Homework #6: Food Diary

            For breakfast yesterday I had 2 small pancakes. I don’t usually like to eat in the mornings but my mom has started making big breakfasts for my exchange student, so I usually just have some too. In total that was about 147 calories.

            Right before gym I had a small fruit snack from the vending machine in the cafeteria. It was almost like a fruit roll up; I think it was about 10 calories.

            We went to the Mexican place by our school for lunch and I got a chicken burrito. It probably consisted of about 377 calories.

            Before my College Now course I went to get an ice coffee. This had about 0.5 to 3 calories in it.

            Once I got home I ate a little hummus and pita bread. The hummus was about 45 calories I think and the pita bread was 77 calories.

            We ordered in Indian food for dinner because my parents weren’t home. I had Tikka Masala. 10 oz is 200 calories, but I’m not sure if I had a complete 10 oz of it.

            In total it seems that I only ate about 859 calories. It is of course possible that the calorie readings weren’t entirely correct, because I wasn’t sure how big my serving was or the “calculator” didn’t give the right estimate.

            Today for breakfast I had a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar in it. This was maybe 173 calories.

            At my internship they had gone apple picking the weekend before, so they offered me one. It was really crisp and juicy. The calorie count for this apple was 77 calories.

            While out making copies for internship, I bought a sandwich from a deli. It consisted of turkey, lettuce, tomato, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, and Swiss cheese. I can’t find that exact sandwich online, but I’m guessing it had about 400 calories in it.

            When I got home I had a lemon zest Luna bar. An entire bar consists of 180 calories.

            For dinner I had lemon chicken, which was about 210 calories. As a side there were potatoes and other vegetables. They probably added up to about 384 calories.

            I ate about 1.424 calories in total today, which is significantly more than yesterday. But these calories came from much healthier foods as opposed to food prepared by a restaurant.

            Now examining the food that I’ve eaten for the past two days, I realize that I may not always be eating the healthiest food. For one thing, it does not even seem to be that I reached a thousand calories in the first day. I’m not sure if that is necessarily a bad thing, but as an athlete I probably should be eating a little more. But in turn, the food from which I received the calories could have been more nutritional. Pancakes in the morning are fine but I think something with less sugar might be a little better. I used to just eat an apple or banana, but would still feel hungry by second period. I did not have a choice that morning of what to eat, because my mother was already in the process of making it. Since my exchange student is a boy, she realized she needed to make more food to fill him up. I simply receive more for breakfast as a result of that. The fruit snack that I had before gym was the only thing that I had exact change for, therefore it was the reason that I bought it. It was pretty nutritional though, as the school has changed their vending machine options. The burrito for lunch maybe wasn’t the greatest choice. The actual location is a little dirty and I’m not sure how sanitary the food is kept. It made me feel overly full, not in an enjoyable way at all. Caffeine is also not a great thing, especially for a teenager, but I really needed the boost before my college class. I don’t drink ice coffee that regularly, so I believe it is fine to treat myself once in a while. As for the hummus and pita, I am happy that I chose to snack on that. Normally I’ll grab a candy bar on my way home, but I feel that the hummus was a healthier alternative. Lastly, the Tikka Masala, while a lot of food, was in general pretty healthy. Indian food tends to consist of a lot of vegetables and spices; it’s very natural. I don’t think it was a bad choice, especially since the next option was Chinese food; the American imitation tends to be extremely unhealthy. While only an analysis of the foods for the first day, I do believe it suffices for a general interpretation of my eating habits. 

            Looking at these foods, they are all something that I ate because of the way they tasted. Even if in a rush, I do at least pick something that I am going to want to eat. The things my mom makes I do eat because I have no other option, not really depending on the taste. It is never anything terrible, just not what I would prefer. But when I only go for taste, I have noticed through these two days that I occasionally do not feel the greatest.

            After the first day I was extremely tired, and while I’m sure part of it had to do with school, I think it came a lot from the food. When I eat heavier foods such as a burrito, I tend to tire out easily. I realize now that my mood and energy depends a lot on the foods I eat. During internship today I was starting to get a little worn out until I had an apple. By providing calories it gives you a boost. (Not only this, but where the food comes from in particular). The burrito as mentioned before came from a dingy little fast food restaurant. I believe that if it had been prepared differently, I wouldn’t have felt so affected by it. The ingredients might have been lighter; the chicken might have been less greasy and the beans better quality. The apple, besides the fact that it is fruit, came from an independent farm and was hand picked. It is therefore understandable that it gave a boost of energy instead of slowing me down. But nonetheless the heavier foods do tend to have a good taste. Sometimes it makes up for the fact that I do not always feel so great afterwards, or adds to it, as I want to eat more.

