Globalization through food...

In Wilk’s Home Cooking in the Global Village, Wilk is concerned about the effects of globalization on our food consumption.  Wilk brings up creolization and appropriation of local cultures across the globe.  He uses the example that through appropriation, Americans can consume sushi and other items considered Japanese without culturally becoming Japanese (Wilk 7).  With appropriation, dominant cultures can consume other cultures without destroying local cultures.  This can be seen with the diversity of Coca-Cola produces around the globe.  If you’ve ever visited the World of Coca-Cola, then you’ve seen appropriation first hand.  Although Coke was originally produced in Atlanta, Coke has become an item of global consumption.  Instead of not allowing Coke products into a country, the country instead changes the flavor of the drink to correspond with the country’s culture.  Instead of drinking Coke being an American thing, countries adapted the drink’s flavors to make it fit into their culture instead.   The World of Coca-Cola hosts five continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe.  The flavors at each of the continents give a small glimpse into how food and drinks can be unique to each country.

America is a country that contains a wide variety of cultures but instead of destroying local cultures that have appeared. America has instead adapted these cultural diversities without losing the identity of being American.  This can be seen through local food festivals, like the Atlanta Greek Festival.  Although I do not have a drop of Greek blood in my body, I have attended the Greek Festival for years but just because I have attended does not mean that my culture has changed.  the same can be applied to eating Chinese food without becoming culturally Chinese.  Attending these festivals shows that while America has these festivals that consist of different cultures, America is a dominant global culture and thus can contain other cultures but resist foreign cultures from taking over.  Instead of seeing these festivals as a threat to American culture, these festivals continues to represent Greek culture, food and dance because America has made the festivals fit into our history. 

           

Food?

Publicity photo for The Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar, Jess Dobkin, 2006. Photo by David Hawe.

The image above can be seen as shocking but that is exactly the point Dobkin wanted to make in her Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar piece.  In this piece, Dobkin set up a bar that served pasteurized break milk and allowed people to taste the milk donated by six different women (Esterik 20).  Honestly, I am not sure if I would have tasted the break milk that was being provided.  The thought of drinking breast milk is weird but at the same time I would feel pressure and curious to know what breast milk taste.  When the words “breast milk” are brought up the typical thought that comes to mind is an infant.  Only infants can consume breast milk without any judgment placed on them.  Certain foods, like breast milk, are associated with a certain age group and consumption outside of that age group is considered weird. 

From what I understand there is a lot of standards that are set for women.  Women are almost expected to feed their newborn breast milk because of the health benefits and thus if a women does not do such she is often viewed as a bad mother.  But while there is a pressure to breastfeed there is also the pressure from our society to only perform breastfeeding at home or in a bathroom.   This pressure to stay hidden eventually causes mothers to turn to formula in order to get away from the shame of breastfeeding in public.  It’s bizarre to think that we shame women who breastfeed in public while breast can be accepted in various other situations.  It is also interesting that pregnancy is seen to be beautiful but feeding out in the open is considered disgusting in American culture.  Mothers in America typically do not breastfeed after the age of a year old.  This could be related to our culture making public breastfeeding shameful.  In other countries, breastfeeding in a public setting is considered normal along with breastfeeding past the age a one. 

In the end, mothers are often pressure by society to preform specific tasks.  In the Japanese culture, mothers are pressured to make obentos for the children and make their child’s life easier.  Women are expected to be good mothers and the society sets the standards to what a good mother is defined as. 

Instagraming my lunch...

A cheeseburger and sweet tea is a pretty typical meal in my household, whether it’s my own home or my parent’s home.  Being born and raised in the South, sweet tea is an everyday necessity to me.  Looking at my plate, it may appear empty to most but I’ve never been one for a large meal.  Some people are accustomed to eating three large meals at day while I usually tend to eat small meals probably five times a day.  I’ve never understood this habit of mine but at some point in my life I stopped making myself eat only three meals a day.  This is probably because I get full easily and thus waste a large serving of food.  It’s also because after about forty minutes I’m hungry and ready to eat some more. Whatever the reason, it’s an unusual habit that I have no desire to get rid of.  I honestly believe that I am one of the slowest if not the slowest eaters in the world.  I’ve always been the last one to finish my meal, which is most likely a factor in why I eat small servings at a time.  If you ever see me eat, you will notice right off the bat that I take small bites. 

            I have no doubt that my food preferences are influenced socially, culturally, economically and politically.  As stated by Melissa Salazar in her piece Salad Days: A Visual Study of Children’s Food Culture, a meal can be viewed as “a visual depiction of a series of conscious actions and decisions made by […] children […] reflect the cultural meaning behind their food choices” (Salazar 425).

As I have already stated, just being from the South has made drinking sweet tea a preference.  Hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hotdogs are typical products associated with being “American” and commercials support this.  When having a cookout or when you’re at a sporting event these foods are almost always present.   Living in America instead of somewhere else has also influences my actions and decisions.  Unlike in the Japanese lifestyle that is described by Anne Allison in Permitted and Prohibited Desired Mothers, Comics and Censorship in Japan, I have never been scorned for not fully eating a meal within a specific amount of time or for not finishing every item on my plate (Allison 81).