The two pieces for analysis, "Eating the Hyphen", a college essay written by Lily Wong, and "Reclaiming True Grits" by chef and author Bryant Terry, seem to me to be about the ways food stereotypes effect cultures that are seen as traditional and how people play into them. Wong's piece, which is titled very well, is about a Chinese American who questions why she embraces eating her frozen dumplings with ketchup over a more authentic option, which would be equally available to her. She appears to view her habit as one that is peculiar, and the way she presents it is very relatable, as I imagine most people have one of those habits that they can't really explain away. Terry's piece is about clearing up misconceptions most people have about African-American soul food, which we tend to think of as fried chicken, mac and cheese, and collared greens -- or more loosely, as unhealthy.
The two pieces are very different in how they convey their messages. As a light criticism, Wong's piece reads exactly how you'd imagine a paper written by a student would. It's a little awkward at times, but its personable tone and self-awareness save it from being a mediocre paper, in my eyes. Terry, as an author, seems to have a bit more control over his piece's direction, using specific rhetorical devices that are more apparent than Wong's. Wong uses mostly personal experience to frame her paper, while Terry utilizes his own anecdotal evidence together with quotes from experts to give his argument more weight. He also notes how African-American people's soul food is generally thought of incorrectly, which is a disservice to just how healthy, local, and fresh real soul food can be. He ends his article with a recipe for the grits he spoke so highly about, which I think he included just as a reminder that he is a professional chef.
I do like the honesty in Wong's paper, as she is very proud of her Chinese heritage, listing foods she loves that would make the average American squirm in discomfort, while also fully accepting the fact that she enjoys a very bastardized version of something from her culture. Terry's piece straddles the line between personal and informative writing, and is fairly entertaining for being about grits.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
College Food
Using the Kingsolver family, one that raises their own crops and livestock in an ethical manner, as a gauge for for comparison to my college eating habits has actually shown me a lot about them. The mother of the family, Barbara Kingsolver, wrote an article delving into the ethics of their family farm and is counterparted by a short article by her daughter Camille which illustrates her dietary transition from home to college. Camille notes how very many of her peers do not share her unique perspective on food and its production. Most don't think about where their hamburgers with lettuce and tomato come from.
In my experience at UNCA, Asheville seems to not be that way. Organic and homegrown seems to be an option everywhere here. The household that I come from was not like this at all, most of our shopping for groceries was at Walmart or Food Lion with no regard being given at all to where something came from or how the cows in our ground beef were treated. My family is the kind that laughs at the notion of vegetarianism. Not to say I am that way; I respect those who make that lifestyle choice. It is still very strange though, to be surrounded by people who care so much about what is put in their bodies. I'm used to a diet consisting of the odd homecooked meal and fast food, so attending school here has been kind of a weird transition. I mainly eat in the cafeteria, trying some stuff I wouldn't usually be exposed to (there have been some good and bad experiments), but sticking to things that don't scare me too much. I really miss Taco Bell being a staple of my low-income high-school diet, but every now and again a presumably healthier alternative to the diet I'm accustomed to is served, and I am pleased.
I am one of the people described in Camille's piece that aren't unintelligent, I just have never actively sought out information on food and farming, as it never really crosses my mind. Food is a comfort and a essentially an afterthought to me. I eat until I'm full and I try to not be wasteful, and that's in a nutshell how I operate. These articles have made me contemplate how I fit into the picture of society painted by the Kingsolver family and their experiences.
I'd like to share a quote that resonated with me from Barbara's piece. If I were to become more conscious of my eating habits and their origins, and as a lover of meat, this would be the philosophy I'd espouse.
"When you kill a beast, say to him in your heart:
By the same power that slays you, I too am slain, and I too shall be consumed.
For the law that delivers you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven."
- Kahlil Gibran
That's metal as hell, and I love it.
In my experience at UNCA, Asheville seems to not be that way. Organic and homegrown seems to be an option everywhere here. The household that I come from was not like this at all, most of our shopping for groceries was at Walmart or Food Lion with no regard being given at all to where something came from or how the cows in our ground beef were treated. My family is the kind that laughs at the notion of vegetarianism. Not to say I am that way; I respect those who make that lifestyle choice. It is still very strange though, to be surrounded by people who care so much about what is put in their bodies. I'm used to a diet consisting of the odd homecooked meal and fast food, so attending school here has been kind of a weird transition. I mainly eat in the cafeteria, trying some stuff I wouldn't usually be exposed to (there have been some good and bad experiments), but sticking to things that don't scare me too much. I really miss Taco Bell being a staple of my low-income high-school diet, but every now and again a presumably healthier alternative to the diet I'm accustomed to is served, and I am pleased.
