The Food and Culture, Essay Example

There are many factors that influence the food habits of the cultures throughout the world.  By looking at the historical context of the culture’s habits and examining the underlying processes that created these influences, it becomes apparent that there are various factors that can be presented.  Not only are the cultural food habits rooted in the environmental and economic factors that are associated with the regional or political constraints that those societies are presented with, but also the religious and social orders that make up the rituals and habits of the communities within those societies.  In this way, the factors governing the influence of cultural food habits can be examined in order to see how these various associations are effected by the societies in which they are found.

Those factors that influence the food habits of various cultures are primarily determined by those same factors that influence many other aspects of cultural life.  These factors include not only the location and environmental setting of their culture, but also the historical context in which the culture exists and identifies with.  “Cultural cuisines reflect the geography, climate, and history of the location where the culture developed.” (Massachusetts, 2006).  In this way, the landscape plays as vital a role in the food that the culture comes to rely on as their habits and preferences.  The constraints that the land and environment present upon the people will have a direct impact on how they grow their food and the manner and extent to which it is consumed in a ritualistic sense.

Throughout Asia and much of the Middle East, for example, the people rely heavily upon the production of rice.  This is not only because there was a rich historical framework that is dedicated to this crop within these societies, but also because the climate and landscape are beneficial for this particular crop to grow in abundance.  “Today rice is an important food product used both as a daily dish as well as in more elaborate festival dishes in Central Asia and adjacent regions including Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.” (Nessbit, 2006)  For this reason, the cultures eventually came to revere the plant as a gift to their people and it became a cultural identification for them.  Many myths and legends revolve around the history and production, as well as the health benefits of rice in China, and throughout much of Asia and the Middle East.

Other factors that influence the habits of cultures include those that allow the cultures to attain or retain a specific identity.  These identities are an important way for the cultures to maintain their unique characteristics.  These are not only those that relate to religious identification, but also social and racial identifications as well.  “The obvious ones are ethnic, religious and class identifications.” (Fox, 2006)  By doing so, the various cultures are able to retain the various historical frameworks that influenced the creation of the food that is important to them.  This is an essential factor in the retention of the food habits of the specific cultures and their identities.

The preservation of food as a symbol of class still continues to this day.  Since ancient times, people have presented food as a way to show their social and economic success.  In order to show this, people often presented great spreads for their guests.  “Lavish food entertainment is part of the ancient tradition of food hospitality used mainly to impress strangers.” (Fox, 2006)  While not to the extent that it was in the past, this is still done throughout the world.  Many cultures consider the presentation of food to be of vital importance in the realm of good social practice and manners.  When presented with food in many cultures, it is, in fact, considered rude to deny or to turn down food from a host.

Furthermore, the expression of religious rituals through food is still in practice today.  The sacraments of wine and bread for Christians as well as the kosher-laws that govern the food habits of the Jewish faith are examples of this. “Most civilizations have been built on the cultivation of one staple food crop, which is almost invariably endowed with religious significance, the origin of which is usually shrouded in myth.” (Claxton, 1996)  Whether this is usually because the food was something that was plentifully available or that it had some historical significance that the culture or society had become attached to at some point is difficult to discern, but historians and anthropologists are continuously developing new methods and theories to address this issue further.

Beyond the religious and societal pressures that influence the types of food and the habits that are associated with them are the needs of the individuals within society to express their communal ties and to show their gratitude to others that are within the scope of their social and cultural frameworks.  In this way, the customs and rituals that are associated with food within a society are expressed through the individual desires of the people to express the communal responsibilities that they feel are important and to show their faith in regards to the other people who make up those communities.

In this sense, people are able to show their expressions of dedication to their communal values and their societies through the promotion of their cultural foods and the free distribution of this food to their communites as well as to those that they wish to create a sense of camaraderie with.  “Food is also an occasion for sharing, for distributing and giving, for the expression of altruism, whether from parents to children, children to in-laws, or anyone to visitors and strangers.” (Fox, 2006)  The creation of these rituals expresses the dedication that these people have towards the other people in their lives, and their sharing of particular types of food is their expression of thanks that they have towards their communities as a whole.  In this way, food can also serve asa way to make to social or personal contracts with those who the individuals are sharing their food with.

References

Claxton, Mervyn. (1996). Culture, Food, and Identity. Sixth in a Series on Culture and Development. 1-17.

Fox, Robin. (2006). Food and Eating: An Anthropological Perspective. The Myth of Nutrition. Social Issues Research Centre. 1-22.

Massachusetts Department of Education. (2006). Culture and Food. Child and Adult Care Food Program. 99-120.

Nesbitt, Mark. (2006). History of Rice in Western and Central Asia. 312-334.