In the readings this week, the authors talked about the personal and political nature of food in our lives. As women, we are often expected to be at least partially interested in the buying, cooking, and serving of food. Women are also often in control of a family's nutritional needs. In "Having it His Way," for example, the authors discussed how fast food commercials make women out to be controlling men's freedom by controlling their food choices.
For your first blog post, I would like for you to write about your relationship with food in your life. Think about where you learned about how you think about food, nutrition, and even obesity. I am aware that this could be a deeply personal issue, so I am not necessarily asking you to self-disclose in this forum. I would like to see you do some analysis of where your relationship with food comes from. As an American woman, how do you relate to what the authors talked about?
My Entry (Status: ready to grade)
ReplyDeleteFood for thought: I honestly never, "did well" at cooking or even tried to until my Mother passed away. Cooking, I always took for granted and I admit this is not any easy task for me. Itemizing a food list, "meal plan", where to purchase the groceries? Are the foods organic? Do I meet nutritional needs with my meals? What amount do I purchase for each serving for family member? Which food do I start to prepare first and then simultaneously add the other ingredients, that everything is prepared, cooked , and finished together? Many questions to ask, for just one meal, so important to our well-being. The primary people in my life that did all the cooking and baking were my parents and grandmothers. Looking back, I wish I would have paid more attention to learn the in's and out's of preparing a nutritious meal.
As a child growing up we learned about the food pyramid in Elementary,Junior, and Senior High School. This was the golden rule to maintain good eating habits and nutritional value. I have recently gained a fortitude of knowledge at Cedar Crest College with Professor Savino in Nutrition Class 210.
I am amazed of the major changes in the principles of human nutrition. The food pyramid was replaced with "My Plate" . The Aim for Nutrition is "make half your grains whole", "vary your vegetables", "get your calcium rich foods", "focus on fruits", and "go lean with protein". The five nutritional food groups with my plate are grains, 3 ounces a day, vegetables 2 1/2 cups a day, fruits 1 1/2 cups a day, 3 cups of low-fat dairy, and 5 1/2 ounces of lean protein daily. This type of food pyramid , I can identify with easier. However, identifying and talking about, "eating out" is a different story. First of all, meat and poultry do not have to be labeled and are regulated by the USDA and not FDA! Fresh produce, coffee, and spices do not have significant amount of nutrients and DO NOT have to be labeled! There is no national standardized definition of a serving that currently exists for any food!
The FDA requires labels on most foods, but not all! Structure function claims are made without the FDA Approval and the proof or guarantee of benefits printed on the label. Example: " Improves memory ", DOES NOT have the FDA approval and is printed on the packaging. Is this right for consumers to purchase items with false advertisement, or vague advertisement?
I am saddened that I also learned this in class. If a product is less than 5 kcalories it is considered "calorie free", fat free would be less than 0.5 g, sugar free less than 0.5 g, and sodium free 5 mg! So with that being said, It is very vague on the nutrition panel for vitamins and nutrients! Are we really in-taking what is produced on the nutritional panel? Taking the nutrition class has really opened my eyes to what we put in our bodies. Unclear, yes it is! Maybe deceiving about what are acceptable portions and what is not acceptable. We certainly cannot rely on the government to tell us what is appropriate and what is not!
As for obesity, I am very self-conscious of my weight. My relationship with food is not an easy one and has made a huge turn for the best recently. With everyday, I try to better myself with food. Growing up, our family rarely "ate out". Life for some, as we know it now is fast paced. I cannot relate with the advertisements for food. However, I would love to go back in time!