Food Journal

Just to preface this lovely and completely healthy food journal, I thought I should just mention that I usually don't eat breakfast, in case you might think that I forgot to put that in there. 

Day 1

10:00 - Chocolate milk bought from Olin for breakfast

12:00 - Chicken pasta soup (only a few bites taken of this, did not taste very good), salad, 1 slice of pepperoni pizza, washed down with a Dr. Pepper. (Nelson)

7:00 - Salad and pepperoni with black olive pizza, Kool-Aid (Nelson)

8:00 - Bag of goldfish and a blue gatorade

11:00 - Movie night! Ate a crunch bar and a bag of barbecue pop chips with a sierra mist while watching Captain America

Day 2

10:00 - A single bite of friend's Poptart

12:00 - Pepperoni and green pepper pizza with burntish curly fries and a Dr. Pepper. (Nelson)

6:00 - Salad and some green beans, there was nothing good at Halls that day (Halls)

Day 3

1:00 - Chocolate milk, 2 sausages, plate of potato cubes, and a slice of raspberry bread (Halls)

3:00 - Snacked on some Pringles

5:00 - Sneaked a Dr. Pepper into the movie theater to watch the Avengers

7:00 - Caesar salad, penne with marinara sauce, and bread from the Corner Bakery down on 16th street

11:00 - Late night Jimmy John's BLT sandwich with avocado

The History of Avocados

As a kid I wasn’t known as much of a picky eater. I was, within certain limits, willing to try almost anything. However, when my parents offered me a bowl of green mush to try I was more than a little hesitant. I carefully dipped my Tostito chip into the dip, making sure to get as little of the repulsive stuff on there as possible. Imagine my surprise when I realized how tasty it was and was almost begging for more. Ever since that moment I have not been able to get enough guacamole, and by extension avocados. Avocados are becoming increasingly more popular in the U.S., with it being used in everything from salads to cosmetics. It is an interesting little fruit that has an interesting back story.

                The oldest known origins of the avocado are from Puebla, Mexico from over 10,000 years ago. Over time the cultivation of avocados spread across South and Central America. Many artifacts have been found that suggest that both the Aztecs and the Incas grew and consumed the fruit. When the Spanish explorers traveled to the Americas in the 1500s and 1600s they too discovered the avocado from the Aztecs. Unable to pronounce the Aztec name for it, the ahuacatl, the Spanish decided to change the pronunciation and called it the “aguacate”. Seeing its nutritional value, the Spanish brought it back to the Eastern part of the world to distribute the wealth (Freir). First, the avocado plants were brought to Indonesia and then later to everywhere from South Africa and Australia to North America and Europe. Once brought to Europe the English translated the Spanish term aguacate to what it is known as today, the avocado. Now, the avocado is grown commercially all across the world (Whiley).

                Avocados grow and mature on trees similar to a banana. The avocado can be left on the tree for several months once it reaches maturity before it needs to be picked. Once the avocado is picked from the tree it begins to ripen. Because of this the avocados are transported commercially at cool temperatures to prevent them from ripening.  Once the avocado is in a room temperature area, it will ripen within two to three days. Many grocery stores use ethylene gas so that they can sell pre-ripened fruit. Ethylene gas is a natural gas that is given off by many different types of produce that help keep the surrounding produce from becoming over-ripe. However, many sellers will use a synthetic ethylene gas to slow the ripening process, rather than counting on it to do so naturally (Smith).

                Today the main center of avocado production is still its place of origin, Mexico, with more than one million metric tons produced in 2005 (Galindo-Tovar). Along with Mexico, different variations of the avocado can be found all over the world because of its distribution back in the 1700s and 1800s. The avocado plant itself can be grown in varying climates, which is how the plant can be grown in so many different locations. Despite the worldwide growth of avocados and the majority grown in neighboring Mexico, the United States sells only American grown avocados fearing the affect that foreign insects and diseases may have on other types of produce.

