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Showing posts from January 28, 2018

Forkways #19: Staff of Life

Why do we eat food? We may be under the mistaken point of view that we eat food to survive. We have long since abandoned the elements of food that keep us alive and are more concerned with how food tastes, or makes us feel, or makes us look to those around us. We are concerned with calorie counts, verification of organic, all natural, no sugar added, and what we are allowed to eat. What is the language of food? Foodies talking about tastes and textures and satisfaction levels, Nutritionists talk about diets, calorie counts, complex carbohydrates, fiber intake. Restaurants talk about ingredients and prices. We are missing the discussion of flavor and agriculture more often than not. The sociology of food is both the combination of a capital focused society and the vanity and social pressures of health. At its most basic level, as Thoreau writes, food is about fuel. But as we emerge from a survival situation, food becomes a whole myriad of things beyond fuel. Sat