At the center of the photograph is a single drop of maple syrup. It dangles from the square corner of a pumpkin ginger waffle that is nothing short of what chef Alton Brown calls “golden brown and delicious” or GBD for short. A fork is whisking away that syrup-drenched waffle corner as the rest of the waffles await consumption below. The image is nothing short of breathtaking, and it is the work of the author of the Always with Butter food blog. Always with Butter is one of thousands of food blogs found on the internet, but what sets it apart from the others is the photography. Always with Butter has found a specialty in food blogging that makes it unique.
Food blogging is a somewhat new realm of the so-called blogosphere in which writers delve into some specific part of the food world and write about it to anyone who will read. Always with Butter, for example, focuses on homemade recipes and high-quality food photography, sometimes known as food porn. However, the focus of the blog depends entirely upon the interests of the blogger. These blogs include personal stories, links to news stories, how-to videos, images, and anything else that can be posted online. They are most often read by foodies, a group of people who seek a wide range of experiences of food; however, they can be read by anyone who is even a tiny bit curious about the processes of cooking and eating. In fact, one of the most famous food blogs was when a food blogger attempted to make all of famous chef Julia Child’s recipes in a year. The blog was turned into a popular film, Julie and Julia, which starred Amy Adams as the blogger and Meryl Streep as Child. Whatever the focus, the subject of a food blog could be anything from grilling to vegan recipes, local eats...
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...wickedly funny and highly inappropriate. In an older review, Marvo once compared a prime rib sandwich from Quizno’s to two “hobos getting it on.”
While some may find it pointless to read about food, the depth of the potential topics for food blogs seems to cover every corner of the world. Even the pickiest eater with the smallest of budgets and appetites might be able to find an appealing blog about financially strapped but particular, bird-like eaters. If the blogger loves food enough, often it becomes the center of widely appreciated writing. From The Impulsive Buy’s intensely wrong comparisons to Always with Butter’s striking photography, from cupcakes to Zombie Burgers, or from the strictest of vegans who only shop at Whole Foods to the hardcore bacon lover who eats a Baconator every day, there is no shortage of topics about food and a food blog to cover it.
“Don’t Blame the Eater” is an article by David Zinczenko that explains to Americans, specifically overweight young Americans, about the risks eating at fast food restaurants and its cause of affecting one’s health. In his article, he tries to address the issue about America’s food industries by using literal devices such as tone, logos, ethos, diction, and organization in order to spread his message. He begins his article by addressing the topic and as he continues writing, he supports his topic by writing about personal experience and moves onto the reasons why his topic in a serious issue. Although he shows an overall clear progress, he does tend to have a few problems with his writing that could be improved.
In the book published in 2006, the Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural history of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan, is a non-fiction book about American eating habits and the food dilemma that many Americans are facing today. Pollan begins the book by discussing the dilemma of the omnivore like ourselves, a creature with many choices of food. Pollan decides to learn the root to the food dilemma by examining the three primary food chains: industrial food chain, the organic food chain, and the hunter-gathering food chain. His journey begins by first exploring the industrialized food industry. Pollan examines the industry by following both corn and cow from the beginning through the industrialized process. The work on the corn fields of George Naylor shows him that the industrial system has made corn appears nearly in all products in the supermarket (Pollan 33-37). Pollen then decides to purchase a steer which allows him to see the industrialized monoculture of beef production and how mass production produces food to serve the society. Following his journey, Pollan and his family eat a meal at McDonald's restaurant. Pollan realizes that he and very few people actually understand how such a meal is created. By examining the different food paths available to modern man and by analyzing those paths, Pollan argues that there is a basic relation between nature and the human. The food choice and what we eat represents a connection with our natural world. The industrial food ruins that ecological connections. In fact, the modern agribusiness has lost touch with the natural cycles of farming. Pollan presents the book with a question in the beginning: "What should we have for dinner?" (Pollan 1) This question posed a combination of p...
A common theme in entertainment today is the question “Just because I can, should I do it?” Usually this is applied to moral issues or controversial scientific breakthroughs. Yet, very little of the American public even bother to ask this about food science and production. As long as the food tastes good and is convenient, most people don’t really care. Melanie Warner, overall, was just like most Americans. In her book she documents how a former business journalist became infatuated with the longevity of cheese, guacamole, and other normal American cuisine. It’s a dark hole. Most readers will be horrified and confused with such production methods. While Warner’s book isn’t a scientific study, her neutral style and intriguing investigation
The definition of homemade has changed drastically throughout time. Rachel Jones recognizes this in her article “Homemade is the New Organic,” published in 2013 by The Atlantic. It is in this article that she explains how media nowadays has raised expectations on home cooking. Jones` purpose is to make readers aware of the unrecognizable and unrealistic expectations that the modern media subtly places on us when it comes to home cooking. Based on the content and the examples presented in the article, it appears as though the author`s intended audience is people who cook, or more specifically, mothers that cook. Jones begins building her credibility with past experiences and reputable sources, uses facts to back up her claims, and appeals to reader`s emotions.
