, you do not fit any of the things I listed for the identity of someone who eats McDonalds!
-Lauren
I also thought this presentation was also well done and had lots of great information. I loved the activity in the beginning. Its interesting to think that different types of food comes from many different countries. Anyhow, as Professor Campbell mentioned, the corporation and consumption of food do go hand in hand and I was also confused about your concept of ideoscapes and how it related to food consumption. Corporation and consumption is very well played out in the McDonalds Corporation, but I'm trying to think of another example. I think Subway is a good one. The way they advertise their subs as being "6, 7, 0or 8 grams of fat or less" attracts a lot of people who are dieting. Jared is a great personal identity that comes out of the Subway Coproration. His nearly 300 pound loss by eating entirely Subway sandwiches is just awe insiring and they have every right to use his story.
As for my own personal food profile, I tend to associate myself with foods that are healthy, whole wheat, and are low in sodium. I always try to find some way to imcorporate fruits and vegetables into every meal that I eat, especially where I'm on a diet right now. There is no doubt in my mind that my dieting style might change based on the dieting goals that I have accomplished and/or based on the certain ideologies and identities that certain foods have and whether or not they match my own. For now though when I try to eat out fast food I try to go to Subway, and you might know why!
As for the last question, I would have to say that Professor Campbell's favorite food is the raspberries. The bean salad and fruit that we brought her up from the cafeteria that she enjoyed so much is compelling evidence of this, and if I have been tricked then so be it, but I always go with what seems obvious to me!
Kudos to the food group on a great presentation!
Shamus
isn't it amazing the sorts of values we assign to food.. and the types of identities, too. IN a global world, food has come to be a marker of essential difference between groups of people... For example, we imagine that only Chinese people can cook proper, authentic Chinese food... even if the person, who is viewed as being of Chinese descent, has never been to China! Somehow, we come to believe that cooking-skills are located in certain essential properties...
Very good deductive skills, guys! I actually watched the documentary McLibel last night, which covered a big case in the UL in the 1990s In the UK, we don't have any free-speech laws (we don't have a constitution). Two people were sued by McDonalds for creating pamphlets which were wanring the public against McDonalds' harms (against the environment, animals, workers, customers' heath). McDonalds sued them... ! It was an amazing case...
I'll wait for more responses before I tell you!
A
Its interesting how much ideology is behind something as seemingly simple as food. McDonalds is my favorite example. The latest commercials show seemingly fit, happy people laughing and enjoying some "healthy" options at McDonalds. This seems to sell a much more cheerful vision than the reality. I agree with Lauren's description of what I think of the 'typical' McDonalds' consumer: fat, lazy, and unhappy. But of course portraying the actual truth would do little to help them sell their product.
I think some very obvious food ideologies involve health foods in America. During the Carter administration, American’s were told that fat and red meats were the cause of America’s poor health and nutrition. We quickly formed ideologies that fats were bad and we avoid eating them. This was based on the science of the times and what nutritionists once knew about our eating habits. This all changed when Dr. Atkins later proposed that an overabundance of carbohydrates is the cause of America’s poor health, and this too was based on the most advanced knowledge of nutrition. No we assume that carbs are unhealthy, as we avoid all the foods we once thought were perfectly healthy. American ideologies about health food and nutrition are affected by the sciences of the times and motivated by America’s urge to have healthy eating habits. Because of our own motivation and the progress of science, food ideologies in America shift very rapidly.
Of course we all have personal food ideologies and connections between our identities and the food we eat. Personally, I love cooking and eating all manner of desserts, Mexican is my comfort food because I ate it when I was young, I don’t eat fast food, I don’t mind eating meat because it doesn’t have a face when I eat it… I feel like all of these aspects have some influence on my outward identity. I think some of my food habits determine how healthy I appear to others, what I think of eating meats, or how worldly I am. These ideologies certainly can change over time, just as the ideologies of the country will change. Our beliefs of food can and will mature as our understandings of nutrition and the ideologies of others progress.
