Hi everyone. I would like to thank everyone again for their continued participation. I would like to revisit the autoethnographies again at the close of the peer day if you would allow it. This will give everyone some time to review Kathy's piece, submit additional pieces, and to reflect on how the peer day and continued conversation may have more of an affect on each of us.
Today I would like to move into "The Taste of Sweet." The cover of this book caught my eye in the store and I was fascinated by its context. I am dumbfounded by the story of the strawberry. People think I am absolutely off my rocker when I share with them what was reported on the extinction of the native strawberry. I particularly like to share this information with students while conducting a DNA extration lab wherein we literally extract the DNA from strawberries. It gets them thinking about food, where food comes from, and how the same foods can have such dissimilar tastes...... notions they may otherwise never think about.
What was everyone else's big "Wow, I can't belive that!" moment from this book?
While I enjoyed reading Chen's book in itself, it led me also to look more closely at Kessler's "The End of Overeating", both of which explore the psychological and sublimal war between eating for health and corporate-driven food behaviors.
ReplyDeleteThe covers of both are real attention-grabbers, highlighting the message of each.
While Chen is not a food professional, she astutely describes the importance of technology in global food business. Kessler, a physician and former surgeon general, targets many of the same areas, emphasizing the powerful attraction of food/fat/salt in the widespread addiction to all sorts of processed foods.
Best,
Kathy Stein
I made a lot of connections between Chen's book and that of "Omnivore's Dilemma." I want to just bring up a couple.
ReplyDeleteP 35 - Sweetness if hardwired because during the Paleotlithic time period people could not rely on the color of food as an alert to danger. Taste was utilized to signal safe foods and sweet was often safe.
Chapter 3 - What is the true flavor of foods? Do we really know and is it limited to just the strawberry? Everything has been enhanced: size, texture, smell, taste, color --- remember the corn???? This brings into question our perceptions of food versus food realities.
P 118 - The idea of a community garden as part of a school demonstrates one way in which a community can easily contribute to teaching people where food comes from while fostering a more healthy relationship between people and food. We have this through Rochester Roots in my community. This chapter also connected easily to "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" through the children's direct contact with the harvesting and the hopes that this direct act will indeed allow children to eat more thoughtfully.
We had discussed previously as seminar that people do not know the origin of the food that they eat. When reading "When I was Puerto Rican" I was mezmerized by the description of the different vegetation. I tried to picture the diverse vegetation like the oregano bushes and I couldn't. I had no idea what to picture in my head. The only oregano in my schema comes in a shaky plastic bottle from the Italian shop. I looked up pictures of oregano bushes and they are beautiful.
Education, socio-economic status, evironmental factors, literacy level, technology level - I do not believe any of this has a direct connection on food literacy. Yes, there are connections but strength in these areas does not guarantee that one will be knowledgeable about the origins of food. With this in mind - Chen's studies in the taste of sweet givers her credentialing in this particular area of food.
Sorry folks-I posted twice and both were lost-I will try again in the morning.
ReplyDeleteJim Hunt
Jim, Don't worry about it and we look forward to talking with you in the am!!! I had some troubles earlier too and finally got my post up.
ReplyDeleteOne more try-Home from Chicago and grieving the death of my champion Ted Kennedy. It will be a tough couple of days.
ReplyDeleteSince I read the book on Kindle the page #s become % of text with reference numbers.
All:
I saw the connection also to Omnivore's Dilemma in Chen's work. The way Linda Bartoshuk is introduced and the depth of her research and the impact it has on our understanding of the relationships between taste, smell and expectation is extremely interesting and revealing (3614-6%). The assertion that studies indicate the connection between taste and smell is 70 to 80 % mutually reliant is astonishing to me. And understanding that taste may vary greatly from one individual to another further explains why some individuals measure sweet as very sweet while others sense the taste as less sweet. A new term to me -cloying was introduced to depict extreme sweetness.
The perception of sophistication on what sweet is good, french chocolates v. inexpensive domestic ones being not so appealing is also pointed out in other examples. The experiment (3614-14%)with the exact same cabernet wine being presented as though its origin is California and also introduced as from North Dakota. The California wine was measured by the paricipants as much preferred. It reminded me of the lead character Miles, in the film "Sideways", who refuses to attend his former wife's wedding if they are serving merlot! It seems that the point is driven home that perception and expectation can be measured. Is there a sophisticated palate--yes for intensity, and no for upscale v. downscale.
In studies of products and grown foods manipulated to taste and expectation the mutation of the strawberry and the creation of artificial flavors all caught my interest. The labratory results and perceptions surrounding oatmeal cookies and how positively we think of them as sugar and sweet and not the bland old oatmeal boiled over the stove for breakfast gave me pause to think about how I had previously not connected them.
I could also relate to Melissa Smith and her sugar addiction and consumption of cookies as comfort food. We exlored this in FFF where cultures turned to food during stressful and joyous times. Now another dimension is seen where sugar and carbohydrates create comfort and a feeling of well being. The substitution of addictions; alcohol substituted with overuse of tobacco, constant conumption of coffee and chocolate are all well documented. One of my staff believes she is addicted to Pepsi. Interventions in getting her to shift to water and diet drinks have all failed. I note that her morning consumtion of Pepsi is usually in her office and not in open meetings. I am also troubled by her weight gain and deteriorating health. I will provide her with a copy of Chapter six.
Best, Jim
I am terribly sorry that I was absent from the peer day for a few days. Classes resumed where I teach and life swept me away. I am not sure if anyone will read these comments at this point and I am also not sure that I am approaching this with the same level of background that many of you appear to have. My approach is as a reader and viewer of the assigned works, a mother and a consumer. And, of course, as an eater.
ReplyDeleteAs a consumer of information, I was fascinated with David Kessler's book, "The End of Overeating," which was mentioned in a posting earlier. In an April interview with the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Kessler took aim at the food industry and dodged a question about the role of government in helping to curb people's appetites for that which is bad for them.
In response to a Wall Street Journal question about the responsibility of government in the overeating epidemic, Dr. Kessler said: "In the end it's not about regulation. Government can play a role. It's about how we as a country view the product. What was the real success of tobacco? We changed how we viewed the product. It was a critical perceptual shift. That's the key."
I am certain that Dr. Kessler is right, in part. But I also believe that government needs to take a more active role as they did in tobacco. Companies respond to financial pressure. It seems only logical to create standards for that which can be regulated when dealing with food.
I am, of course, not sure how such regulations could be formulated. But I am completely certain that they should exist if we truly believe that food is as dangerous as tobacco to people's healths.