I am one of the people described in Camille's piece that aren't unintelligent, I just have never actively sought out information on food and farming, as it never really crosses my mind. Food is a comfort and a essentially an afterthought to me. I eat until I'm full and I try to not be wasteful, and that's in a nutshell how I operate. These articles have made me contemplate how I fit into the picture of society painted by the Kingsolver family and their experiences.
I'd like to share a quote that resonated with me from Barbara's piece. If I were to become more conscious of my eating habits and their origins, and as a lover of meat, this would be the philosophy I'd espouse.
"When you kill a beast, say to him in your heart:
By the same power that slays you, I too am slain, and I too shall be consumed.
For the law that delivers you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven."
- Kahlil Gibran
That's metal as hell, and I love it.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
The Two Sides of Eating Habits: Comparing "Her Cheeto Heart" and "Not Just a White Girl's Thing"
These two pieces, Her Cheeto Heart by Jill McCorkle, and Not Just A White Girl's Thing by Susan Bordo, do a great job of illustrating two extremes of the eating habits of the world we inhabit, but they do it in strikingly different ways. McCorkle's essay is much more casual in tone and tackles her eating habits in a manner that doesn't paint them as an issue. While on the other hand, Bordo's article is very scholarly in its tone and hits upon a pervasive, class-defying societal issue that is very serious in nature; one that lends itself well to a research based, social-science based analysis. They are two very different pieces that many parallels can be drawn from. They both show variations of eating habits, just through two different lenses.
McCorkle writes her piece from a very nostalgic point of view, recounting her favorite deliciously unhealthy treats from her youth. She does this through the sharing of fond personal anecdotes of her childhood and the listing of tasty guilty pleasures that she hopes her audience will connect with and share in her reminiscence. She essentially tells a story of food that revolves around her life's narrative. She also attempts to make emotional connections with her readers through the concept of food, by noting the reactions these foods (which she knows are disgustingly unhealthy) illicit from her. She says food makes her happy, which is a feeling I know I relate to. For that matter, I was even drinking an admittedly unhealthy Mountain Dew and eating flavor blasted goldfish while writing the bulk of this post, because they make me feel good and remind me of home. Food brings many people comfort and piece of mind, which is also a point hit upon in Bordo's article, albeit in a decidedly different light.
Rhetorically, Bordo's piece is very very different. She uses relevant data and quotes from her own research work, as well as other sources, to give her essay a sense of objectivity and reliance on fact rather than focusing on emotional based reader responses such as nostalgia and happiness. Her's is a piece of analytical observation compared to one of flashbacks to bygone days. As a reader, you notice that she is trying to clear up misconceptions that still prevail in the general populace's collective mind. It is thought that anorexia, bulimia, and other assorted eating disorders are a disease of spoiled white girls, when in reality the factors that go into studying eating disorders are much more socially diverse. These diseases cross boundaries of all races and classes, and show that not all people think of eating so fondly as Jill McCorkle.
When read and analyzed as companion pieces, these two articles clearly illuminate the differences in perception of food and its role it plays in a person's life. For some it is a destructive concept that is based in negative idol-worship that leads to crippling disorders that can take over one's life, and for others it is a concept to be pleasantly looked back upon as a reminder of the good times spent savoring the pleasure and excess life had afforded them. As always, a healthy perspective of critical thinking is required to properly contextualize two subjectively valid concepts.
McCorkle writes her piece from a very nostalgic point of view, recounting her favorite deliciously unhealthy treats from her youth. She does this through the sharing of fond personal anecdotes of her childhood and the listing of tasty guilty pleasures that she hopes her audience will connect with and share in her reminiscence. She essentially tells a story of food that revolves around her life's narrative. She also attempts to make emotional connections with her readers through the concept of food, by noting the reactions these foods (which she knows are disgustingly unhealthy) illicit from her. She says food makes her happy, which is a feeling I know I relate to. For that matter, I was even drinking an admittedly unhealthy Mountain Dew and eating flavor blasted goldfish while writing the bulk of this post, because they make me feel good and remind me of home. Food brings many people comfort and piece of mind, which is also a point hit upon in Bordo's article, albeit in a decidedly different light.
