Students Again

Food often fulfills many symbolic functions. A particularly important symbolic function of food is to establish a person’s cultural identify. Discuss at least three (3) ways in which food  symbolically functions to establish a person’s cultural identify.

Three ways in which food symbolically functions to establish a person’s cultural identity are by specific foods, the appropriate use of food, and by defining status. Specific foods that are introduced during childhood become associated with security and good memories. These specific foods are known as comfort foods. Comfort foods satisfy a basic need for food  familiarity of ones culture. For example, an American child who is introduced to macaroni and cheese will hold a special affinity for that dish into adulthood. On the other hand, a  Vietnamese child who is introduced to pho may hold a special affinity for that dish. These are both considered comfort foods, but they are comfort foods that are associated with different cultures. Specific foods, comfort foods, are a basic way that food symbolically functions to establish cultural identity. Another way food symbolically functions to establish cultural identity is the appropriate use of food. This practice is called food etiquette. For example, the proper use of chopsticks may culturally identify a Japanese person and the practice of eating food with the use of only your hands may culturally identify a Moroccan person. The defining of status is another way that food symbolically functions to establish cultural identity. For example, an American who eats lobster, caviar, foie gras, and truffles on a regular part of their diet may be identified as wealthy within their culture. However, a person from another culture, where these foods are common, may hold a different status level within their culture.

A person’s food selections are first controlled by the dietary domain in which they live, i.e. by the availability of foods to them and by the definition of various foods as edible or inedible  by the members of a person’s culture. However, not everyone eats everything that he/she might possibly consume within his/her dietary domain. Rather multiple factors impact on individuals influencing their choices of the foods they actually eat and/or their overall food habits. Identify at least four (4) of these factors and discuss how each factor you identify might influence a person’s food choices within his/her dietary domain.

Four factors that influence the foods that are actually consumed, regardless of the availability within ones food domain, are taste, cost, convenience, and self-expression. Food selection is highly motivated by taste. Taste encapsulates several sensory properties in foods; these properties include aroma, color, flavor, and texture. Humans anticipate certain sensory characteristics in foods of their domain. If a food within their domain does not match their anticipation it may induce a negative association. If food taste is not acceptable to a person, whether it is available within their food domain or not, that person will choose other foods to consume. Cost is also highly influential on food choice within ones food domain. A person’s income level often dictates which foods they will select within their food domain. Convenience is also another major concern in selecting food. For example, in an urbanized society  where people tend to work further away from their homes, take-out food eaten with other employees make be selected rather than a home-cooked lunch. Self-expression also plays a role in food selection from ones food domain. Some foods may be chosen to mark cultural identity. Even though, some of these foods may be affiliated with religious practice or some other predetermined association a person has the choice to follow or ignore this convention in selecting food from their food domain.

As globalization continues as a world-wide trend and the diversity of the population within the United States continues to grow, there is increasing possibility of misunderstanding among persons who might be dining together, or between servers and guests at restaurants, or between guests and hosts within people’s homes. Two major classifications of the cultural  beliefs/practices regarding communication are low context cultures and high context cultures. Identify one country or region of the world that is a high context culture and one that is a low context culture. Then discuss at least three (3) points regarding how/why misunderstandings might occur when persons from a high context culture are invited to dinner at the home of someone from a low context culture.

A high-context region of the world may include the Middle East while a low-context region may include many European societies. Three misunderstandings that might occur if a person from a high-context culture is invited to a person from a low-context culture’s house for dinner may include verbal communication, non-verbal communication, and time perception. While at dinner a high-context person may speak in a vague many. This may irritate the lowcontext person who comes from a culture where the meanings of words in conversation are very important. This difference may cause a clash where the low-context person may wonder when the high-context person will be getting to the point of their conversation. When the  high-context person arrives at the low-context person’s house for dinner they may want to shake their hand or perform some other form of physical greeting. The low-context person may find this to be rude or offensive given that low-context culture avoids touching. The high-context person may arrive late for dinner given their societies polychronistic nature. The  low-context monochronistic person will likely find this to be rude.

Three or the world’s major religions have many holidays or sacred days or time periods with food prescriptions, prohibitions, or traditional food/food practices associated with them. For each of the 3 important events (listed below) observed within the 3 religions listed below, identify and discuss the food prescriptions, prohibitions, and/or practices associated with these
events. Where appropriate indicate WHY the prescription/prohibition/or practice is associated with the event.

