Food is culture Essay

According to the Executive Director of the Washington International Center, Robert Kohls (1984), the varied behaviors of a heap or a close make sense only when seen through the prefatory beliefs, assumptions, and set of that particular group. This legendary statement that was uttered more than two decades ago was intended to develop American values and to compare these values with those that belong to other coatings.But, as time went by, Khols insightful percept about culture has taken on international meaning and it was one of the fundamental concepts espoused by Montanari in his book entitled Food is Culture. Using historical reference to Hoppocrates, Montanari insisted that fare has never been accordd with nature and this contradicts the general idea advertised by people who campaign for organic foods. Montanari explains that food is the result of the efforts of a inn to tame, transform, and interpret nature.This view can be supported by two related observations. Firs t, societies all all over the world encounter divergent environments. That is, societies in the Pacific region may find tropical climates whereas societies in the Mediterranean region have temperate climates. The differences in weather, together with the differences in geography, lead to the different ways that the members of the society learned to deal with their varied environments. Thus, the second observation is that the different societies have produced their own unequaled food and food culture.For example, Italian food reminds people of spaghetti, tiramisu, and other pasta dishes. Asian food, on the other hand, brings to mind bowls of rice. Kohls perception, when combined with Montanaris view about the relationship of food and culture, evolves into something different then. That the different values of a people or a culture are revealed and understood when seen through the food culture of that particular group. Feedback from a reader At first, it would take some stretch of imagination to associate food with culture.There are two major reasons for this difficulty. First, people eat food in dedicate to survive and perhaps live a relatively healthy life. The desire to live and survive is so fundamental that all peoples possess this particular desire. And if all peoples and culture uphold this desire to live, then feeding food is very common that it cannot be directly related to the uniqueness of culture. And second, food is almost of all time taken from nature. This means that food is obtained from farms and from forests. Farm and forest are two concepts that are associated with things inbred.Food, therefore, is a natural resource. And despite the fact that most people in America consume processed food, food is unimpeachably associated with nature. However, using a more critical thinking and a wider observation of the world, the statement that food is culture begins to make some sense. The values of a culture can be reflected in the kinds of food th at people eat and the ways that people eat their food. For example, the Japanese culture carries out a tea ceremony, specializes in sushi, and usually serves food in small bite sizes.All these reflect the fact that the Japanese culture gives great importance to tradition. Thus, when Japanese encounters a problem, he turns to the knowledge of his ancestors for guidance. The typical American, on the other hand, seldom imitates the actions of his ancestors. When he encounters a problem, he tends to find help by himself and establishes some measure of control on his problem. The way that Americans value individuality and personal control over their environment can be seen in the way they wanted their food to be served individually.The Americans also wanted their foods to be served fast and this preference echoes the values of practicality and efficiency. Therefore, as a reader of Montanaris ideas about the relationship of food and culture, I am persuade that food culture does reflect t he values upheld by a society.Bibliography Kohls, R. (1984). The values Americans live by. Retrieved September 18, 2007 at http//omni. cc. purdue. edu/corax/kohlsamericanvalues. html Montanari, M. (2006). Introduction. Food is Culture. A. Sonnenfeld (trans. ). New York Columbia University Press.