Magdalena
Sociology 100
October 24, 2005
Reaction Paper 2
Bugs for Breakfast is a very interesting video on the nature and
habits of the people and what they like to eat. It mainly features
why people eat what they eat. This video has a lot to do with culture
affecting the eating factors of what we eat. Culture is defined as
the complex system of meaning and behavior that defines the way of
life for a given group or society. In this case it defines what
people eat. In Bugs for Breakfast, the video explains that everyone
needs to eat no matter what culture that you may live in. In Africa,
Asia and Mexico it is not uncommon to find people that eat
caterpillars, grubs and ants. Rats and mice are commonly eaten in
Asia as well as Mexico. Even snake may be eaten in these cultures.
We may think that it is disgusting, but as the video says, “We eat
chicken embryos and slivers of pig for breakfast.” To me it does
sound disgusting to eat a lot of these different things, but the video
also explains that disgust is a learned response due to culture. The
point of this film it to desensitize us to the norms in our society.
If we were to be raised in Asia we would think no differently about
eating bugs for breakfast than you would eat cheerios with milk. This
is something that our culture has taught us. These are the norms.
Another example would be our love of cheese. Cheese is grass that has
been regurgitated by a cow and then reprocessed and finally becomes
milk. When the milk is transported to the processing plant the cheese
goes through a solidification process. An enzyme from the cow’s
stomach is introduced...
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doesn’t matter when you eat, but it all points to a cultural thing.
In some cultures not everyone dines at elevated tables. In Japan they
usually kneel and eat on lowered tables. I am a Japanese-American and
I still only eat at elevated tables or in front of the television. As
an example of culture, I am Japanese but I do not eat Japanese food
like nato or Nishime. I am a product of my culture. I am more
Americanized and would choose a steak or a hamburger versus oyaku
donburi. I do not even know how to use chopsticks. This is all due
to the culture that I was raised in.
Bibliography
1. Bugs For Breakfast, [Video Recording], Lake Zurich ,Illinois:
Learning Seed, 2001.
2. Sociology: The Essentials, Margaret L. Anderson, Howard F Taylor;
[Book], Belmont, California: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005