            Where and with whom I am around seems to affect the foods I eat. As previously stated, my mother tends to cook more because of our exchange student. Therefore when he’s around, I have a bigger selection of food from which to choose. During lunchtime when I am out with friends and have just had 4 periods of school, I tend to want to eat a lot. I do not seem to look at nutritional value but instead something that will suffice for the rest of school time. But then when I look at the food I got during internship, I see that under time pressure I also do not pay much attention to what I am eating. The turkey sandwich was not terrible for me, but there were definitely healthier alternatives that I chose to ignore because I just wanted something quickly. Normally my mother cooks dinner, generally resulting in something nutritional and healthy like tonight’s lemon chicken. But again, when I was just at home with my exchange student and ordering in, we decided to go for Indian. This is not necessarily unhealthy, but when the amount of food eaten is factored in then yes maybe it was not the greatest. I feel that I can not help eating more when food is ordered, because it just has a more exciting quality to it than “your mom’s cooking”.

            Food has an interesting presence in our lives that we do not even realize. Now examining my food I understand that it is affected by my mood, but in turn affects my mood right back. I eat what I feel I need at that moment, whatever is fitting. Because of the food diary, I was much more conscious after eating every meal. It made me more aware of its nutritional value. I did not want to change my eating habits just for this, but it did help me recognize the way that I eat and if it truly is beneficial. I do think I eat an okay diet, not amazing, but not particularly harmful. I am a little surprised though that I am eating so little calories; I am positive I did not calculate falsely on the servings when I did the addition. I think that is what I need to work on now: maybe taking in a couple more calories, but instead of unhealthy ones such as a burrito, ones that come from fruit or vegetables. This will probably help me keep up my energy more and hold me longer through the day so I do not feel the need to snack so much in between my meals. All in all, my eating habits are acceptable, but there is always room for improvement.

           

           

Homework #5: Dominant Discourses Regarding Contemporary Foodways in the U.S.

The human body is dependent on food for survival, but as research shows it now takes both a positive and negative impact on our bodies. Food not only has an influence on our bodies, but on the economy. We find these in the dominant discourses now concerning food. A discourse is a discussion in which a debate is present. There are two types of discourse, a dominant one, which many people believe and follow naturally, and the marginal one, which the minority supports. People have begun discussing food progressively more, further developing the previously existing dominant discourse. Before this “new age” the dominant discourse was that food was basically there for survival. Our bodies required that we ate and therefore we did, without paying much attention to where it came from or the food’s particular impact on our bodies. In this “new age”, the dominant discourse now consists of food as beneficial to the body versus food as damaging to the body, and buying from local farmers, as opposed to from a large wholesaling food company.

            Let us first approach the idea of food as the main factor of our health. This discourse has been developed through the opinions of health professionals or significant people of our society such as doctors, pediatricians, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, chief analysts, Michelle Obama, pharmacists, and so on. The average person has no way to express their opinion, but is instead influenced by the discourse of these people. We of course learn about their ideas through the media: The New York Times, talk shows, health magazines, health blogs and websites, etc.. An article in the New York Times states, “Both efforts, high and low, are aimed at the same thing: getting America to eat its vegetables.” ¹ The main focus of these professionals is to get Americans to eat healthy foods instead of the fast food that dominates our society: “The vegetable even has the first lady, Michelle Obama, on its side. She planted an organic garden on the White House lawn and talks up vegetables as part of her “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity.” ¹ Michelle Obama uses this idea of vegetables and health food as a way to fight obesity; the vegetables are “the cure”. Therefore this dominant discourse presses the notion that something as simple as adding more vegetables to our diets can fix our health problems. She sets an example for others with her creation of an organic garden, trying to enforce a trend with it. Thus food is our medicine is one side of this dominant discourse.

