As articulated by Bittman (2008), in the article “ Why worry about food and water?,” which featured in the New York Times, Sunday Magazine's series, the correlations between American households with food are significantly dynamic as evidenced by rapid changes aligned with food preference, preparation, and consumption. As such, the notions contained in the article primarily target American households, which have since time immemorial been faced with various disparities with regard to food preparation and consumption. Worth noting is the fact that the beginning of the 20th century has been clouded by issues of food safety whereby low quality foods have been rampant; hence, turning the American populations into “shakesucking fatties”. Despite this, the mid 20th century holds more hope because the recent past has offered more viable platforms that facilitate accessibility and preference for more quality foods. In fact, Bittman (2008) states that, “ I was never hopeful at all until recently: Each year, each month it sometimes seems, there are more signs that convenience, that mid-20th century curse word, may give way to quality.”
While it is true that matters relating to quality give more hope for the future of food related concerns, the fact that American populations have begun to consider food as an essential concern by taking it with the seriousness it deserves gives more optimism on the future. It is imperative to note that five to six decades ago, matters of food were considered serious whereby no less than one person in any given household held high regard for food. However, by the close of the year 1950, things changed for worse as the populations developed a high preference for outside dining; hence, food preparation at the household level reduced significantly. Eventually, fast foods became the norm of the day; thus, leading to the consequent rise in obesity and costs needed to manage this condition. On the contrary, the preference for outside dinning and fast food connoted by Bittman as casual dining could not and cannot take the place of conventional food.
According to Bittman (2008), the beginning of the year 1960 was marked by significant developments on matters relating to cooking. Arguably, it was close to this year when American populations realized that various populations around the globe inclusive of Japan, Italy, France, and Mexico upheld their conventional cooking practices. This made the Americans realize the essence of traditional practices related to cooking. In addition, the increasing number of populations migrating into the United States led to the assimilation of the American populations with these immigrants. Consequently, this led to the adoption of traditional cookings such as Ethiopian and Tibetan cuisines, which were less common in previous eras. The contributions of prominent chefs such as Julia Child cannot be left un-noticed because they played a comprehensive role in facilitating the accessibility of traditional cookings.
While the above connoted factors paved way for positive cooking practices, a number of the American population did not have an appropriate interpretation of the same. Precisely, cooking was misinterpreted as heating up and melting, by use of different heating appliances such as microwaves, of foods that had been produced in large quantities and stored in frozen conditions. Nevertheless, this did not lead to an overall attrition of people who had a fascinating admiration for conventional food. In fact, cookings derived from locally produced ingredients were readily available at all time. Undeniably, the crop up of new cookings adopted from outside cultures, particularly from the immigrants, health concerns related to food, as well as the inconvenience caused by low quality food transformed the will of the American populations to appreciate the consumption of homemade cookings. Furthermore, there was an increased awareness of less safe food options such as highly processed foods and genetically produced animals that are often referred to as technologically produced animals. For this reason, people developed an interest on sustainable, healthy cookings made from local ingredients.
Similarly, the media have played an integral role in the transformation of cooking practices. Notably, the showcasing of food cooking programs in televisions, particularly those involving celebrities transformed different population segments to develop an admiration towards cooking. Such a positive gesture towards cooking was however jeopardized by a number of emerging issues such as the extinction of nutritionally adequate foods such as fish. Merged with other food related concerns such as obesity, American populations initiated notions that ensured that food preparation was considered an essential facet. As such, food preparation roles were not limited to certain household members but transcended to include every household member. Bittman (2008) notes that “and its preparation is no longer limited to what was once called a housewife.”
Reference
Bittman, M. (2008). Why Take Food Seriously? Because Your Life Depends on It. New York Times, Sunday Magazine’s Series, Chapter 24, pg. 779-782.
