Unit 1 Food Useful Information Food is a basic necessity,so every culture has important norms and customs related to it. Since they adopted settled lifestyles centuries or millennia ago,most cultures have emphasized daily meals in households or family units.Some family members provide the food,some members prepare the food,and all members must eat.The providers and the preparers may not be the same, depending partly on gender roles and specialization.And,the status of individuals in the eating process may not be the same,depending partly on their age and gender,and whether the household contains servants or guests.Servants rarely eat with the family,while honored guests may be wined and dined like visiting royalty.Elders and males may also be treated ceremonially. Formal meals may take hours in some cultures or households,while in others people may eat hastily.Some people eat while working or use eating as a form of recreation.In most cultures, eating with friends,relatives,and others is a way of meeting,socializing,entertaining,and showing respect.Some cultures permit or encourage the use of alcoholic or caffeinated beverages with food,while others discourage or even prohibit this.Most cultures have food preferences and food taboos,so they find different ways to achieve balanced diets. Eating away from home in restaurants,taverns,inns,or hotels has long been an option in most cultures,but the variety of these choices is rapidly increasing today as the fast pace of modern life encourages more people to"eat on the run".This also tends to blur the traditional distinction between providers and preparers of food,especially in families where both parents work full-time outside the home.In such cases both parents may eat out at noon,the children may eat at school,and anyone may pick up pizza or hamburgers on the way home or phone for pizza to be delivered.In the U.S.,Chinese restaurants do a big take-out business and microwaveable"TV dinners"are very popular.Some busy families rarely eat formal meals together,even when they all eat at home.Refrigeration has also changed eating habits,and"raiding the refrigerator"is often a substitute for preparing meals.As eating habits have changed,table manners have tended to decline,though proper etiquette is still appropriate on formal occasions. Mealtimes differ considerably from culture to culture or from household to household.In agrarian cultures rural families tend to eat their first two meals earlier in the day,while in industrial cultures urban families often have them later.The time of the third meal depends on several factors such as whether there is a nap after lunch and whether food or beverages are typically consumed in the mid to late afternoon as snacks or social events.In some cultures"tea" in the afternoon is almost a fourth meal.Some people have their supper in the late afternoon or early evening,while others may have it in the mid to late evening.For some people the second meal of the day is the largest,while for others the third meal is the largest.This causes considerable confusion as to whether lunch or supper is more appropriately referred to as"dinner" Further confusion is caused by people who skip breakfast and others who prefer"brunch"instead. Brunch is especially popular on weekends,and it may last from mid morning to early afternoon. The biggest recent change in eating habits and food-related lifestyles is the advent of fast food.This permits many people to eat conveniently away from home,or to bring food home to eat without having to prepare it.But it also makes family-style meals less likely,and it is not always very nutritious.The clever marketing of fast food such as McDonald's and KFC(Kentucky Fried Chicken)may cause some youngsters to dislike their parents'cooking and some college students
1 Unit 1 Food Useful Information Food is a basic necessity, so every culture has important norms and customs related to it. Since they adopted settled lifestyles centuries or millennia ago, most cultures have emphasized daily meals in households or family units. Some family members provide the food, some members prepare the food, and all members must eat. The providers and the preparers may not be the same, depending partly on gender roles and specialization. And, the status of individuals in the eating process may not be the same, depending partly on their age and gender, and whether the household contains servants or guests. Servants rarely eat with the family, while honored guests may be wined and dined like visiting royalty. Elders and males may also be treated ceremonially. Formal meals may take hours in some cultures or households, while in others people may eat hastily. Some people eat while working or use eating as a form of recreation. In most cultures, eating with friends, relatives, and others is a way of meeting, socializing, entertaining, and showing respect. Some cultures permit or encourage the use of alcoholic or caffeinated beverages with food, while others discourage or even prohibit this. Most cultures have food preferences and food taboos, so they find different ways to achieve balanced diets. Eating away from home in restaurants, taverns, inns, or hotels has long been an option in most cultures, but the variety of these choices is rapidly increasing today as the fast pace of modern life encourages more people to “eat on the run”. This also tends to