Donuts, CCCs, and 2% Milk: A vLog

I eat, You eat, We all eat

Hey readers! This week I have a special treat for you. My partner in crime, worst enemy, best friend, and twin is here to make a guest appearance. She is a historian to the nth degree, so if you're interested in her blog go to histrophile.blogspot.com! Rock on, and peace out. Here's Baby Trink!

I really like steak. I love the taste, the texture, the smell. There's absolutely no meal I love more than a juicy filet mignon. Prom is coming up in a few weeks, and we have to choose which meal we would like: the oh-so feminine and vegetarian vegetable pasta or the manly and carnivorous bloody steak. For a while, I was feeling very self-conscious about ordering the steak, because I knew that all of the other girls at my table would order the vegetable pasta. How would I look in my long, flowing prom dress chowing down on a huge slab of meat? In fact, I even considered getting... the PASTA! Eventually I decided, like usual, to go with my stomach and not my mind, and I told my date to order me the steak. Yet, this conundrum I recently encountered has brought up an area for discussion: how people judge others based on what they are eating.

There's an interesting dynamic when it comes to watching other people eat and observing their habits. Everyone judges everyone (for the most part). If you're normal weight and you see an overweight person walking out of McDonald's with two bags stuffed with a greasy large-sized fry, a 10 piece chicken nugget meal, a Big Mac, and a Shamrock Shake, you wonder (even though most people tell themselves they don't) why they continue to eat unhealthily if they are so overweight already. If you're normal-sized or overweight and you see a very thin, model-sized person munching on a handful of carrots, water, and some celery sticks you wonder to yourself (even if you're trying to fight it) why they think they need to limit themselves like that when they're already so slim.

And we've all heard why we do this. Often, we see the person we're judging as having the ideal body-type and don't understand why they continue to strive for further perfection. Other times, we are so insecure that when we see someone with a body we fear to have we have to beat them down to make ourselves feel better (check out this website run by Tyra Banks to see discussions on this idea). Still other times, we are so sizist that we see our lifestyle as superior to all others (for an interesting post relating to this topic on judging people based on their shopping carts at the grocery store, click here).

But, a question I always (okay not always, but sometimes) ask when I catch myself making judgments on people based on their weight or what they're eating is this: do I truly think I am better than this person just because I am thinner or eating healthier than them? To be honest, the answer is often yes (although I then quickly correct my thinking). I'm in no way proud of my prejudice, but in many ways it is intrinsic to our culture. We are bom into a society that shows ultra-skinny models on runways and ripped women on television. Even I, a soon-to-be college-athlete, will never achieve these ideal figures no matter how hard I work out and how strict my diet is.

So, to me, a more important question than do we judge people based on what they eat is this: where do our judgments about people based on food and weight come from?

< Histrophile >

oh, and... peace out, and rock on.

Food Production: Part 1

I have recently decided to attend a college next year in the heart of America's farmland, or in other words, the Midwest. Many deem the region boring, as just a place filled with cornfield after cornfield. However, I see the region as an extremely interesting place, where food begins as humble plants before it is transformed into cereals and sugars and breads. This got me thinking about our food production: how it's planted, how it's grown, and how it's harvested.

Modern food production is much different than it was in the early farming days. We now can mass produce all products and make them available to almost anyone who wants the products, and there are many issues with this type of production. In this post, however, I will just focus on the issue of the changes in food production methods.

When one thinks of a Midwestern farm, they think of a quintessential farm life: a red barn, a windmill, some cows mingling around. This may have been the image of past farmers, I'm not sure, but it certainly is not the image of farmers today. Today, most modern farmers work to produce cash crops for mass distribution, while before this shift, farmers grew just enough for themselves and to make a profit locally. And this shift has sparked many other shifts, including technological advances, environmental degradation, and urbanization.

In short, changes in food production in farms has fueled much more, greater change, change that we, as Americans, could not imagine life without.

Keep reading for the next post further investigating food production.

Peace out, and rock on.

Baby Bunnies and Vegetarians

My dog, Patty, ate four baby bunnies last week. The last two were so young they didn't even have hair, and she swallowed them whole. It was disgusting. My initial reaction was, "The poor mama bunny!" and "Patty is a killer." But, when you think about it, my dog was only fulfilling her innate need for nourishment. Food, for animals (like Patty), isn't about taste or presentation or cultural merit -- it's about a biological instinct to refuel themselves.