Rhetorically, Bordo's piece is very very different. She uses relevant data and quotes from her own research work, as well as other sources, to give her essay a sense of objectivity and reliance on fact rather than focusing on emotional based reader responses such as nostalgia and happiness. Her's is a piece of analytical observation compared to one of flashbacks to bygone days. As a reader, you notice that she is trying to clear up misconceptions that still prevail in the general populace's collective mind. It is thought that anorexia, bulimia, and other assorted eating disorders are a disease of spoiled white girls, when in reality the factors that go into studying eating disorders are much more socially diverse. These diseases cross boundaries of all races and classes, and show that not all people think of eating so fondly as Jill McCorkle.
When read and analyzed as companion pieces, these two articles clearly illuminate the differences in perception of food and its role it plays in a person's life. For some it is a destructive concept that is based in negative idol-worship that leads to crippling disorders that can take over one's life, and for others it is a concept to be pleasantly looked back upon as a reminder of the good times spent savoring the pleasure and excess life had afforded them. As always, a healthy perspective of critical thinking is required to properly contextualize two subjectively valid concepts.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
What the World Eats
A couple years ago, Time published an article entitled "Hungry Planet: What the World Eats" which is an interesting visual conceptualization of the weekly diets of people's families from the far reaches of the world, from our own suburbs to Chad.
Here's a link for those who want to see it in its glory.
This article is actually very eye opening and lends itself well to serious contemplation and reflection of our own habits and lifestyles as people. It really highlights the wealth gap that is so often discussed in academia, and lets you place yourself somewhere realistic inside that gap. In this regard it's a very interactive piece. Let's compare a relatively poor nation with one from the first world so as to better illustrate my point.
(For an added connection for myself, this family is from North Carolina) They spend $341.98 a week on a fairly extravagant amount of what I like to consider "convenience" or "pleasure" foods, such as delivery pizza, Burger King, McDonalds and the like.
Then take into consideration a family from an environment less typical of a traditional nuclear American family, such as this one from Equador that spends 31 dollars a week.
In comparison it's not difficult to see who is more privileged. But both seem happy and comfortable with their stock in life, which strikes me. It makes me wonder what really makes a family unit connect and create lasting ties. I think that much like beauty, happiness is in the eye of the beholder. Life will do with you what it will, but it's up to you to decide how you respond. I take from this that you should radiate positivity whenever it's possible for you, because it's one thing that actually is in your hands as a person, unlike source of income or economic conditions.
Here's a link for those who want to see it in its glory.
This article is actually very eye opening and lends itself well to serious contemplation and reflection of our own habits and lifestyles as people. It really highlights the wealth gap that is so often discussed in academia, and lets you place yourself somewhere realistic inside that gap. In this regard it's a very interactive piece. Let's compare a relatively poor nation with one from the first world so as to better illustrate my point.
(For an added connection for myself, this family is from North Carolina) They spend $341.98 a week on a fairly extravagant amount of what I like to consider "convenience" or "pleasure" foods, such as delivery pizza, Burger King, McDonalds and the like.
Then take into consideration a family from an environment less typical of a traditional nuclear American family, such as this one from Equador that spends 31 dollars a week.
In comparison it's not difficult to see who is more privileged. But both seem happy and comfortable with their stock in life, which strikes me. It makes me wonder what really makes a family unit connect and create lasting ties. I think that much like beauty, happiness is in the eye of the beholder. Life will do with you what it will, but it's up to you to decide how you respond. I take from this that you should radiate positivity whenever it's possible for you, because it's one thing that actually is in your hands as a person, unlike source of income or economic conditions.
Introduction and Why Food Matters
First, as a little introduction of myself, I’m your typical 18 year old white male. I’m interested in your typical things; among them are, music, movies, television, books, and running. I try to be healthy to a degree, but I occasionally let comfort, familiarity, and pleasure win out in the area of food consumption. My family background isn’t one of extravagance or wealth, and I was the token “picky eater” as a kid, so I am accustomed to eating simply and quickly, sometimes sacrificing quality for availability (let’s just say Totino’s Party Pizzas were my long-time staple).
Why does it matter though?
Food matters immensely, regardless of status or individual standing. It is the fuel that keeps our human essence lit, and comforts and reminds people of home. Food in my own household has been a reflection of the state of my family. Prior to my parents’ separation from one another, we ate together as a family and it was a traditional source of comradery and normality, but after the fact, living with my father who is inept in the culinary arts, we dined mainly upon fast food. Every night became a struggle to find what tired stale dietary staple we wouldn’t hate to eat.
In an ideal situation, food should not be a source of tension or disdain, but a source of connection and strengthened family bonds. Food impacts us all as people, and I am no exception.
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