Impact of Globalization on Native Cultures
The world’s cultures have greatly been affected by the globalization craze. Globalization has influenced how people think and feel about themselves and their culture. This has led to changing trends on the cultural aspects of the affected groups more so those that are non western. The most affected aspect of these non native cultures touches on body image and cultural activities (Wilk 2006)). For example, in the past, among the Abagusii people in Western Kenya it was taboo for wives to sleep in the same room let alone in the same bed with their husbands. Women had their separate huts and it was the duty of the husband to pay them a visit there whenever they pleased. Thanks to western influence achieved through globalization, and today, men and women live in the same houses unlike in the past when this was unheard of. On the other hand, the Japanese tradition has not been left behind with the emergence of fast food outlets throughout the country. Traditionally, Japanese women would prepare meals for their households including children, pack the food in order for their household to have it while away in school or at work. Globalization therefore may be good but has its downside when it comes to eroding of a people’s culture.
Prior to 1971, there were no fast food outlets in Japan. McDonalds opened their pioneer fast food outlet and slowly but steadily, many more outlets by other companies were opened. The culture of the Japanese people steadily changed for the same reason that fast food is cheap and easily accessible. The traditional culture of the Japanese greatly centered on food, how it was prepared and presented to people. A recognized practice at the time with regard to this was Obentos where, mothers always prepared food for their children, had it packed well and given to them to take to school. This was symbolic of the mother’s responsibility of preparing meals for their families. The food acted as a way of reminding the society the role of the mother with regard to sustaining the society. Because of the convenience that comes with fast food, the practice has been ignored as most mothers would rather; they give their children money to buy food while away in school (Gov.mb.ca 5). The practice has even been made common because many of the mothers have been influenced by the need to spend less time and money on meals as mothers now become actively involved in employment, media has played a crucial role in promoting this practice.
There was a need that was in existence but there were no clear ways of dealing with it. Social patterns led to the introduction of fast food in Japan. Mothers had found themselves another niche in the employment sector and they were no longer staying at home to take care of their households. Food vending was on the increase and this is the place that fast food chains such as McDonalds found a loop hole. If only they could fill in the gap, and that is exactly what they did, they came in with a simpler and much cheaper solution, which was the use of fast food. With time it became acceptable by the masses and today, fast food business is the greatest in Japan.
The influence of fast food consumption over the traditional feeding habits of the Japanese was rather direct. This is so because with the opening of fast food outlets like McDonalds, the Japanese people got a taste of what other people from the other side of the continent had. The negative effects notwithstanding and the rise in preference, more and more people got entangled in the web of fast foods. Sooner or later, the children and everyone else was hooked to the habit. The influence again was intentional because one may wonder why McDonalds would go to Japan and open a branch there, where fast food was unheard of. It is after the introduction of the fast food business in Japan that there was a rise in the obesity cases due to the food culture change. Prior to the influx of fast food business, the obesity rates were less than 3% and the rates now stand at 10%. It is therefore truer to say that the influence is by all means negative because it only brings problems to the Japanese people (Ben- Ari & Clammer 2013).
Today, Japan boasts of being home to the second largest number of McDonald outlets in the world just behind the leader the United States of America. This is a clear indicator that the Japanese people embraced the culture of the use of fast foods therefore abandoning their native Obentos. Women do not any more have the time to prepare proper meals for their families. Everyone has gotten into the habit of grabbing a bite in order to find more time to work or do something else other than just sitting and preparing meals. Everyone wants to go for a cheaper option but then this turns out to be costly because at the end of the day, they get into more problems than they could have if they spared an extra minute to prepare their own meals. Women found it convenient and as the global world is changing, they have found themselves in mainstream employment because they no longer worry themselves about what their families will eat because they already have an option in the fastest growing fast food industry (Ben – Ari & Clammer 2013). For a very long time, Japanese have been seen as the trend setters in Asia and would go an extra mile to the extraordinary in all aspects of life. It is no wonder then that they have been greatly westernized with regard to fast food consumption because they remain a promising market.
References
Agriculture and Agri- food Canada. The Japanese Consumer Behavior, attitudes and Perceptions toward Food Products. www. Gov.mb.ca. Web. Retrieved on 9th January 9, 2014. http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/statistics/agri-food/japan_consumer_report_en.pdf
Ben- Ari, E. & Clammer J. (2013). Japan in Singapore: Cultural Occurrences and Cultural Flows. New York: Routledge.
Wilk, R. (2006). Fast Food/ Slow Food: The Cultural Economy of the Global System. Lanham: Rowman Altamira.