                In the United States most avocados are grown in either California or Florida. California is the main center of avocado production in the U.S. by being where the two favorite types of avocados, the Hass and the Fuerte, originated. The Fuerte avocado is named such because of how it originated in America. Avocado plants were brought to California in 1911 in the hopes of building up production of avocados in the U.S. However, in one year every tree had been killed by a particularly disastrous frost except for one. The entire Fuerte avocado industry has been built from this lone, surviving tree. The Hass avocado has a similar story. In the 1920s a man named Rudolph Hass, decided to start his own avocado farm, trying to build upon the growing trend of avocado production. He bought seeds from Mexico and combined this plant with the Fuerte variation that had been started in the U.S. 10 years earlier. This seed combination proved to be tricky, with every tree that he planted dying before any avocados had a chance to grow. About to cut down his final attempt, a friend convinced him to let the tree grow and see what happened. After some time the Hass avocado grew, which has grown today to be the most popular avocado in the U.S. Like the Fuerte avocado, all of the Hass avocados that are eaten today descend from that first tree (Freir).

                Avocados have become important in American food culture today. They are extremely healthy with more potassium than a banana and high levels of varying vitamins. Studies have been done that show that avocados can lower harmful and raise beneficial blood cholesterol levels. New studies today are also being done to see if avocados may contain certain chemicals that help prevent cancer (Ding). With all of the great benefits of eating an avocado, it makes it a very important ingredient in our food culture. Seeing how the majority of avocado production in the U.S. is naturally done, has caused me to look at it in a different light. No longer do I see a fruit that can be turned into a particularly tasty green, mushy dip, but something that can be used to better the way that we eat.

Works Cited

Ding, Haiming “Chemopreventive characteristics of avocado fruit.” Seminars in Cancer Biology. Volume 17, Issue 5, October 2007. P. 386–394. 2007: Elsevier Ltd. <http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/science/article/pii/S1044579X07000272>

Freir, Pam. “Avocado’s history filled with lust, luck: Fruit got its name from Spanish explorers.” Calgary Herald. 12 Nov. 2006: Calgary, Alta. <http://0-proquest.umi.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/pqdlink?did=1161572321&Fmt=3&clientId=48347&RQT=309&VName=PQD>

Galindo-Tovar, Maria Elena. “The Avocado (Persea Americana, Lauraceae) Crop in Mesoamerica: 10,000 Years of History.” Harvard Papers in Botany. p. 325-334. 12 Dec 2007: Harvard University Herbaria  <http://0-dx.doi.org.bianca.penlib.du.edu/10.3100/1043-4534(2007)12[325:TAPALC]2.0.CO;2>

Smith, Andrew W.J., Poulston, Stephen. “A New Palldium-Based Ethylene Scavenger to Control Ethylene-Induced Ripening of Climacteric Fruit.” Platinum Metals Review, Volume 53, Number 3, July 2009, p. 112-122. Johnson Matthey <http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/matthey/pmr/2009/00000053/00000003/art00001>

Whiley, A. W. Schaffer, B. B. Wolstenhome, B. N. “Avocado: Botany, Production and Uses.” 2002: CABI Publishing Wallingford, Oxon, GBR p. 1-15.

Food production in the U.S. articles

Reading all of three of these articles has given me a new perspective on food production in the United States. I think that the one main thing that all of these articles touch on is how separated food production has become in America. Animals used to be killed and then eaten by the same person that killed the animal. They were raised on farms where they were respected and treated humanely. However, nowadays most people will never see the animals that they are going to eat. These animals are shoved into small confined spaces that may never see the light of day. I think that this was one of the most important things that these articles touched on because it is one of the main reasons that food production is so out of the general public’s control. There is no transparency to what is involved in raising and slaughtering animals. Pollan’s essay, “An Animals Place” focused on this fact more than either of the other articles. He poses the notion that perhaps if the general public could see more of how food is produced than they would be far less likely to eat meat from animals that are raised in common slaughterhouses. This idea really got me thinking because looking back at all of the meat that I have eaten, I have no idea where any of it came from. It’s strange that in a society so bent on eating healthily, most people still do not care about how their main ingredient was raised.