So maybe Patty isn't a psycho, maybe she's actually normal. In fact, maybe Patty is more normal than me -- than humans. People eat food from animals (like baby bunnies, for example) all the time, but we find it repulsive when dogs massacre bunny families before our eyes? Now, that's just a bit hypocritical, don't you think? I mean, the human race systematically slaughters millions of cattle herds every year for consumption, but we can't watch our dogs eat newborn bunnies? There is obvious validity to the "out of sight, out of mind" argument. But, for me, it only takes one thought about what I'm truly shoving into my mouth while I'm enjoying a nice piece of steak for my appetite to suddenly disappear.

I used to not understand why people would want to become vegetarians. Meat is so tasty! There's nothing like a greasy cheeseburger on a hot summer night, there really isn't... But what if I had to actually go out to the field and sink my teeth into the living cow (like Patty and the baby bunnies) to get the same nourishment? Would I love that cheeseburger the same? Would there even be cheese?

Peace out, and rock on.

FDA: A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have come to the realization that the majority of my posts have been about the social aspects of food, their culture, and how food is perceived around the world. Therefore, to broaden my horizons, I thought it necessary to touch on a different perspective of food, specifically, the political implications of food itself.

The Food and Drug Administration can be considered the most powerful and influential entity over the entire food in industry in our country. Today, the FDA focuses on protecting our health, from food inspections to making sure that medicines are safe. Even if we don't realize it, the FDA helps us stay healthy and safe.

But the history of the FDA is quite interesting, and reflects how much the food industry has changed and grown in just over 100 years. In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt passed the Pure Food and Drug Act as well as the Meat Inspection Act. In these acts, many new regulations for food safety and cleanliness were passed. In the former, all harmful foods are prohibited, and all foods are required to have ingredients on their labels. In the latter, government agents began to monitor the quality of meats using their own funds, showing that Washington was willing to set aside a part of their own budget to insure safety and cleanliness within their nation's food industry.

However, you might ask, what sparked the passing of such bills? A great deal of this can be attributed to a single novel. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. In his famous novel, Sinclair exposes the horror that is the American meat packing industry. By describing dirty plants with extremely unsanitary conditions, Sinclair finally brought attention to a pressing issue in America in the early 1900's. Upon reading this book, Roosevelt ordered federal investigations to see if the claims were true, and after he learned they were, began to act.

Though the specific historical details of such acts may bore you, I find them fascinating. When there was something wrong with the food system in our country, the President himself stepped in to help. The food industry is one that effects every single person in our country, and it attracted the whole nation's attention. Food has the power to influence the politics and the laws that define our nation.

Peace out, and rock on.

Feminine Food

At the grocery yesterday, I was browsing the aisles of the grocery store when I came across something strange. In the energy bar section, next to the famous Clif Bars, I found something called a Luna Bar: the Whole Nutrition Bar for Women. As a product of Clif Bars, these Luna Bars are specially designed with unique vitamins and minerals for women.

While the idea seemed to have good intentions, this irked me quite a bit. Why should women have to have a different energy bar then men? Why was the original bar made for men, and had to adapted to fit the needs of women? From a feminist lens, this phenomenon can prove to be quite troublesome.

Upon further examination of Luna Bars vs. Clif Bars, the distinctions between the two become quite clear. The packaging says a lot about the product, with Clif Bars bolstering a tough man rock climbing in the mountains, while the Luna Bar displays a calming scene with night skies and people doing yoga. For a company to have to tone down the so called 'manliness' of their original product to fit the needs of women shows the male domination of this industry.

It seems as though most foods are geared towards one gender over another. For example, a nice and juicy steak is considered a manly food, while a chopped salad is considered feminine. A man would be caught dead ordering a light salad for their dinner, while a woman would most definitely frowned upon if she were to order a large steak. In many languages, such as French and Spanish, all nouns, including all foods, are assigned their own gender. This may be interesting to examine: are the gender assignments in other languages reflective of their societal tendencies?

In French, the word salad is in fact feminine: la salade. And as you might guess, the word steak is masculine: le bifteck. This shows that our language matches the way this food is thought of. Maybe the language usage has something to do with it and maybe it doesn't, but all I know is that the way in which we speak about things certainly reflects their societal norms.

Peace out, and rock on.

Counting Calories

My best friend has just begun an incredibly daunting task: counting calories. Whatever the end goal may be, from losing weight to looking good for spring break, we soon learned that counting calories can take over your life. No more random snacking throughout the day, no more chocolate chip cookies, and no more late night snacks.

When you count your calories, you become extremely aware of how much you really eat in one day. Everything really adds up by, which made it seemingly impossible for my friend to stay under 1220 net calories a day. She has to record every little thing that she consumes, from every sip of coke to each meal, and is constantly thinking about it.