Judaism: Passover
Christianity: Easter and Lent for Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Islam: Ramadan

Passover is a Jewish holiday that consists of an eight-day festival of spring and of freedom. It is held in March or April and celebrates Jewish freedom from slavery in Egypt. The Passover Seder is ceremony that takes place in the home. This home-based ceremony includes reading from the Seder book instilling the God-given right of all humankind to life and  liberty. A festival meal is part of Seder. The meal usually consists of chicken soup, matzo balls, and meat or chicken. When Moses led the Jews out of Egypt the bread they were carrying did not have time to rise. Today’s matzoh is a representation of the unleavened bread. During Passover not food that has been leavened or that has been in contact with leavened products can be eaten. The forbidden foods are wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Wheat flour can only be eaten in the form of matzoh. Milk and meat cannot be consumed together at any time; Jewish families must be very careful with the dishes, utensils, and pots that are used for Passover. Before Passover, the house and kitchens must be cleaned and relieved of any leavened products. The Seder table is set with all of the best wares. The setting must also include kosher wine, candles, the Seder book, three pieces of matzot covered specially for Passover, and a Seder plate. The Seder plate consist of Z’roah (symbolic of the ancient paschal lamb in Egypt), beitzah (a roasted egg representing the required offering brought to Temple at festivals), marror (bitter herbs representing the Jews’ bitter suffering under slavery), haroset (chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine which reminds of the pyramids built by the Jews in Egypt during slavery), karpas (a green vegetable symbolic of the meager diet of the Jews in slavery), and a beautifully decorated cup set on the Seder table for Elijah (the prophet who labored for social justice of the Jews). In Christianity, Easter and Lent are celebrated for Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Easter represents the day of the resurrection of Christ after the crucifixion and Lent is the forty days before Easter. Easter is considered a feast day and Lent is considered fast days. During fasting days it is forbidden to use meat, but not eggs, dairy products, or condiments made of animal fat. During Easter, a feast day, the most symbolic and popular food is the Easter egg. The red Easter egg symbolizes the tomb of Christ and is a sign of mourning. The breaking open of the eggs symbolizes the opening of the tomb and belief in the resurrection. In the religion of Islam, Ramadan is practiced. Ramadan is a required fasting period for Muslims and is during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During Ramadan Muslims must abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sex from dawn to sunset. Food can be eaten before the sun comes up and again after it sets. During Ramadan it is believed that the gate of heaven are open and the gates of hell are closed and the devil in bondage.

Two concepts fundamental to Hindu (and Buddhist) dietary practices are the concept of ahimsa and the concept of purity and pollution.

1. Explain the concept of ahimsa and discuss the relationship of this concept to the extent to which vegetarianism is practices by both Hindus and Buddhists; and
2. Explain the concept of purity and pollution and discuss the impact of this concept on the belief in the sacredness of the cow and on the water pollution issues which are  faced by many regions of South Asia, particularly India.

1. Ahimsa is the concept of avoiding inflicting pain on animals by not eating meat. Buddhist doctrine forbids the taking of a life and leads most Buddhist to be vegetarian. In Hindu dietary practice, the Laws of Manu states that there is no sin attached in the eating of flesh, the drinking of wine, or sexual gratification. However, abstinence from all of these things provides a greater reward. Therefore, most Hindu people are vegetarian.
2. Intertwined with Hindu food customs is the concept of purity and pollution. Purity consist of complex rules regarding food and drink as a means to purity of mind and spirit. Pollution is the opposite of purity and should be avoided. To remain pure is to become free of pollution and to remove pollution. Certain things are considered pure in themselves and in their  application. These pure things include product of the living cow (milk products, dung, and urine), water from sources of special sanctity (ex. Ganges River), and materials commonly used in rituals (turmeric and sandalwood paste). All body products are considered to be polluting. These products include feces, urine, saliva, menstrual flow, and afterbirth. Water is the most common form of purification because water absorbs the pollutants and carries them away.

A. From a historical perspective, compare and contrast the Northeastern, Plains, and Southwestern Native Americans in terms of their traditional foods, the role of food, etiquette, and  the incorporation of foods brought to the New World from Europe into their diets.

B. Discuss the current dietary practices of Native Americans today, indicating changes in the foods eaten, impact on the nutritional status and health of today’s Native Americans, and efforts that are underway in regard to Native American foods and food practices.