                Along with this lack of transparency within food production, these articles focused on how the workers at these farms suffer the most. The “Tomatoland” article showed how many workers on tomato farms work under such poor conditions that the only people that are still willing to do the job are illegal immigrants. Many of these farms enforcing slavery so that their quotas can be met. I found this article extremely interesting because it was a topic that I had done some research on in high school. I learned a lot about how the farms that grow crops can very easily force people into working on their farms. Reading these articles was very enlightening and is causing me to reevaluate some of my own meal choices. 

Pollan Article Response

In his article “America’s Eating Disorder” Pollan discusses the problem behind American eating. He notes the paradox of other cultures eating foods that are much higher in fat and calories having a healthier average weight. He says that this is mainly due to the fact that Americans worry much more about food. Being the great Melting Pot of the world, we have standard meals from almost every culture, but not our own history of food. Because of this we have no stable eating pattern passed down like other countries do. With the increase in available choices, we have forgotten how to choose foods for taste and health. Pollan notes that “we've learned to choose our foods by the numbers (calories, carbs, fats, R.D.A.'s, price, whatever), relying more heavily on our reading and computational skills than upon our senses” (Pollan 4). Food is chosen based on the nutrition facts that are supplied by the companies that make the products themselves. Americans have become so worried about eating the proper amount of different nutrients that we have lost the ability to choose food instinctually. We eat what we are told is the proper amount to eat. With this great concern for what we are eating, Americans end up eating the wrong amounts of the wrong food. We assume that because we ran two miles we can trade this for having a lot of snacks for the rest of the day. This is an interesting observation compared to the French culture of eating. Because they have a stable eating schedule and do not worry about what they eat, they ultimately end up eating healthier than the average American.

                This is a very interesting analysis of how Americans eat. In my own paper I focused about how Americans do not choose the healthiness of a food product enough. However, in this paper it shows how focusing too much on the health can become a problem. We forget to trust our own instincts on what to eat, and focus way too much on what our culture is telling us to eat. Looking over these observations it’s causing me to reevaluate my own food choices and the way that I view food. 

America: A Culture of Convenience

Today it seems as if America is on the upswing when it comes to healthy eating. Grocery stores are filled with more health-conscious products such as 100 calorie snacks and Naked juice. Shopping at Whole Foods for more organic, locally-grown food is more common than ever before. Restaurants serve smaller portions for meals and provide low-calorie meals for their customers. Schools around the country are improving their menus. However, despite this growing trend of healthy eating, it still seems as if America is eating unhealthily. Driving past any number of fast food chains, the parking lot and drive-thrus always seem full, which makes sense with Americans spending over $140 billion on fast food each year and one-third of Americans considered to be overweight or obese.  This begs the question, how. How are American eating habits still so unhealthy despite the better availability of healthy and organic products? This is because Americans still value convenience over health and nutrition.

The nutrition of food products is under more scrutiny now than it was in the past. Consumers do want to have more whole grains, fiber, calcium, and vitamins in their meals. However according to respected online news service, foodnavigator-USA.com, which researches news pertaining to food and beverage development in America,  the three main driving consumer behaviors are “an increased reliance on sandwiches at mealtimes, the use of fewer fresh ingredients, and more take-out lunches” (Heller). The overall force behind these behaviors is convenience. American culture is defined by being constantly on the go. As the saying goes, time is money. Meals are now valued for the price and availability of ingredients and the preparation time. This is why sandwiches are becoming increasingly commonplace at the dinner table. They are quick and easy to fix.