Ideologies with the McDonalds: Unhealthy, tasty, lots of food, warm, greasy, cheap, fast, easy, portable, gross
Ideologies with the Raspberry (I assume this is your favorite?): Clean, flavorful, healthy, sweet, tart, refreshing, summer food, hard to come by, messy
Stuart
There's some very interesting research and writing on the food industry and the ideologies produced... Mostly, pertaining to how certain food lobby groups, representing various food industries, shapes the messages we get about 'health. The dairy and meat industries (which receive large govt. subsidies) have been very powerful... so much so that we equate milk with calcium, and this connection has become something of a truism. There has also been a history of suppressing, or keeping quiet, research which subverts the 'status-quo', One of the biggest epidemiological studies (involving Cornell and Oxford researchers) was the 'China Study;, and it found a very string correlation between disease and animal protein/fat. Your chance of developing disease go up directly in relation to the amount of animal proteins consumed.
Below is a link to a pretty good text on the subject,
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9518.php
And, Stuart, that meat had a face once :-)
A
For the ideoscapes, i briefly skimmed over that however i will repeat what I did. An ideoscape represents partisan positions in struggles over power and the allocation of resources in a political state. We can relate ideoscape to food globalization by say if we were eating Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Greek, Italian etc...by eating those foods from where that country is one can not only associate what foods they are eating but the political state that country is in. By eating that food from that country you could be contributing to that country's political endeavors. For example, during the World Wars you probably wouldn't be caught dead eating German food because you would be contributing to their cause. Maybe some people overseas do not eat hamburgers because they do not like America. (If you need more detail let me know).
Another example I can think of besides McDonalds is Dunkin Donuts. "America runs on Dunkin." I'm an addict myself. I honestly run on coffee and go to dunkins whenever i get the opportunity. In commercials, they are always advocating that dunkins is a quick "pick-me-up" or you can do anything with dunkins on the go (there is always time to stop at dunkin donuts: easy, fast, and cheap goodness)
Throughout this whole learning process on this topic I realized that like wow food influences us so much. From the endless commercials telling us to buy their product and configure it into our everyday lives to food companies adjusting themselves to other cultures. What is one to think throughout this madness? haha. Its reality and globalization of food at its best.
McDonaldization of food is a perfect example of spreading ideology of consumption. I think that that the ideology that people can eat humbargar as much as they want, is spread along with spreading McDonalds around the world. In Japan, McDonalds came, and people were very surprised by that cheap, food. At the same time, people got the ideology that they could buy and "waste" food as much as they want. This wasting food and expanding ideology of consumption are causing the huge problem of hunger, I think.
Also, along with MacDonals, capitalism was spreading around the world by MacDonalization. It is easy for people to get cheaper food than healtier food, so MacDonals "invade" other culture and the needs of cultural food, which was expensive, decreased. Some people lost jobs, because of the spreading of capitalism.
Finally, for those two pictures, I agree with Lauren. The Mcdonal's one, I see unhealthy, overweight, salty, image. By the way, I was surprised the huge number of McDonals in America. Yes, it is spreading around the world, but, here, we can see eveywhere and the amount people eat cannot be compared to others I think. Fruit is healthy and the image of something human need.
Susumu Ikeda
As Paige's comment outlines the answer on the ideoscape question, there are many other examples of fast food that has spread throughout the world. McDonald's being the leader of fast food restaurants, there are many more following in their footsteps. Places such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks are located all around the world and refer back to the American Identity of unfortunately being unhealthy and now obese. Now I don't speak for everyone, but i hate the fact that fast food restaurants define to other nations what the US is like. I seldom eat at fast food restaurants but this is the stereotype placed upon the American Citizen. KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken, is located around the world and as it's name states is from the US. Also in it's name is Fried again making the point that Americans are "unhealthy and obese". It's unfortunate that restaurants such as these are the ones that are seen across the world.
