Wilk Response: How far food travels to reach our plate

     As I began to read Home Cooking in the Global Village, Wilk revealed thoughts and concerns that had never come to mind before.  It is interesting to take into account the places your food has traveled to before you get it.  We never take the time to look and see where our food has come from.  In Wilk’s book, he mentions Fuze fruit juice, in order to show how many places our food can go before it is actually is in our hands.  He talks of how this drink contains ingredients from many different places around the world.  This example led me to be more aware of the things I eat and where they have come from.  Just this morning I was eating a banana from Equador, which when you think about it is really cool.  I was enjoying one of my favorite fruits that was from a place that I have never set foot.  Never before had I taken the time to think, “Hmmmm, where did my banana come from?” 

    

      Another major topic that Wilk covers is the concept of globalization in relation to our food.  Wilk talks about the use of appropriation and how it is used in conjunction with globalization.  One example he gives is how Americans eat Japanese food such as sushi without actually becoming Japanese.  This shows how we can experience a culture without being a part of that culture.  I think this a good way to keep from destroying local cultures or smaller cultures found within bigger cultures.  When we think about it, food is a great way to show globalization, and it can be seen in America by the way culture is displayed through food.  America seems to brace other cultures to a certain extent, especially when it comes to food.  In Augusta alone, I know of places that serve Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Mexican, and European food.  Granted, this food may be “Americanized,” it still shows how globalization has effected the food we find in our country.  This can relate to Wilk’s book when he talks of how the people of Belize would cater to their tourists by making food available to them that would be familiar to them.  This is relevant to food being “Americanized,” because many people feel more comfortable eating something when they have been introduced to it before. 

     While doing some research online to find some examples of globalization, I came across a blog post discussing the globalization of McDonald’s entitled "The Globalization of McDonald's".  I found it very interesting to look at how McDonald’s caters to the culture it is found in.  The article talks about how in India they serve the Maharaja Mac which is made with lamb instead of cow, given that Hindu people, which make up a large part of the population, do not eat beef. Another example the article gives is in Chile where they allow you to add aguacate to your burgers.  This shows how many restaurants, including McDonald’s, incorporate the local flavors into their food, which reveals the use of globalization in our food.

Instagram Your Lunch

     In my family, dinner has always been a time for everyone to spend some quality time together.  Everyone is always very busy, so this time gives us a chance to spend time together, since we are often busy throughout the day.  My mom works an 8 to 5 job, so she is typically the one who prepares our meals; however, my dad works shift work, so he is not always able to attend dinner.  Often times the shift that my dad is working reflects the dinner we have.  My mom often cooks more, for lack of a better word, luxuriously when my dad is home for dinner.  When he is not home, we often have things such as sandwiches or leftovers.  Obviously my dad was in attendance for dinner last night, given that my mom fixed spaghetti.  

     My family tends to stick to the American basics when it comes to food, and we hardly ever stray far away from this.   Exotic foods such as sushi, Mexican dishes, and alligator will never be found in my house.  I would like to blame this on my parents, because they do not really like “different” foods.  However, my brother and I love to try new foods and eat more foreign cuisine.  We tend to do this when we go out for lunch or dinner together.  When it comes to trying new food, I feel that many people do not tend to try new things, because they do not want to stray from the norm.  Sometimes it is difficult to step out of your comfort zone in any setting, including the foods you eat.  While I understand the concept of staying within your comfort zone, I think it is good to try new foods, because it helps us to step out of our own culture and into another. Even though it is just food, it still allows us to open our eyes to another culture and look through a different lens.

     In Anne Allison’s story, the children’s mothers prepared their bento boxes for lunch and it was an extremely important part of a child’s life.  Unlike these Japanese children, I ate school lunch everyday of my school experience.  This was not because my mother did not care enough to spend the time to make it, but because lunch was free at my school; therefore, I did not have to spend any money at all to eat lunch.  My family took advantage of this privilege greatly.  The Japanese children from Allison’s story also had strict guide lines when it came to their lunch.  Given that I ate school lunch as a child, I cannot relate to the concept of having guide lines for your lunch very well.  This is because at my school we were given a few choices for a meat and sides, and we got what we wanted.  The food was relatively healthy, but we still were given the option to choose what to eat.  Also, it was not mandatory to eat lunch.  Many people would get a lunch tray and simply give away the food they did not want to other kids.
      I feel like the people around us often have an influence on us and we have an influence on the people around us.  Without realizing it, we play a part in shaping the lives of the people surrounding us.  This can even be applied to the concept of food too.  I can see this in my three year old nephew.  If his daddy does not eat it, then he does not eat.  While I understand that he is still a child, who has yet to completely shape his own opinion, it shows how the foods we eat can influence the food that another person eats.  I find that the foods we eat reflect our identities fairly well.  You can usually tell a lot about a person by looking at what they are eating.  Our culture also has a great impact on our identities as a whole.  The culture that we grow up in and are surrounded by often shapes the person that we become, which includes the foods that we eat.