My grandmother, an inveterate traveler, once told me that when she travels to a new town or country, the first place she wants to visit is the people's public market. She is excited to see the display of food and hopefully, to meet the farmers or fishermen with their produce and catch of the day. But even more, she claims that she is anxious to learn from them of any strange fruit or vegetable from the place and how to eat and cook them of course. This way, she becomes acquainted with the food and the culture of the people.
She must be a "foodie" and a "gourmet" at the same time.
When I hear the term "foodie," the typical image that comes to mind is someone who simply enjoys and holds some interest in food consumption. A "gourmet" on the other hand, is one who, I think, wears expensive and fancy attire, capable of naming the ingredients in any dish he may relish, a connoisseur of good food and dining refinements. Given these definitions, my grandmother is both. Anyone, however, can be a foodie but an individual's socioeconomic status (SES) limits his potential to become a gourmet.
Man is born a foodie to survive; but he becomes a gourmet depending on his economic circumstances, good taste and appreciation for dining refinements. He was not at all aware of socioeconomic levels when he took his first bite of an apple, not bought from the store but simply handed to him by a woman, thereby unwittingly committing the original sin. Henceforth, he has to find food to survive, the beasts around him forage and prey until they are satisfied. Then the man's family and appetite grew and the simple fruit became a meal, the meal into celebratory feasts, and the feasts into religious offerings to his gods. Through the centuries these meals evolved into innumerable occasions: birthdays, harvest days, holy days, even burial days. To a large extent, the magnificence of these occasions depends on the resources of the hosts and the culinary genius of their chefs.
But fire had the most profound effect on the transformation of the primitive man's diet and way of life. Fire brought him warmth and light, and also the means to raise his social and economic position. From the ancient Greeks to the outrageous Egyptians and Romans, man's food and sources of supply was made possible through the aide of fire. His ability to convert raw materials into palatable and digestible fare determined his social and financial status. A glittering table, a well-fed family, happy guests were symbols of his prosperity and social advancement.
Life presents problems and the consequences of decisions made to cope with them result in an individual's success or failure financially and emotionally. Cultural and economic disparities have historically divided people into the rich and the poor, the familiar and the different. A wealthy suitor may offer stocks and bonds to obtain a loved one's acceptance of his marriage proposal. But a man from another country and culture may think that 15 camels will suffice. Actually, man has changed his status with his innovations to find and prepare food (the adoption of agricultural farming and methods of cooking), which became the basis for a stable life.
As food became more accessible and affordable through modern technology and media promotions, almost everyone can eat anything anytime. There are health concerns and time constraints that preclude immediate hunger appeasement, but in general, people, especially those from the middle and upper classes, continue to find and eat innovative meals while those in the lower socioeconomic status find that kind of food beyond their limited means. One therefore finds that his ability to eat quality food and/or in quantity increase in proportion to his ability to pay for them. Specialty canned goods and boxed dinners that are microwavable for instant consumption are readily available - at a price. Thus the disparity between the rich and the poor becomes evident.
The increasing accessibility of food in today's market has attracted all spectrums of people's lives. Television shows, magazine ads, films, even by word of mouth, promote countless cuisines and methods of cookery. Countless cookbooks are printed; food commercials appear on TV shows and print media; food aficionados compare notes on their favorite recipes or chefs and most recently enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia based on a fan's response on the late food maven Julia Child. These made folks, especially those in the middle and upper classes, respond gastronomically, not realizing that by indulging with so much enthusiasm that they have also raised their avoirdupois.
This alarming result of dining in easy luxury is inversely related to the increase in food accessibility and the decrease in time to prepare food. According to an article written by then food researcher Michael Pollan, the ratio between preparing and eating a meal was originally 80 percent to 20 percent. The advent of canned food has led into a longer period of storage, decreasing the ratio to the present rate where eating is now 80 percent with preparation being 20 percent. The decreasing time to prepare food that had prevented the human body to accumulate additional mass has been bypassed by eating frozen dinners.
Some people may think it is all right to be overweight; others may find it not so. Those who are of the latter opinion must then be forced to make a decision: to exercise and/or to diet by trying any of the numerous and questionable diets offered to lose weight. Television's Food Network has accomplished the remarkable task of capturing and maintaining the people's interest in food and cooking without them ever stepping into the kitchen, letting alone leaving the couch. Viewing shows such as Iron Chef and Hell's Kitchen has led to a decline in meal preparation for they all became a form of visual entertainment. Therefore, those who desire to lose weight must take the bold step to becoming a foodie by meeting their goal to consume meals of reduced calories.
The less fortunate of the socioeconomic status is none other than the people of the lower classes who, by circumstances and for negligible reasons, are limited in their pursuit for food. Their low financial resources make them unable to acquire, eat, or even taste extravagant and exotic dishes. But as mentioned before, food has become easy to obtain and though those food may neither be healthy nor expensive, given the advances in food technology, food produces such as Maruchan ramen and Swanson brand dinners are available to the at reasonable prices that requires little time to prepare. As a consequence, such food products carry health concerns that are not initially visible but are satisfying to the desperately hungry. Eating such brand-name foods may eventually lead to obesity with its health complications such as diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, asthma, gall bladder disease, coronary disease and even premature death (Baum).
The middle and upper classes of people find it easy to control their obesity through diet and exercise. They pay personal trainers who force discipline to help them lose weight. They also can afford to buy the regimen of South Beach Diet, Nutrisystem, and Weight Watchers where each system has its own method to lose weight (Yara). All those programs share two common characteristics: they require alternative sources of ingredients or food and prey on the fact that people will most likely fail. According to the Weight Control Registry, 80 percent of the people attempting to diet fail (Sparling 74). Those programs not only take time but also cost so much money. Even worse, the success rate of diets is directly related to socioeconomic status, which leaves people in the lower classers in a predicament.
The lack of money to acquire a variety of food and to prevent obesity leaves little chance of longevity for a foodie in the lower classes. It may lead to health problems by acquiring additional weight from eating unhealthy, cheap food. People from the upper classes not only have a greater range of food to choose from but the ability to ward off health problems through purchased diet and exercise. Thus these people continue their food adventure in luxury and ease.
One wonders if such satisfaction and comfort bring even a tinge of thought of those who hunger and thirst in this world. Whatever advantages of nature, science, or innovations may have brought to them, those benefits did not reach the hungry and malnourished people in some countries. The United Nations and other expert researchers from aid agencies around the world reveal increasing numbers of those unfortunate people who suffer from political or economical problems in their midst. In addition to the increasing number of people, the fact that people in developed countries have so much food as opposed to developing countries where the food is needed, is a world problem. Somehow those haunting images on TV and the print media should affect excessive food consumption. However obesity just like the division of people due to socioeconomic status, will remain as a concern for us to solve. So long as such a dilemma exists, the ability to enjoy food to its fullest extent is more limited as an individual’s socioeconomic status decreases. Regardless of socioeconomic status, a person’s interest in food will remain.
To all foodies and gourmets everywhere, Bon Appétit! But also spare the ribs!
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Works Cited
Baum, Charles, and Christopher J. Ruhm. "Age, Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Growth ." Age, Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Growth . 25 Oct. 2009
Sparling, Phillip B., and Kerry J. Redican. Personal Health: A Concise Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Yara, Susan. "Ten Diets That Work - Forbes.com." Forbes.com - Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News. 8 Mar. 2006. 25 Oct. 2009
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