Culture Sketch in the Cafeteria

TOPIC: 'Seeing' Culture in Food

SOURCE: Observations were made during a trip to the cafeteria with some food-conscious girlfriends.

RELATION: This account exemplifies the differences which occur between culturally constructed norms of what is 'good' or 'not good' to eat, as mentioned on page 6 of RR.

DESCRIPTION: With so many dining options available on campus, and with j-points to spare, I find myself in many different locations during meal time. However, the things I choose to eat and the standards I apply when making those choices are generally the same in spite of where I find myself when the time comes to chow down. And this seems to be the case for most of the folks with whom I share my meals; that is, that we all have very specific eating habits. A specific issue I have noticed to arise among my friends while in the cafeteria is that of whether a product has been cultivated and harvested organically along with the question of where that food comes from. But it does not stop there. Two friends of mine seem repeatedly to be at odds when these issues arise as both insist on taking a firm stand on both of these subjects, but for very different reasons. One of these young women insists only ever to partake of those things which were brought to her free of pesticide, claiming to place her concern in the fact that many such chemicals work to the detriment of the surrounding ecosystems, but often cares not whether that ecosystem was a local one or not. The source of the food in terms of location seems to be of little importance to Diner #1. The second of these girls shudders at the thought that our friend cares not for that which is produced locally, but also at the fact that she reveres those foods which are termed 'organic' rather than 'pesticide-free', seeing as all foods would technically qualify as carbon-based, organic matter. (Until the powers-that-be recognize and correct such an abominable misnomer, she refuses to pay more for 'carbon-based' simply on principle.) And sure, each of these quirks is harmless enough in theory, but when the two find themselves eating together, trying to make their own decisions based on values which are similar at a glance, while in fact and reality, very different, I find myself in the middle of a real, live culture sketch. As a result, I find myself wondering why these two feel the way that they do, intrigued by the way that the opinions of these girls have manifested themselves. What were they taught, and at what point in their lives were these impacts made? How likely are they to change? And what would that change reveal about the respective cultures which taught them to think that way in the first place?

COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS: It seems that both of these young women have become a product of the environments in which they were raised. As different values were taught concerning the ever present matter of food, long lasting decisions were made as to what would be okay or not okay to support as a form of subsistence. It seems also that as these two continued to develop and learn more in life, they continued also to apply all that they had learned to their deciding what to eat or to avoid eating, and this appears to be the case for many.

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