The need for quick and easy meals is a trend that has been growing in America since the dawn of the TV dinner. In her article, “Eating at the Edge” Jamie Horwitz, a university professor, analyzes the way that Americans consume food and how they now eat within a “space of flow”. In other words, the food has become something that is worked around our daily activities rather than an activity itself. This basically boils down to the fact that most Americans no longer have set meal times where they gather with family or friends and eat face-to-face. This phenomenon started with the TV dinner. Rather than meals being shared around the family dinner table, they were now shared around the TV. Interestingly enough this started not because Americans love television, but because we like the ability to have small one serving meals that are easy to prepare and have no cleanup time. This has evolved to become the many one-serving meals that we see today, a trend that can be found in even the most unusual places, such as space.  Also in her article, Horwitz discusses the eating habits of American astronauts. She notes how they paralleled the change in the general American public’s eating habits. While they started with sit-down meals, the standard practice became eating small servings on your own. It even became more convenient for the astronauts to eat small meals by themselves to fit within the confines of their schedules (Horwitz 46). Whether it’s each family member getting their own individual sandwich, a college student popping an Easy Mac container in the microwave or even an astronaut eating while working on the International Space Station, Americans now crave the ability to make a small meal for themselves. By studying the steady changes of how we eat meals, you can see the drive toward convenience. Meals are shortened to the smallest possible amount of time and the easier it is to eat with one hand the better.

With the drive toward shorter preparation times, fresh foods have also become inconvenient in American culture today. Purchasing fresh, organic food is more expensive and requires more preparation. Eating a meal with primarily organic ingredients involves a trip to the closest Whole Foods Market where you spend more money than the local grocery store. This does not even take into account the time needed to prepare and cook the meal. Fresh food also spoils quickly, meaning that you have to resupply very often causing an even bigger expense problem. It is much easier for the average American to buy food that can be stored for long periods of time and ready at a moment’s notice. Despite these factors, people still want to eat meals that are prepared with fresh ingredients. Very few people would be willing to eat basic, microwavable meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.  Thus, to accommodate both the need for fresh food and convenience, Americans have turned to restaurants. By eating at local restaurants, people can eat meals filled with relatively fresh ingredients without having to buy or prepare them. With restaurants

With an increase in take-out meals from restaurants, fast food chains have become a very common location to eat at, being the very definition of convenience. According to “US Fast Food Market Outlook 2010” a report done by RNCOS, a leading market research and information analysis company, consumers in the US spend nearly half of their food budget on restaurant. Almost 30% of the money is spent at fast food chains (RNCOS). So despite the very unhealthy food served at these restaurants, why is so much of Americans’ money going toward eating a Double Down at KFC or a Bacon Double Cheeseburger from Burger King? This is because along with the health risk, fast food restaurants provide many benefits to its customers, mainly convenience. They serve popular items that the consumer is familiar with;, few people in America are unaware of what a Big Mac is. Also, because Americans are familiar with the menus, deciding what you want and ordering requires little time. Most restaurants even use their average wait time to market to consumers. For example, McDonalds boasts a 5 minute wait time in many of their ads. Along with the time saved within the restaurant, is the time saved by driving to the restaurant. Because people will not travel too far for just okay food, fast food restaurants must be within a reasonable distance. Driving down the highway you’ll see at least four different fast food chains at every exit, with the same chain repeating every other exit. While this seems outrageous, it works in the companies favor. Americans prefer to have the many different options, for both when and what they eat. This is something that can be seen every day, with almost any activity.  

Because malls are filled with almost all demographics in America, it gives keen insight into American food culture. In almost any standard American mall, a certain selection of food is available at the food court, namely fast-food. In a personal, observational study of the Park Meadows Mall food court in Denver, Colorado, the food court appeared to be filled with numerous fast food options that while may have some nutritious options, undoubtedly allow shoppers to indulge in more unhealthy meal choices. Looking at the standard meal options, one sees certain commonalities in the food. Most have large portions with a large amount of calories that fill the weary shopper and allow them to continue on with renewed energy. The focus is not on the nutrition of what is being eaten, but rather on its ability to get them through the day. This can especially be seen with the fact that most malls are surrounded by fairly upscale restaurants such as Red Robin and the Macaroni Grill. Shoppers could leave the mall to go to these restaurants and eat healthier meals. Unfortunately they are too far away for the average shopper despite being just across the parking lot. This plays into how shoppers prefer the food court for its convenience.