I do go to Starbucks regularly and after looking up their nutrition information, they are just as bad as McDonalds in some aspects. I didn't think that this type of place would be so bad for you. Although it is a American restaurants many of their products are not made in the US, such as the coffee. So as i see it Starbucks across the world isn't just seen as American, but also their products are more discrete with being bad for you.
Food ties into my identity and others identities greatly. If you look at someones plate at a restaurant or in the cafeteria, you automatically can tell or stereotype about their identity. If i see a person eating a salad and having milk, OJ, or water i think that they are healthy and care about their appearance and overall health. If i see someone with a soda and something like pizza, i think that they are not very healthy. Its little things like this that shape our identity and how we perceive someone else. I like to eat very healthy, but i do cheat and eat bad things sometimes. I don't eat "fast food" i drink "fast drinks". I rarely am found at a fast food restaurant but when I'm there i normally just get a drink, such as an ice coffee from McDonalds or a Carmel Frappachino from Starbucks. I like to think that i eat healthy most of the time, but at school that is hard. At home i eat and drink mostly organic items because i have formed the belief that they are much better for you and i am willing to pay more. This shapes my identity a lot because to my friends at home i am considered "very healthy and almost a health freak". I feel like my eating patterns have changed a lot and will change in the future. When i was younger i ate at fast food restaurants because i didn't know about the health factors that are associated with that food. Through-out high school i ate well at home, but had school lunches which as we know are not very nutritious. During the summer i eat organic and healthy foods, with lots of fruit because it is in season. Now being a college student and on a tight budget i am forced to eat from the cafeteria, which has alright to bad food. Later on in life, pending finances, i think it will be much easier to eat the type of food i want to like organic and healthy foods. So as i grow and learn more about food and being healthy my eating patterns are formed around this knowledge.
I think your favorite food would be the raspberry, but I'm sure at some point before you became a vegan you had a couple hamburgers :)
-Chelsey Meszaros
The presentation was very well done, and thoroughly informative.
I haven't been to a McDonald's since my sophmore year of high school. I tell myself not to go because the food is so bad for you... instead I will go to KFC and get a chicken quesadilla that is loaded with cheese and hot sauce. Sort of a strange trend I have noticed about myself.
I think that the reason I do not go to McDonald's lies more with the ideologies that they represent, and much less with the quality of the food they serve. I picture a Burger from there dripping grease and cheese all over the place, and falling apart in your mouth before you chew it. I prefer a burger made at home on a char-coal grill with lean hamburg. It is the same thing, but completely different, and one I can enjoy, and the other I refuse to.
I think the idea of food idealogies and imperialism is a very interesting reality. One doesnt tend to think of food when they think of imperliasm. But after listening to this presentation it was quite clear.
And to think about the kind of implications or steretypes that might be associated with McDonalds; I would have to agree with some of my classmates when they said, lazy, fat, slow, unhealthy, cheap etc... These preconcieved notions are so ingrained within our society that they pretty much slip under the radar. So i think its good to be reminded how much we stereotype others; even based on the simplest thing like food!!
I also thought another interesting part of this presentation was how they talked about how all of our supposed ethnic food in America; chinease, italian, indian, mexican... has all become highly Americanized. Even our ethnic food ceases to be truly ethnic! We seem to add our signiture favorite, cheese, into every single dish possible until its practically unrecognizable, and all other manner of cholesterol and fats. And I am certainly no exception to the rule...
But maybe this Americanization isnt such a bad thing. Its just evidence of cultural hybrizidation on our part. We took things we liked from other cultures and made it our own. At least in some small part we are recognizing and embracing other global cultures.
And I would have to guess that your favorite pic would be the raspberry. Maybe the McDonalds pic looks good to you, but I'm guessing you would rather eat the fruit, but who knows....?
Brittany McIntosh
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