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how different cultures have shaped american food
fast food effects on society
importance of food for people
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Food Fight
In America, one would be hard pressed to find a town which did not support at least one McDonald’s, Burger King or Wendy’s. Pizza parlors are a necessity in college towns. Ice cream shops are abuzz with customers of all ages after dark. And hey, who ever heard of a movie without popcorn?
The increasing visibility and importance of food in our culture has been a phenomenon. Food began as a necessity of life. It was the source of energy, which allowed the body to grow and prosper, and for hunters and gatheerrs to survive. In modern times, the role of food in everyday life has taken on a life of its own, from the blue-ribbon palate pleasers tickling taste buds to political statements drawn in chocolate to social drinking. The resulting uses of food are as diverse as the different foods it encompasses and as inseparable from a person’s daily life as breathing. How can something so simple as energy-intake convey have become such a large and varied part of everyday life?
Food as a family affair is largely determined by the family’s lifestyle; conversely, knowing a family’s eating patterns says a lot about their lifestyle. Sitcoms portray meals as a leisurely occasion for the family to sit down together to enjoy savory foods fresh from the oven, which the loving wife has been tending for the past two hours. Then reality sinks in. The increasing popularity of TV dinners, microwave gourmet, and prepackaged snacks caters to a family without the time for such luxury. Why cook when you can heat up a frozen entrée of teriyaki beef or homestyle apple pie in just four minutes? As the tendency for both spouses to be employed full-time has increased from 33% of families in 1972 to 67% in 1998, according to the National Data...
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...heir lives before they can begin to conquer the problems which have arisen from it.
As food has become increasingly available, society has found new ways of playing with it, spinning out brand loyalty, hobbies, programming and cults dedicated to food. Before people embrace these new food novelties, however, they must first as a culture establish the terms of their new relationships with food. Only then can we both enjoy the delights of the kitchens without destroying our health and self-image in the process.
Sources Cited
foodies.com
forfoodies.com
Eric Schossler's Fast Food Nation (2001)
“Body Image Statistics” womensissues.about.com/cs/bodyimage/a/bodyimagestats.htm
“Overweight and Obesity Fact Sheet” www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm
“The Emerging 21st entury” cloud9.norc.uchicago.edu/dlib/sc-42.htm.
Food influences us in many ways. These ways include food as nutrition, how we see nature, in our culture, it is a social good, it is a source of inspiration in an artful way, food is a primordial desire, and food influences our spirituality. Food is a substance that derives from the environment in the form of plants, animals, or water. The primary function of food is to provide nourishment to an organism. It is a basic necessity that all humans want and need in order to live. Food has an intrinsic value separate from its instrumental value to satisfy human needs. Food has a significant impact on a culture. Each society determines what is food, what is acceptable to eat, and when certain things are consumed. Food is the object of hunger
Even though extraordinary changes have been made in the past to achieve racial equality, America is still racist, especially in schools. In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is criticized for defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. During the 1930s, the time this novel took place, America was a very segregated country. At the time when Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird," America was fighting a civil rights movement. The events of racism in “To Kill a Mockingbird” reflect the time period.
Pollan states that food is not just a necessity to survive, it has a greater meaning to life. Pollan explains how food can cause us happiness and health by connecting us to our family and culture. Warren Belasco, in “Why Study Food”, supports Pollan’s idea that food is something social and cultural. In Belasco’s description of a positive social encounter food is included, whether it involves a coffee date with a colleague or a dinner date with a loved one. Belasco states that food forms our identity and brings our society together.
“Food as thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating,” is an article written by Mary Maxfield in response or reaction to Michael Pollan’s “Escape from the Western Diet”. Michael Pollan tried to enlighten the readers about what they should eat or not in order to stay healthy by offering and proposing a simple theory: “the elimination of processed foods” (443).
When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister the first thing she wanted to do was limit union power. She felt that union power applied to nationalized industrial monopolies resulted in poor service at exorbitant cost to the taxpayers. She pointed to inefficient work practices, overemployment and restrictive employment conditions such as the all union “closed shop”. These rules were dictated by union contracts and served to tie the hands of managers and the government alike. Mrs. Thatcher’s greatest grievance concerned the powers union leaders had over strikes ( Moskin 100).
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
Racial prejudice is widespread in the county of Maycomb, and a prime example is the Tom Robinson case. Tom, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella, a white woman. Atticus puts forward all evidence from his witnesses that clearly proves Tom was innocent, Jem even says, ?and we?re gonna win Scout. I don?t see how we can?t? (pg 206), but Tom still received a ?Guilty? verdict. Atticus tried removing the prejudiced thoughts of the jurors by saying, ??the assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings??. (pg 208). Atticus? saying insinuated the point that all of God?s children were created equal. To the jury, the only important thing was that Tom was black and the accuser was white, he never stood a chance under those conditions. These racial tensions between blacks and whites had made their way into the courtroom, a place where everyone should receive a fair trial no matter what race or colour, but an unjust verdict was reached. The prejudice that was felt towards Tom made him lose all hope of freedom, and as a result, he died upon an escape attempt. Tom was victim of racial prejudice and loss of hope.
Power is the ability to obtain, retain, and motivate people and to organize informational and material resources to accomplish a task( Leadership, n.d). Power is central to the leadership process in the development of a manager’s self-confidence and willingness to support staff members ( Schmidt & Wilkinson, 1990). The desire for power is universal. From this vantage point, power should be accepted as a natural part of any individual organization. Power is not evenly distributed among individuals or groups, but every individual has some degree of power.
Reward power is the reverse of coercive power. It is based on the capability to allocate rewards th...
Usually, the belief is that the managers, administrators, presidents or even the supervisors, have the greatest source of power, because they are at the top of the ladder in the hierarchy of the organization. The reality is that they need
Power is defined in the course study notes as the “ability of individuals or groups to get what they want despite the opposition”. Power is derived from a variety of sources including knowledge, experience and environmental uncertainties (Denhardt et al, 2001). It is also important to recognize that power is specific to each situation. Individuals or groups that may be entirely powerful in one situation may find themselves with little or no power in another. The county Registrar of Voters, who is my boss, is a perfect example. In running the local elections office, she can exercise the ultimate power. However, in a situation where she attempted to get the county selected for a desirable, statewide pilot project, she was powerless, completely at the mercy of the Secretary of State. Power is difficult to measure and even to recognize, yet it plays a major role in explaining authority. In organizations, power is most likely exercised in situations where “the stakes are high, resources are limited, and goals and processes are unclear” (Denhardt et al, 2001). The absence of power in organizations forces us to rely on soley hierarchical authority.
Food teaches, or illustrates, something meaningful about life, health, family, and culture. Although food keeps us alive there are many ways we misuse food. We can use the mistreatment of food to learn about our family, our health, and our culture. Abuse and mistreatment of food looks different for each person based on our culture and experiences in life. Ever since I was little, my family looked towards food for comfort. The most prominent time that sticks out to me was when my mom passed away. We were filling the void of our loss with the food we were deciding to eat. We weren’t eating healthy and we didn’t really care what was going into our bodies or how much we were putting in. Along with not eating healthy, we weren’t exercising or watching
Reward power comes from a manager 's ability to give rewards -- not only raises and promotions, but also favorable reviews, shifts, positive attention and mentoring. If coercive power is the stick, r...
There are two forms of power; formal and personal. Formal power is most commonly linked to positions in leadership and can influence the behavior of individuals through position, incentive, and maybe even punishment. Personal power
Reward power is the opposition to coercive power in that it is based on the premise that compliance is driven by reward and recognition. An individual that has the authority to give rewards such as public praise, wage increases,...