Along with it being located within the mall, I made a few other observations about the convenience of the food court. Watching the shoppers I noticed the chaos of everyone rushing to get their food, eat and leave within a timely manner. Few groups would take their time and enjoy the break from bustling from store to store. Even the food court itself was designed so that shoppers spend as little time as necessary there. The room was composed of closely placed restaurant stands so shoppers could quickly see what was available and in some cases move from stand to stand so each member of the group could order from their favorite restaurant. The room also had an enormous amount of tables squished together so that no one would have to wait to sit. The food was also served on paper plates and plastic trays to trim the clean-up time. The food court itself was placed in the middle of the mall, so that no shopper had to go too far out of the way for a quick lunch break. Observing the food court showed how much Americans value convenience in their daily lives even with activities such as shopping.

Every day Americans find ways to fit more into their day. I find myself, an average college student, skipping breakfast to make it to an early class or heating up a meal in the microwave because walking to the dining hall feels like too much of a chore. While cutting down the time for our meals may be more time efficient and allow us to get more work done, it has a detrimental effect on our health. We choose less nutritious and higher-calorie meals because they take up less of our time, despite the fact that our culture is changing with organic and low-calorie foods being more available. Americans need to reevaluate what they value when it comes to food, before unhealthy, one-serving meals become the only things left to eat.  

                                                          

Works Cited

Heller, Loraine. “Convenience trumps health in American eating choices, report.” Foodnavigator-USA.com. 26 Oct 2006. 2012: William Reed Business Media SAS. <http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Business/Convenience-trumps-health-in-American-eating-choices-report>

Horwitz, Jamie. “Eating at the Edge.” University of California Press. p.42-46. Souce: Gastronimca: The Journal of Food and Culture, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Summer 2009). <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2009.9.3.42>

“Fast Food Remains Recession Proof in US” RNCOS Industry Research Solutions. 05 May 2009. PRLog (Press Release). <http://www.prlog.org/10230013-fast-food-remains-recession-proof-in-us.html> 

The Very Rough Draft of America: A Convenient Culture

Today it seems as if America is on the upswing when it comes to healthy eating. Grocery stores are filled with more health-conscious products such as 100 calorie snacks and Naked juice. Shopping at Whole Foods for more organic, locally-grown food is more common than ever before. Restaurants serve smaller portions for meals and provide low-calorie meals for their customers. Schools around the country are improving their menus, especially by cutting out the availability of soda within schools. However, despite this growing trend of healthy eating, it still seems as if America is eating unhealthily. Driving past any number of fast food chains, the parking lot and drive-thrus always seem full, which makes sense with Americans spending over $140 billion on fast food each year. Two-thirds of Americans are considered overweight or obese.  This begs the question how. How are American eating habits still so unhealthy despite the better availability of healthy and organic products? This is because Americans still value convenience over health and nutrition.

The nutrition of food products is under more scrutiny now then it was in the past. Consumers do want to have more whole grains, fiber, calcium, and vitamins in their meals. However according to food navigator, the three main driving consumer behaviors are “an increased reliance on sandwiches at mealtimes, the use of fewer fresh ingredients, and more take-out lunches” (Foodnavigator-USA). The overall force behind these behaviors is convenience. American culture is defined by being constantly on the go. As the saying goes, time is money. Meals are now valued for the price and availability of ingredients and the preparation time. This is why sandwiches are becoming increasingly commonplace at the dinner table. They are quick and easy to fix. Fresh foods have also become inconvenient in American culture today. Purchasing fresh, organic food is more expensive and requires more preparation. Fresh food also spoils quickly, meaning that you have to resupply very often. Despite these factors, people still want to eat meals that are prepared with fresh ingredients. This is why there is an increase in take-out lunches from restaurants in America. People can eat meals filled with fresh ingredients without having to buy or prepare them. This can still be a healthy meal choice, but it depends on where they go.