            In opposition, many health professionals have voiced that food is instead harmful to the body, a toxicant. These opinions, voiced by the same types of people as before, are also part of the dominant discourse. While discussing dieting, one articles states, “Atkins-style low-carbohydrate diets help people lose weight, but people who simply replace the bread and pasta with calories from animal protein and animal fat may face an increased risk of early death from cancer and heart disease, a new study reports.” ²   As illustrated in this article, the foods associated with dieting can actually take a large toll on our health. Diets supposedly help people lose weight, but instead it is shown that they bring on fatal illnesses such as cancer. A son experienced great trauma when his mother died of contaminated peanut butter. After going to court about it, more deaths are still shown in related areas: “Nearly two years have passed since Shirley Almer’s death. In that time, food contamination involving chocolate chip cookie dough and eggs has sickened thousands more.” ³ Even though the public has been aware of it, deaths and illnesses still come as a result of food contamination. Food therefore also has a negative impact on the body, infecting it and possibly taking lives. On one hand of the discourse, yes, food can benefit our bodies, but at the same time when it is not properly cared for it can also ruin them.

            Continuing on the idea of the contamination of food, it all depends on where it comes from and how it is treated. This leads into the controversy of small farms versus a large wholesale food company. Professionals have started pushing the idea of small farms or community gardens. In this form, we know where our food comes from and exactly how it is taken care of. In addition, the turning of profit for small businesses is beneficial to the economy. New York Magazine urges people to return to farming in the city: “Until the mid-nineteenth century, most of New York City was farmland...But a new class of growers is more concerned with bolstering a sustainable food system, and, if possible, turning a profit than with cultivating a peaceful vegetable plot.” ⁴ The article then goes on to describe the location of local food producers in the city. Through this they encourage people to go out and find these “businesses” and purchase their food through them. These new growers help support the food system that will be able to coexist with nature and society.

            While small farms are supposed to be truthful and part of this new “non-processed” mentality, researchers have found that they might not be entirely honest. Because of this one could say that larger food companies are more reliable. In Los Angeles an investigation of the farmers at food markets was made: “We found farms full of weeds, or dry dirt, instead of rows of the vegetables that were being sold at the markets. In fact, farmers markets are closely regulated by state law. Farmers who sell at these markets are supposed to sell produce they've grown themselves, and they can't make false claims about their produce.” ⁵ With false claims being made, we can never really be sure if we are supporting the cause we want. Clearly, some people feel the need to jump on the bandwagon of small farms, but instead are just deceiving the public. When this deception is discovered, it only encourages one more towards larger manufacturers. What is the point, one might ask, of buying these “organic” foods at higher prices when they actually do indeed come from factories and not small farms? Many would find that a wholesaling food supplier like Trader Joe’s is much more effective: “Trader Joe's is mindful of the ingredients it allows in its products, and the number of organic items has increased noticeably in recent years.” ⁶ They provide the same organic products, but at a much lower price and reliability. Another article states: “Also interesting to note is Trader Joe’s sells a preponderance of natural and organic offerings which are free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Trader Joe’s clearly competes in the natural and organic grocery marketplace.” ⁷ This all adds into the dominant discourse of where our food should come from; it all in turn is organic and natural, but some find the pricing and reliability to be the breaking point. Small farms may not always have authentic foods, while wholesaling food companies are at least genuine. In turn the larger companies also charge people much less, making it easier for those who do not want to spend too much.

            Food can be looked at through many different perspectives, as in its impact on the human body but also from the idea of who produces it. On one hand we have this ongoing battle of the medicinal benefits of food versus the aspects of it that are slowly (or rapidly) killing us. Then we must also consider the dominant discourse through a more economically sustainable approach. Small businesses are being pushed for their sustainability, their high prices aside. But then if we must also take on the struggle of finding out if they’re being truthful or not, the other discourse discusses the positives of larger companies. Their food is consistent and cheap. Dominant discourses of food impact our opinions, therefore influencing our food habits.

Sources:

1: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/health/policy/25vegetables.html?pagewanted=2&emc=eta1

 2: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/health/research/14nutrition.html?ref=nutrition

 3: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/health/policy/19food.html?scp=10&sq=food&st=cse

 4: The New Yorker – What an Urban Farmer Looks Like

 5: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39319593?ocid=twitter

 6: http://www.slate.com/id/2138178/

 7: http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/2007/06/trader_joes_the_1.html

Homework #4: Your Families' Foodways

            Our parents initiate our first experiences with food, as they cook meals for us during our time at home. But their own parents also influenced how they ate when they were growing up. So on goes the cycle of influence and food ways. In the time of talking to both my mother and father, I was able to have insight into their eating habits. My mother shared with me her newfound (as of 20 years) awareness of food and its health benefits. She tries to learn a lot about the food she is eating, checks if it has too much sugar or salt. When at the supermarket, she looks for fresh food, not the packaged or frozen items. Instead of buying meat from the supermarket, she uses the butcher as her meat supplier, where she feels the meat is much fresher.

