What your food dollar buys

This graph shows where your food dollar goes. Do you see any problems with this?

McDonalds goes Italian

Recent article from ABC news -- McDonald's is introducing a new line line of "Italian" burgers. Where is the line in food that would make a food adopt a new identity? How does food become "ethnic"? What makes a food authentic?

What does your meal time look like?

Anthropologist Mary Douglas argues that we may share a drink (coffee, tea, or something at a bar) with acquaintances, but we share our meals with those with whom we share an intimacy. The "Unremarkable Dining Experience" documents a series of families during their evening meal. By using the photographs, we can glean a large amount of information -- from who is at the table (is there a table!), where they are eating it, the surroundings, and what they are eating. Which photograph best represents your dinner experience and why? If none of them do, how is yours different?

Nil by Mouth (by Roger Ebert)

After movie critic Roger Ebert had surgery for throat cancer, he lost the ability to speak, eat or drink. Once he lost these abilities, he found that he obsessed over food. (As you can read in his article, he realized that food memories accompanied these obsessions). You've written a food memory, but about what foods do YOU obsess? Why is this? (For me it was grape soda in India, I think because I loved it as a kid and it reminded me of home when I was in such a foreign culture).

When a Chef Can't Taste

Short piece by Chef Grant Achatz (Alinea) of what happened when he lost his sense of taste. Do YOU consciously smell your food before tasting it? Try it your next meal & report back to the blog how it informs you about food.

http://food.theatlantic.com/back-of-the-house/when-a-chef-cant-taste-his-food.php

What is your "third place"?

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg, in his book The Great Good Place, argues that in addition to our home (first place) or workplace (second place), is "the third place" -- a social space where community building can occur. While historically, a tavern or church might have been third places -- free or inexpensive, affordable food & drink, regular patrons -- today scholars look to the coffee shop (which have actually been around since the Enlightenment and encouraged the transfer of information [conversations and newspapers] and political thought). Starbucks has even been promoting itself as a third place in their marketing. Oldenburg argues that these social spaces are important for civil society and democracy.

Do you find your local coffee shop/cafe to be an important social space for you? Why/why not?

The Jungle

I'm currently re-reading Upton Sinclair's classic, The Jungle (1906), which follows the plight of the working class (new immigrants) who work in the Chicago stockyards. In addition to the horrible working conditions and questionable ethical issues of food production, what strikes me is how relevant many of the issues still are today. As well as the family purchasing a house without understanding the ramifications of interest payments (housing crisis), is the question of short-term vs. long-term efficiency of labor and land. There is also the topic of food adulteration, hubris (food moralists fear a future apocalypse due to the "unnatural" way that food is produced), and an alientation that we have from our food source as well as from community in general. SO... have you read the Jungle? What are your thoughts of the book and the issues that it raises?