Should food be a topic that requires us to take up and defend a political or ethical position?
You have been click baited.
But you should be no stranger to click bait for it is used everywhere, including at your favourite cafes.
‘WE FOCUS ON EATING REAL FOOD’
The seemingly innocent phrase radiates off ‘real’ food restaurants to promote the perfect diet, but it is like an octopus strangling us in guilt induced anxiety!
“We believe in Eating REAL FOOD not the mechanically separated meatfast food chains serve”. Immediately you imagine “pink slime” oozing out of your burger and think, “eating this will be good for me, right?”
From the past few lectures, I realised that food has an identity, an identity that represents the consumers via vitae (way of life). During orientation, we did not even have a clear definition of ‘food’ without incorporating our moral, ethical, religious or cultural beliefs; so, is it right a restaurant should put a label on what ‘real food’ is or isn’t?
Dr. Sharpe states in her Alternative Food Initiatives paper, do not conform to binary understandings of food.[1] There is no ‘good’, ‘bad’ or ‘real’ food; hence, the idea of a ‘perfect diet’ should not exist. Nutrition is not black and white – this is a binary understanding we should stray from.
To end it on a tip from me to you: a diet, like university, is all about moderation and balance – fat food is not ‘bad food’ – like all nutrition, it must be consumed with balance.
Maybe this blog isn’t so clickbaity after all…
References
[1]Sharp, E.L. 2017. (Re)assembling foodscapes with the Crowd Grown Feast. Area 50(2):266-273.
Gotta admit; you got me with the clickbait there!
But nevertheless, this was actually a really cool read and I definitely agree with a lot of what you’ve said.
I think it’s so interesting and important to take note of how people are telling us to eat in this day and age and certainly, the idea of good and bad food has much debate to be discussed. There could also be some sort of link here around diets labelled as more ethical and healthier eg. Vegan, Paeleo etc. and this is labelled as “good” food in society, almost as if the rest of us on different diets are eating “bad” food which is somewhat tainted or unethical in a sense.
Overall I believe it’s important for us all to embrace our own diets and know what works best for us no matter what that might be for, whether is religious, cultural, or health reasons etc. Because what marketing and advertising tell us is often a manipulation of the truth and simply a money making scheme.
I really like what you’ve brought up here, I think it’s fascinating that constructs of morality have been placed on food of all things. What I’ve been wondering is how ‘good’ is good food?
Like is the product sustainable and ethically sourced, how many carbon miles went into getting this product to me, how much of this food will be wasted; is there a plan to give away outdated food, and is the product in plastic or a similar non-biodegradable container. These are some examples but there are many more.
I believe we have too blindly accepted the label of ‘good food,’ when there are so many factors and links in the food chain that could make a product ethically or environmentally ‘bad.’ I believe we should stray from the concept of good and bad food. Because if we’re not careful we could be chowing down on ‘good food’ that harms the environment, people and maybe even us.
Your post is actually super relevant to my own lifestyle. To be honest, I was also quite inspired by Dr. Sharpe saying there is “no such thing as real food”. It really makes you think…
In 2017, life circumstances saw me take a massive change in my health; causing me to obsess over the fitness industry. In turn, this led to me taking the term diet to a new level. I was, quite frankly, far too strict on myself. Unsurprisingly, I ended up over-thinking the food I ate and how much I exercised. It never seemed to be enough. Therefore, I found myself obsessing over this idea – which you summarised so well – of “real” food. It became a major issue for me to eat something that – to my learnt ideas – wasn’t ‘healthy’. When I did eat this way, or feel down and want to treat myself; I would sometimes binge eat. The guilt would consume me. Even when we eat ‘ideally’ or have our ‘dream body’, we get greedy; we are not satisfied or completely happy. Things like travelling see us trying new foods and immersing ourselves in other cultures by doing so.
To avoid obsession, binging, and psychological destruction; we must at least attempt to be consistent in this idea of having everything in moderation. This is a point I think you and Dr. Sharpe touched on quite well. There is indeed no such thing as “real food”; there is only perception, Branding, advertising and different health benefits. Most of all, food, can be a psychology.
I found the point which you highlighted from Dr. Sharpe’s work that a ‘perfect diet’ should not exist very thought provoking.
Personally I agree that nutrition is not black and white, however the idea that there is no ‘good’, ‘bad’ or ‘real’ food challenges my knowledge surrounding an athlete lifestyle and what foods I have been directed to eat or not.
Throughout my life I have been told a mixture of what foods I should and should not eat and when I can eat them. Different nutritionists will have different diets for different people depending on their lifestyle.
After reading your blog and considering my life experiences I am still on the fence as to whether there is such a thing as ‘good, ‘bad’ or ‘real’ food.
While competing overseas at the World Cup, we were fed very strict healthy meals at certain times. However, after “game day” we were rewarded with pizza and chips. I would definitely classify this food as ‘bad food’ if this concept existed. Therefore I agree with your point regarding “moderation” and that ‘fat food’ is not necessarily ‘bad food’. We were allowed to eat this food in moderation and with balance as you mentioned.
However, we are still limited in consuming these ‘bad foods’ because of their lack of nutritional value. Doesn’t this mean that ‘bad foods’ do exist as eating them in moderation doesn’t take away the fact they’re still unhealthy to eat?