            Having grown up in the suburbs in New Jersey, her family did not have all of the opportunities that New York City has to offer. Therefore she takes advantage of having access to much fresher foods and spends her money on them as opposed to lots of processed or modified food. Her own mother she stated was the typical housewife who bought the branded foods. In New Jersey the supermarket was simply where you would go. With all of the new advertising, her mother believed that by buying the most advertised food she would therefore be buying the healthiest and best quality. Her mother was a good cook who tried to make balanced meals, but she never thought about where the food came from. This is where my own mother chose to differ from her mother in eating habits, as my mother made more conscious choices about her food and where it came from. Her father on the other hand came from a very poor family, and they ate typically what they could afford. Therefore growing up she only saw unhealthy eating habits in her father, such as foods with a lot of starch and sugar. But in the terms of influence, he did not do any cooking, so she was mainly affected by her mother’s idea of food. My mother believes that the main reason that she and her mother differ is simply because my own mother has many more opportunities for fresh food in this new era. Living in NYC provides benefits for healthier eating habits.

            My father on the other hand has a different approach to food. Like my mother he too does try to eat healthy enough, at least around the house. Living in NYC he does feel that he has the chance to eat much healthier foods, but also uses it as a way to go out to dinner much more. He sees eating as a sort of event, one where the candles are lit and everyone eats slowly. His father would do the same when he was growing up, and he adapted this attitude towards food. As a child my father had 5 other siblings, the oldest of which would eat all of the food. Therefore when he was younger my father would have to scarf down food before his brother did, making food a much more enjoyable and relaxing thing for him now. Living with my mother he does eat healthily and is all for that attitude, but when under time pressure he does not hesitate to grab a slice of pizza or buy processed food. During the day food is all about fitting into his schedule, while at night when he’s not working dinner becomes more of an event. He described his mother as a mediocre cook who really did not care enough about the food she was making to understand anything about it. With such a large family they were lucky if they had all the kids at one table. When this would happen the meal would usually revolve around chicken or hamburgers. He stated that his mother would basically cook to keep the children alive. On the other hand, my father said, “ I live so I can eat.” He loves food and its taste and therefore exercises a lot more so that he can eat as much as he does. My father now takes the time to enjoy his food and experiment with it, but does not forget the factor of health, no matter how much he finds joy in eating a bag of pretzels.

            Growing up with two parents who were generally health food oriented, I ate many balanced meals. I’ve always been a particularly picky eater, where from this comes I’m not sure. I do find though that my eating habits are more similar to my father’s, in that I enjoy eating to a large extent. Possibly one of my favorite things as a kid was going out to dinner and making a big deal out of the meal. As I’ve gotten older I experiment more with my foods and am open to trying new things, probably as a result of my mother. Neither of my parents found much interest in fast food and therefore I too never really made a habit of going to those restaurants. My mother would never serve hamburgers when I was younger and as I result I did not even really recognize their existence. We once went to a small town diner and I ordered a hamburger “without that brown thing in the middle”. My parent’s food ways had a much larger impact on me though when I was younger. Now that I’m older I eat out a lot with friends and have the option of going out to lunch everyday. I therefore get to pick the meals that I eat and unlike my mother I do not always consider where they are coming from. I go for convenience like my father, or whatever I’m in the mood for that day. Their parents impacted their ideas about food much more heavily because of where they came from. Growing up in NYC as opposed to New Jersey creates these generational differences. From an earlier age I’ve been able to choose the food I eat more freely, therefore lessening the influence of my parents on me. Meanwhile their parents cooked most meals for them everyday, limiting what their children were able to eat. These generational differences may be subtle, but they all seem to depend on where one comes from, as in where they live, and their access to food. 

Homework #3: Fast Food Insights and Green Market Realizations

When most students are asked where they go out to lunch, their answers are generally limited, mostly consisting of fast food restaurants. One begins to wonder what draws people to them, instead of markets such as The Green Market? Even though The Green Market is outside in Union Square, its cleanliness is impeccable. There is a small (if any) amount of trash around the booths and all the venders keep their products neatly organized. Do people stay away because they believe with the bustle of human traffic the food is soiled? When in the Wendy’s, there was also not much trash on the ground, but a carpet that had probably collected lots of dirt during the day and tables which were probably not wiped down after every sitting. Is this to say that Wendy’s as an indoor place is any more sanitary?

