Assignment 1 - Food Traditions, Family Identity & Social Structure
1) Briefly describe the nature of the major ritual meal in your family that you have chosen for this assignment. In your description, answer the following questions: What is the significance of the meal? When and where is it held? Why? Respond in 1-2 paragraphs (~100 words)
Dinner is considered to be the major ritual meal in my family. The evening time, at approximately 6-7 pm, is a perfect chance to gather the whole family around one table, where everyone can relax after a busy day and spend some time with the dearest ones, meaning that dinner is a means of social interaction rather than just an act of food consumption.
Family is the most important value for people of Middle Eastern origin; that is why, our traditions imply to have dinners at home. Meals are cooked and served family-style, and there is no way we would go to a fast food restaurant instead.
Food and Ingredients
2) Briefly describe the type of foods prepared for the meal and any aspects (such as ingredients, regional style, preparation style) that are special about the dish/meal. Respond in 1-2 paragraphs (~100 words)
My family is fond of traditional Middle Eastern cuisine. The basic ingredients we use to cook dishes include cereals, vegetables, lamb and various spices. We usually cook stewed or stuffed vegetables, rice or lentils, chickpea spread, known as hummus. The dinner table is not ready until traditional pita bread is served, which is quite often filled with falafel, fried chickpeas. Quite often, lamb or mutton is grilled for dinner, as main course; however, in most cases, we prefer vegetarian food.
In general, our dishes can be defined as simple, but zesty, as we love to add spices, like cumin, cinnamon, coriander.
Meaning & Participants
Please note: In order to receive full credit for this section you must cite at least 3 course sources in your answers. These sources may be course readings or supplementary videos, but you may not cite course lecture material as one of your 3 required citations. Of these 3 sources, 2 must be from the readings and 1 may be from a required video.
3) Analyze the meaning of the food itself. Address the following questions: What are the origins of the meal/main dish, either historically or particular to your family? What do the dishes represent (to you personally, to your family, symbolically, etc)? Answer in 300-500 words, and make sure to include references to course material (i.e. readings and supplementary videos).
The peculiarities of human physiology imply a great variety of foods to choose from, as we are omnivores by nature. Food choices are predetermined by different factors that include origin, historical circumstances, religion and other social and economic aspects.
The act of food consumption goes far beyond its basic function, since food is also a means of social interaction. This is something that Michael Pollan, an American author and activist, designates as 'turning nature into culture', in his 'Omnivore’s Dilemma' book (Pollan, 2006).
I was raised on the traditions that meal time is a social occasion, aimed to unite family members. Each and every meal in our family is accompanied with homemade pita bread, which is baked following the authentic recipe from our great-grandparents. Following the ritual of cooking that very pita bread, we give honors to my nation and ancestors, in particular. This symbolizes a strong connection within a family circle, which has been established through the centuries.
The differences in food preferences might have a great impact on cross cultural relations. A certain dish can be a usual and natural part of the diet of one nation, but at the same time too extraordinary, alien, or even unacceptable, for the rest of the world. History shows many examples, when such an innocent thing, as specific food preferences, had a significant impact on the attitude and biases towards certain nations.
James Whitaker, Royal Correspondent, recollects the year 1995, when Queen Elizabeth visited Belize, she was offered to taste traditional Belizean cuisine; gibnut, which is actually a rat, was also served, as a national dish. The Queen refused politely. Afterwards,“The Queen eats a rat” news has been published in banner headlines of the most influential UK newspapers (Royal Feed, 2008).
In the mid 1800, when Chinese first came to the US, Americans were shocked to find out that Chinese eat rats, cats and dogs; such preferences were unfamiliar to Americans.
In the late 1800th , an image of a Chinese man eating a rat appeared on the advertising for the rat poison. The advertising was followed with an affirmative “They must go” slogan, which was addressed to both rats and emigrants from China. The logic was quite simple: if Chinese food culture could not comply with the American one, then there was no way for Chinese and Americans to get along together (TED Talks, 2008). Of course, cultural misunderstanding between Americans and Chinese were not limited to food preferences only; however, this particular issue proves that food plays a big role in developing a cultural image of a nation or a social group, at least.
4) Analyze the participation aspect of the meal. Address the following questions: Who does the cooking, serving, and cleaning? How does this pattern of participation reflect your family structure and social relationships? How do food traditions like this one contribute to your family identity and history? Answer in 400-600 words, and make sure to include references to course material (i.e. readings and supplementary videos).
Family is a significant aspect of the Middle Eastern culture. In order to understand core values of our family, one should take into consideration that Islam plays a central role in the development of our culture. In regards to family roles, we support the idea of conventional family patterns, where father is responsible for breadwinning, while mother is a stay at home housewife.
Therefore, women always do cooking, serving and cleaning in our family.
We are taught and encouraged to cherish our traditions, and, of course, to pass them to the next generations. There are many characteristics, which, I believe, distinguish our eating culture from any other. People of Middle Eastern origin are very hospitable and generous; we find it necessary to serve many different dishes, either within a family circle or to our guests. As a matter of respect, the elderly are always served on the first priority basis. We use only the right hand when eating, and pita bread can be traditionally used instead of utensils. Following the Shairah, as a set of Islamic laws, we do not consume alcohol and pork.
For sure, food traditions differ from one part of the world to another, and there is no denying the fact that they make a certain contribution to history. For instance, if we talk about food preferences in the US, it is most likely impossible to compare them to any other country due to the fact that American population is characterized with a high diversity index. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2009, 80% of US population were white, and the other 20% included African Americans, Hispanics, American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian. This data does not include immigrants; however, it is worth mentioning that one international immigrant enters the country every 29 seconds (Bureau, n.d.).
Each ethnic group brings their own food traditions and customs. Therefore, the whole food culture in America is a mixture of various cuisines, brought by many different communities.
For instance, while people of Middle Eastern origin give preferences to their traditional, homemade food, Americans have already been defined, as the nation of fast food.
According to the data provided by Jennifer Lee, an American journalist, in the year 2008, the amount of restaurants of the most famous fast food chains reached the number of 40,000 around the US (TED Talks, 2008). Highly developed fast food system in the US resulted in the exceeding obesity rates, which costs about 90 billion a year to the American health care system (Pollan, 2006).
Based on the study conducted by Michael Pollan, the overweight epidemic is caused not by fast food restaurants industry solely; it is a result of overall approach towards food industry in the US, where agriculture has been transformed into manufacture (Pollan, 2006).
We may suppose that rapid development of food manufacturing technologies in the US can be a result of a huge demand, along with a high necessity of food diversity caused by a mixture of cultures.
References
Bureau, U. Census.gov. Retrieved 14 July 2016, from http://www.census.gov/
Pollan, M. (2006). The Omnivore's Dilemma. New York: Penguin Press.
Royal Feed. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEzD9wcJIHY
TED Talks,. (2008). Who was General Tso?. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6MhV5Rn63M
