Highlighted by Dr Nicholas Thompson, food is one of the most powerful expressions of identity – both for an individual and a group. Food is, and seems to have always been, a way of establishing community and brings to light the intriguing question of “us” and “them”.
Through specific bible passages, it seems that choosing who one eats with not only defined an individual and their morals, but defined which community they belonged to and who was in that community. Indeed, Dr Thompson draws a parallel between Jesus’ flesh being the bread of life, and the literal sacrifice of giving someone else food in times of scarcity – we only need to look as far as 1 Kings 17:1-16 to see the truth in this.
Growing up in Aotearoa food defined me and who my community seemingly was as well. Bringing stinky tofu to school was a BIG no. The same can be said for nearly anything my mum made, with the exception of dumplings. Dr Thompson’s lecture highlighted to me, with a new perspective, how food can define one’s assimilation and belonging in a community. It really hit home as I had realised over 10 years ago, through the food I ate and the people I could not eat with as a result, that I was the “them” in my own home.
3500 years have past, and away from the urgency of famine this question of the “us”, “them” and community has taken a new manifestation – begging the question of whether foods relationship with defining a community is both eternal and universal regardless of the ever-changing nature of our world.