blur the traditional distinction between providers and preparers of food, especially in families where both parents work full-time outside the home. In such cases both parents may eat out at noon, the children may eat at school, and anyone may pick up pizza or hamburgers on the way home or phone for pizza to be delivered. In the U.S., Chinese restaurants do a big take-out business and microwaveable “TV dinners” are very popular. Some busy families rarely eat formal meals together, even when they all eat at home. Refrigeration has also changed eating habits, and “raiding the refrigerator” is often a substitute for preparing meals. As eating habits have changed, table manners have tended to decline, though proper etiquette is still appropriate on formal occasions. Mealtimes differ considerably from culture to culture or from household to household. In agrarian cultures rural families tend to eat their first two meals earlier in the day, while in industrial cultures urban families often have them later. The time of the third meal depends on several factors such as whether there is a nap after lunch and whether food or beverages are typically consumed in the mid to late afternoon as snacks or social events. In some cultures “tea” in the afternoon is almost a fourth meal. Some people have their supper in the late afternoon or early evening, while others may have it in the mid to late evening. For some people the second meal of the day is the largest, while for others the third meal is the largest. This causes considerable confusion as to whether lunch or supper is more appropriately referred to as “dinner”. Further confusion is caused by people who skip breakfast and others who prefer “brunch” instead. Brunch is especially popular on weekends, and it may last from mid morning to early afternoon. The biggest recent change in eating habits and food-related lifestyles is the advent of fast food. This permits many people to eat conveniently away from home, or to bring food home to eat without having to prepare it. But it also makes family-style meals less likely, and it is not always very nutritious. The clever marketing of fast food such as McDonald’s and KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) may cause some youngsters to dislike their parents’ cooking and some college students
to dislike the more nutritious food available on campus.Eating fast food while driving is also a cause of traffic accidents. Sociologist George Ritzer uses the metaphor of"McDonaldization"to criticize the entire cultural trend toward standardized pre-packaged products which can be quickly consumed.He claims the quality of life is diminished by what he calls the "McDonaldization of society",and that we should voice our protest by eating in local "mom and pop"restaurants rather than patronizing national or international fast-food chains.Despite Ritzer's advice,McDonald's and other fast-food chains are probably here to stay.They are getting more similar to one another all the time,with hamburger chains offering chicken,chicken chains offering hamburgers,and all of them offering milk shakes and fries. Nutritionists have been warning that the typical fast-food diet is unhealthy if eaten too often. Consequently,some of the fast-food chains,such as McDonald's,are now including healthier options for their customers along with the traditional hamburgers.Various healthy salads are now appearing on the menu boards,along with low fat salad dressing options.For children,fresh apple slices with a low fat caramel dipping sauce can now be chosen in the place of French fries in the children's meal,and apple juice or low fat white and chocolate milk can be chosen instead of a cola.Bottled water can now be purchased instead of a soft drink if one so chooses.Most people believe that this trend of healthier eating will continue. 2
2 to dislike the more nutritious food available on campus. Eating fast food while driving is also a cause of traffic accidents. Sociologist George Ritzer uses the metaphor of “McDonaldization” to criticize the entire cultural trend toward standardized pre-packaged products which can be quickly consumed. He claims the quality of life is diminished by what he calls the “McDonaldization of society”, and that we should voice our protest by eating in local “mom and pop” restaurants rather than patronizing national or international fast-food chains. Despite Ritzer’s advice, McDonald’s and other fast-food chains are probably here to stay. They are getting more similar to one another all the time, with hamburger chains offering chicken, chicken chains offering hamburgers, and all of them offering milk shakes and fries. Nutritionists have been warning that the typical fast-food diet is unhealthy if eaten too often. Consequently, some of the fast-food chains, such as McDonald’s, are now including healthier options for their customers along with the traditional hamburgers. Various healthy salads are now appearing on the menu boards, along with low fat salad dressing options. For children, fresh apple slices with a low fat caramel dipping sauce can now be chosen in the place of French fries in the children’s meal, and apple juice or low fat white and chocolate milk can be chosen instead of a cola. Bottled water can now be purchased instead of a soft drink if one so chooses. Most people believe that this trend of healthier eating will continue