To fit mealtimes more easily into a busy day, many people will risk eating dinner at fast food chains such as McDonalds for the quick single serving that it provides to its consumers. Fast food restaurants offer a lot of benefits to its consumers. They provide almost immediate service of a popular product that most people are familiar with; few people in America are unaware of what a Big Mac is. Because people are familiar with the menus, they do not have to spend any excess time at fast food chains. Also, fast food restaurants are also very easily accessible. Because people will not travel too far for just okay food, fast food restaurants must be within a reasonable distance. This adds into the convenience of the product as a whole. People can stop by a McDonald’s on their way to work and not have to wait twenty minutes for food (Jekanowski 2). However, there is more to the convenience of fast food chains. Along with the time and money saved by frequenting fast food restaurants, they also provide more energy-dense meals.

Because malls are filled with almost all demographics in America, it gives keen insight into American food culture. In almost any standard American mall, a certain selection of food is available at the food court, namely fast-food. In a personal, observational study of the Park Meadows Mall food court in Denver, Colorado, the food court appeared to be filled with numerous fast food options that while may have some nutritious options, undoubtedly allow shoppers to indulge in more unhealthy meal choices. Looking at the standard meal options, one sees certain commonalities in the food. Most have large portions with a large amount of calories that fill the weary shopper and allow them to continue on with renewed energy. The focus is not on the nutrition of what is being eaten, but rather on its ability to get them through the day. This can be seen in any age and ethnicity group. One study was done to observe the calorie-intake of various teenagers in a certain area. To make sure that the meals eaten by the subjects of the study were done in a more natural setting, they were instructed to eat at the local mall food court. In the study, the teenagers were observed to be eating high-calorie meals that accounted for a generous amount of the energy that is required of a teenager for the average day (Scene From a Mall: A Study of Teens and Fast Food). This study showed that especially when given the option of fast-food, a person will opt for the meal that will give them more energy ignoring the nutrition of the food itself. This study showed very simply how many Americans value food. The focus on food in the average day is on the value of the energy it provides, adding to the American preference for convenience.

The need for convenience of meals is a trend that has been growing in America since the dawn of the TV dinner. In her article, “Eating at the Edge” Jamie Horwitz, a university professor, analyzes the way that Americans consume food and how they now eat within a “space of flow”. In other words, the food has become an addition to social activities rather than a social activity in in of itself.  This basically boils down to the fact that most Americans no longer have set meal times where they gather with family or friends and eat face-to-face. This phenomenon started with the TV dinner. Rather than meals being shared around the family dinner table, they were now shared around the TV. Interestingly enough this started not because Americans love television, but we like the ability to have small one serving meals that are easy to prepare and have no cleanup time. This evolved to become the many one-serving products that we see today such as the Soup in Hand. Horwitz also discusses the eating habits of American astronauts. She notes how they paralleled the change in the general American public’s eating habits. While they started with sit-down meals, the standard practice became eating small servings on your own. It even became more convenient for the astronauts to eat small meals by themselves to fit within the confines of their schedules. By studying the steady changes of how we eat meals, you can see the drive toward convenience. Meals are shortened to the smallest possible amount of time and the easier it is to eat with one hand the better.