So this got me thinking. Why does dieting or counting calories take over our lives? Why is it that when we diet, it is all that we think about? What gives it that power?

In short, we are controlled by the food that we eat, and cannot eat for that matter. Most of us who diet or count calories have an end goal in mind, like a specific weight or a size to fit in to, and will do anything, even count every single calorie consumed, to achieve it. I hope that my friend doesn't get too obsessed with counting calories, as it can easily spin out of control.

The thing that can be the most dangerous about counting calories is the guilt that it causes. Having a bowl of ice cream after dinner makes you feel awful when you are finished, or going 100 calories over you limit can ruin your whole day. Guilt or bad feelings can lead to more serious issues that may even risk your life.

So a word of advice, when you decide to count calories or diet, know that you are in control of your food, and your food is not in control of you.

Peace out, and rock on.

Our McDonald's World

Yesterday, I had a chicken nugger Happy Meal for lunch. And a couple of weeks ago, I also had a chicken nugget Happy Meal for lunch. They were practically identical; each had salty, hot fries, and four crisp nuggets complimented with a refreshing Diet Coke. But there was also something starkly different between the two: I had one in India and one at home.

While in India, I craved the comfort of American food, and was overjoyed to to enjoy my happy meal. Somehow, I was able to have the same food in a foreign country that I could at home, and it tasted exactly the same. It seemed odd that I could travel over 7,000 miles to a whole different world and be able to order the same chicken nugget Happy Meal, and I wondered what could have caused this.

Globalization.

Our world is becoming increasingly globalized everyday in almost every aspect of life, including our food. McDonald's, for example, has globalized its business so that one can eat a Big Mac almost anywhere in the world. The phenomenon of the globalization of food brings up many issues, and I would like to address some of them in this post.

First off, the globalization of the food industry can be viewed both positively and negatively. Check out this article for more information on these views. On one hand, the increasing globalization of food can overrun the local and traditional foods of certain areas, becoming overpowered by the presence of the common food in chain restaurants. When custom food or small restaurants are replaced with large, globally recognized chain restaurants, traditions are being threatened. Unique food habits can die out, creating a lack of individuality and an increasing amount of uniformity.

On the other hand, the globalization of the food industry can be viewed as positive change. Globalization can serve as a unifying force, a trend that brings us together all over the world. We can begin to experience the same things, eat the same food, and begin to live in more similar matters. Overall, we are more connected as a planet.

I'm not sure what to think of the globalization of our food industry. It could create problems, it could prevent them, but most importantly, it must be recognized. You may not always be aware that it is happening, but it is. It took me grabbing some fries in India to recognize it, but now I am aware of the power and the influence of global food companies.

My Indian Happy Meal!

Peace out, and rock on.

Weight: a Paradox

Recipe of the Week: Poori - my favorite Indian food from my trip!

During my trip to India, as incredible as it was, one of the most heartbreaking things I experienced was the poverty. It was hard to see little kids running up to me and pull on my shirt, begging for money and motioning to their mouths for food and young mothers using their young babies to evoke one's sympathy and therefore money.

But something that I noticed about the poverty in India was their weight. Everyone was extremely thin, showing evidence of their malnutrition. In addition to this, you could tell which people were wealthy, also by their weight. People with enough money to adequately feed themselves were heavier and sometimes even overweight, while the people in poverty were thin. Now, this isn't always the case, of course, but it seemed to be a general trend.

I found this extremely interesting, because back at home, it seems to be just the opposite. People who don't have enough money to feed themselves are resorted to buying the cheapest foods, which often is unhealthy and heavily processed. On the other hand, wealthy people can afford to buy much healthier foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, and can therefore afford to stay thin.

This trend is not something radically new; in fact it is described in the book The Fattening of America: How the Economy Makes Us Fat, If It Matters, and What to Do About It by Eric Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman. The book covers many, many topics regarding the power and influence of food and obesity in our society today, but relating to this post, it specifically discusses how much cheaper it is to be fat than it is to be thin. In tough economic times, more and more people are turning to the cheapest food out there: unhealthy, greasy, and overall fattening.

A little more about the book, its main message is the link between America's obesity and our economy. According to the authors, obesity is actually improving the economy. The book coined the term "the ObesEconomy" which refers to the new markets and services caused by the increase in obesity.

Overall, I found the book to be extremely informative, giving a new and fresh perspective on the fattening of America, and filled with fun stories from the authors. It is definitely worth the read.

Peace out, and rock on.