            While asking questions in the Wendy’s, the people seemed oddly anxious, as if dreading what we would ask. The manager came out a little annoyed, eyeing us suspiciously and seemed to wait for an explanation. She was not quite sure of where her food was processed, but the meat did come from a company named SIGMA. The manager explained that the meat stays at the Wendy’s for 5 days and no preservatives are used to keep it fresh. At The Green Market, vendors were happy to share some information, as long as we stepped aside from their table, so that we didn’t affect business. One woman selling goat cheese explained how she cared for each goat, and used each one’s milk to create her cheese. Another young man described how he only uses pesticides when the problem presents itself. All of them seemed quite proud to educate us about their work and promote their process. Pride was not something seen among the employees of Wendy’s, only impatience.

            Wendy’s now displays a chart with all of the nutritional facts for their many foods. Maybe they feel that this illustrates to people that they have nothing to hide; they want you to know what is in their food. While in line, it seemed as though no one glanced at the sign, signaling that the crowd that Wendy’s attracts is possibly not as health conscious as those attending The Green Market. One might say that Wendy’s is more convenient; the food is already prepared and one just makes a quick order. At The Green Market one must select their ingredients to create the meal themselves. When cooking with food from The Green Market, the person knows exactly what is going into their food; but many Americans might not believe that to be necessary. The American society is so based on competition and quick play, it presents no wonder to see that the average American is attracted to the “loop hole” of food consumption. 

Homework #2: Initial Thoughts on Food

Living in a different country for a year brings on an entire new meaning to food. American food culture is generally viewed from the outside world as quickly made, greasy, and unhealthy. One does not think in terms of health in their opinion but instead, Americans have a taste and convenience mindset. As an American I do focus on taste; I want to enjoy the food I’m eating. It may not always be entirely healthy, but I would rather eat something appetizing than something revolting, the nutritional value therefore aside. Indeed one does need to eat nutritious foods to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but they do not necessarily need to dominate every meal. Thus my priority in food is taste, but not necessarily excluding healthy foods, as they too have their own unique taste.

In Germany or in any European country for that matter I’ve come across the idea that eating with one’s hands is rude. Maybe this comes out of the idea that food is a sacred thing, something that one needs to respect in order to show their thanks. A Swedish exchange student is living at my house and when ordering burgers he reaches for his knife and fork and divides the burger into pieces, while the rest of us proceed to pick up our burgers and devour them with our hands as utensils. Similarly, with my host family in Germany the natural solution for me when I could not manage to get that last bit of salad onto my fork would be to use my hand gently to push the salad onto it. It was not until my host father mentioned that most Americans tend to only use a fork when eating did I realize that the Germans incorporated both fork and knife, using the knife to do the equivalent of my hand’s job in scooping up the uncooperative salad leaf. I understood then the purpose of a knife other than cutting; as a child I would wonder why my mom would even set the knife, if we were eating something as simple as pasta. The knife and fork encourage one to treat one’s food with care; it’s something that one must appreciate. Growing up in an American society where food was plentiful and seen as a delicious treat that one can’t have enough of, food is instead viewed as a commodity.

Taking this idea of the sacredness of food, one can also look at how much one eats. For breakfast in Germany, I would stumble down the stairs in a half sleep, only excited about the Nutella awaiting me in the next room. A basket of bread would sit in the middle of the table with 6 pieces of bread at most, for the 6 of us that sat around the table. While hunger does not have a large presence in my mornings, I still felt as if that would not suffice. I would take my one piece of bread and spread the small scoop of Nutella onto it; my host father had previously mentioned that we were running out too quickly, meaning that all the children should take less Nutella for each piece of bread. Again one comes across the idea that food is not something to waste; one takes as much as one needs, or more of as much is needed, instead of as much as they want. I spent many a lunches sitting there with a clean plate, while my host mother sat screaming at my younger host siblings to come back and finish their meals. It may have just been one bite, or half a plate, but no matter what, one had to finish what one took.

When one lives in an environment and is exposed to certain habits for a long time, one begins to adopt them. I do indeed use both fork and knife when I eat, more for convenience than a respect for food, but nonetheless the idea is there. Food has also become something to me that should not be wasted. I eat everything on my plate, but therefore only take as much as I need. Food has become a habit in itself, something that I need to eat three times a day. It affects my mood and also becomes something to do when I’m bored, maybe not in the best way.  Nonetheless these attitudes come from where one lives and how one’s culture interprets food.