Food in American culture is defined by convenience. This convenience may be dependent on how much time it saves in preparing, how well it will energize you for the tasks of the day, or the amount of servings it provides. American culture is defined by getting the most out of the day whether it is work, school, or online shopping and this can have a detrimental effect on what we eat. Despite the fact that our culture is changing to reflect better on the food choices that we make with organic and low-calorie foods being more available, the need for convenience outweighs even the most health-conscious person. This need for convenience is something that moves past what we eat in American culture. With the availability of Wi-fi, anyone can access the Internet from almost anywhere. People can constantly check Facebook and their Email. American culture has an intense focus on chipping away the time involved with almost any activity. Mutli-tasking is one of the most important skills the average American can have to keep up with our fast-paced culture. This focus on streamlining efficiency and cutting down time has been helpful to our country. It is one of the main reasons that we have obtained so much influence in the world. However, it is not benefiting our health. This constant focus on time and working food into our schedule is costing Americans their health. Taking time out the day to eat healthy food, not just fitting it in when convenient, needs to become a part of our culture again. Otherwise, American culture may begin to degrade and become as unhealthy as the food that we cannot stop eating.

Works Cited

Heller, Loraine. “Convenience trumps health in American eating choices, report.” Foodnavigator-USA.com. 26 Oct 2006. 2012: William Reed Business Media SAS. <http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Business/Convenience-trumps-health-in-American-eating-choices-report>

Horwitz, Jamie. “Eating at the Edge.” University of California Press. p.42-46. Souce: Gastronimca: The Journal of Food and Culture, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Summer 2009). <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2009.9.3.42>

Jekanowski, Mark D., Binkley, James K., Eales, James. “Convenience, Accessibility and the Demand for Fast Food.” Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. 2001: Western Agricultural Economics Association. 26(1):58-74 <http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/31162/1/26010058.pdf>

“Scene From a Mall: A Study of Teens and Fast Food” Eating Disorders Review. Jul/Aug2004, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p4-4, 2/3p. EBSCOhost.

< http://0-web.ebscohost.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/ehost/detail?sid=23817a99-5b4d-4f30-b8cb-d2358f0c9a07%40sessionmgr111&vid=6&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=14241958>

Horwitz's Eating in the "space of flow"

In his article Horwitz analyzes the way that Americans consume food in a different way than any of the other articles we have read. He focuses more on how Americans now eat within a “space of flow”. This basically boils down to the fact that most Americans no longer have set meal times where they gather with family or friends and eat face-to-face. He structured this by first laying out when this phenomena started, the TV dinner. Rather than meals being shared around the family dinner table, they were now shared around the TV. Interestingly enough this started not because Americans love television, but we like the ability to have small one serving meals that are easy to prepare and have no cleanup time. This evolved to become the many one-serving products that we see today such as the Soup in Hand. The author then went on to discuss the eating habits of American astronauts. He noted how they paralleled the change in the general American public’s eating habits. While they started with sit-down meals, the standard practice became eating small servings on your own. I found it interesting that they compared this with the European astronauts and how they prefer to eat in groups, which probably parallels the general European public’s eating habits. Horwitz also shows how the increase in long international flights has increased the amount of irregular eating habits. To facilitate this, countries now have many places that are open all night and cater to both people from different time zones and locals. Overall you can see how our culture has changed with how we eat our meals. We eat as a part of multitasking and fitting more into our day.

Horwitz compares the information to his own experience with being a professor at a university. Reading this article I could see a lot of what he was talking about in my own life. Being a college student, food can be somewhat of a time inconvenience. It’s difficult to fit regular meals in every day, with a schedule that changes daily and an immense amount of homework. When I’m rushed for time I often eat meals by myself. Also since the food served in college dining halls leaves a lot to be desired, I find myself having very little food for lunch or dinner, and then preparing small microwave meals once I get back to my room. My eating habits have changed a lot since I was at home eating three square meals a day at the dinner table. WIth my consistently changing schedule and the variety of food available to me in college, my eating habits have become a lot more relaxed both in what I eat and when I eat. As university Professor Horwitz notes, "The absence of dominant codes, customs, and practices is an invitation to innovation" (Horowitz 45). This is definitely seen within a college culture. I have become very innovative with preparing my own meals, which is caused by the lack of rules and restrictions on my life. I definitely feel that Horwitz’s conclusions are supported by the college student lifestyle. We eat more in the “space of flow”.

Horwitz, Jamie. "Eating at the Edge."