A) Native Americans in the Northeast were surrounded by heavily wooded areas, freshwater lakes, and the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. This provided foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish, and game. Most Native Americans also grew their own crops of beans, corn, and squash. Traditional foods of Plains Native Americans consisted of buffalo, deer, rabbit, game birds, green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, artichokes, wild rice, berries, and select fruits. Due to the Midwest’s rugged land agriculture was not suitable and the Native Americans were nomadic hunters following herds of buffalo across the flat plains. The Southwest consisted of semi-desert conditions. Native Americans tended to collect along river valleys. The  Southwest Native Americans depended on agriculture. They grew beans, chile peppers, corn, and squash. Other Native Americans in this area were nomadic hunters who started to raise sheep after the Spanish introduced livestock. Until the arrival of livestock the primary diet was plant-based with an occasional rabbit or turkey. When crops were insufficient in the Southwest, wild plants were relied on to provide food. The role of food and etiquette for the Native Americans was based in sharing. Food is usually offered to guest as it is considered impolite to eat in from of people. Also, any extra food is often given to members of extend family. Selling food is not common to Native American etiquette. Frequent food shortages were common among many tribes. Due to this fact, food was regarded as sacred and considered a gift from the natural realm. This induced many ceremonies intertwined with the planting of crops and hunting. Foods introduced from Europeans were well accepted by the Native Americans. Some of these foods included apples, apricots, carrots, lentils, peaches, and turnips. However, the introduction of livestock had the greatest impact. The introduction of livestock greatly reduced the dependence on game. The Europeans also introduced firearms and horses which made hunting easier. They also introduced metal knifes and iron cookware which made food preparation easier.

B) Native American ethnic identity is changing due to the conflict between traditional beliefs and modern society. Modern food habits reflect these changes. Currently, many Native  Americans rely on food provided to their reservations. These foods include canned and chopped meats, poultry, fruit juices, peanut butter, eggs, evaporated and powdered milk, dried beans, instant potatoes, peas, and string beans. The current nutritional status of Native Americans is considered to be abysmal. Due to their low socioeconomic status and lack of  transportation, fuel, refrigeration, and running water contribute to an inadequate diet. However, the Native Americans that have a means to the reservation foods are showing signs of over consumption. This is evidenced through increased cases of obesity, type-two diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The main culprits are the low intake of fruits and vegetables and physical activity. Some efforts underway in relation to the current food practices of Native Americans include counseling. During these counseling sessions great effort is made to understand traditional Native American beliefs and how to intertwine that with a healthy lifestyle in the modern age.

The four primary regions of the United States are: the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. For EACH of these four primary regions, discuss the traditional fare associated with that region. In your discussion, identify at least ONE traditional food that was indigenous to the area and how that food is used today and at least ONE traditional food that was brought into  the area by settlers/immigrants/slaves who arrived in the region early in the history of the region and how that food is used today.

The Northeast traditional fare is entrenched with the presence of the Atlantic Ocean and the many freshwater lakes and rivers in the area. Some of these foods include lobster, fish  (cod), clams, and scallops. Indigenous game is also important in traditional fare and includes things such as wild turkey and venison. As for fruits and vegetables, corn, beans, root  vegetables, wild berries, grapes, and plums were common. One traditional food of the Northeast is maple syrup and is currently used in the making of maple sugar candies and maple  syrup pie. One food that was brought to the Northeast by immigrants was apples. Apples are currently used in the Northeast to make applesauce, apple butter, and pies. The Midwest  traditional fare is usually described as farm food. These foods include meat or poultry simply prepared with vegetables, potatoes, and fresh bread. Beef and pork tend to be the  preferred meats in this region. Canning and freezing to preserve foods are common practice. Breads are sometimes baked at home and fruits are usually used to make pies. One  indigenous food of the Midwest is fish. A common use of fish on today’s Midwest menu might include fish boils, fried trout, or fried smelt. A food that was brought to the Midwest from an outside source is oats. This food is currently used to make oatmeal. The traditional fare of the South is a reflection of the bounty of plantations. The foundation of this traditional fare is corn dishes, pork, sweet potatoes, and greens. The region was covered with foods such as strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, huckleberries, cherries, beech nuts, hickory nuts, oysters, clam, crab, conch, alligator, bear, rabbit, deer, pumpkin, squash, sunflowers, and beans. One indigenous food of the South is wild greens. Wild greens are currently prepared by simmering the greens with fat back or salt pork. Another current example of use of a green is fried ramps. One food that was introduced by African slaves is okra. Okra is a commonly used ingredient in the South and can currently be found in a number of stews. The traditional fare of the west included potatoes, corn, apples, wheat, hops, salmon, crab, oysters, and clams. This traditional fare became popular as mining towns of the barren West began to appear. One indigenous food of the West would be wheat. Wheat is currently used to make breads, biscuits, tortillas, and noodles. A food that was introduced to the West would be chile peppers. Chile peppers are currently used in a number of ways. Some of those  preparations include chile powders, smoked chiles, pickled chiles, salsas, and chile sauces.