In February 2010, a remarkable chef and speaker, Jamie Oliver, presented himself to a TED (Technology, Education, Design) audience as ruthlessly real and charismatic. In his speech, “Teach Every Child about Food” he shares powerful stories of his anti-obesity project and makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food. Jaime Oliver’s speech aims to alter the perspective of Americans and their decisions about food and its effects. Since then, Oliver’s TED talk has been viewed across the nation and brought a reality to the issue with food education. Jamie Oliver successfully utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to portray his belief that without the use of food education, America and its children will fall under the weight of its own obesity.
All in all, this book is a great read for those seeking to learn more about food and how it relates to all aspects of life and history as well as find that extra push in taking the initiative in improving one’s eating habits and lifestyle. It serves as an easy to follow introduction into a healthy relationship with food including with simple guidelines that are not too forceful or complex to understand.
Harvey, Blatt. America’s Food: What You Don’t Know About What You Eat. 1st ed. Cambridge:
Food has been used as a tool by many cultures as movements to help with their culture become recognized, to identify their way of being, and to show their class and status. By exploring different author’s articles, and movie clips this will be visible. Food has created many cultures to explore these outlets and in return has had a positive impact on their culture.
She was able to evoke emotions by her choice of negatively charged words towards the other author, Stephen Budiansky, and his work, Math Lessons for Locavores. By the end of the article, the reader developed strong negative views concerning the other article solely on Trueman’s diction and her tone. By writing, “Throw in a bunch of dubious and/or irrelevant statistics that appear to be truly locally sourced-i.e., pulled out of your own behind,” and “What’s so maddening about sloppy op-eds like this is that they give fodder to folks who hate the very notion that their food choices have any consequences beyond their own waistlines and bank balances”, Trueman expresses her dislike of Budiansky’s thoughst on the topic. She describes his article in such a dismissive way that her audiences adopts the same views as her. As a whole, her way of writing creates an overall negative tone towards the article being criticized. While doing this, she also points out flaws in his argument and exposes his faults in reasoning. As a result, his argument becomes invalid in the eyes of the readers and they are left with a clear winning perspective on the issue of the Local Food Movement. Kerry Truman's use of pathos in her critical analysis of Budiansky’s Math Lessons for Locavores was successful in the aspect that she evokes emotions in her
Food—it is that precious substance our bodies need to survive. Whether it brings feelings of nostalgia and comfort, or unites families together, we can all agree that food is a vital source of nourishment. However, our definition of food has changed drastically with the advent of modern technology, which has given rise countless food trends. The desire for the cheap mass-production of food has induced an unspoken transition from slow cooked chicken and steamed veggies to frozen tv-dinners disguised to look like actual food worthy of consumption. Hence, food trends and technology effects the way we produce, purchase, and consume food in the United States.
“What should we have for dinner?” (Pollan 1). Michael Pollan, in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals shows how omnivores, humans, are faced with a wide variety of food choices, therefore resulting in a dilemma. Pollan shows how with new technology and food advancement the choice has become harder because all these foods are available at all times of the year. Pollan portrays to his audience this problem by following food from the food chain, to industrial food, organic food, and food we forage ourselves; from the source to a final meal and, lastly he critiques the American way of eating. Non-fiction books should meet certain criterions in order to be successful. In his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan is able to craft an ineffective piece of non-argumentative non-fiction due to a lack of a clear purpose stated at the outset of the book, as well as an inability to engage the reader in the book due to the over-excessive use of technical jargon as well as bombarding the reader with facts.
In her book Semiotics and Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures, Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz describes the wide use of food as signs, and also as social codes. The reason foods are so useful as signs and social codes is because they are separable, easily adaptive to new environments, and it is not difficult to cook, or eat for that matter. Food is a major part of our daily lives, Not only for survival, but it plays a substantial social role in our lives. We will look deeper into the semiotics of food, how food is used as identity markers, and also the role that foods play in social change in our lives. First let us start with the semiotics of food.
Madeleine Shaw is a health inspiration to people not only across the nation, but across the world. She has used her YouTube channel to spread the message of healthy living by creating video blogs that discuss her healthy eating regimen, her workout routine, and active lifestyle tips. In a recent video by Shaw, she enlightens viewers on how to eat healthy on a budget by sharing her favorite nutritious, but reasonably priced food items. This video, as well as Madeleine Shaw’s entire health channel reflect an active community of people who are interested in healthy living techniques on YouTube. The way that she presents healthy lifestyles and habits are unique within the larger genre of fitness and health channels on YouTube, and reactions within
Eating behaviour is a complex behaviour that involves a vast array of factors which has a great impact on the way we choose our meals. Food choice, like an other behaviour, is influenced by several interrelated factors. While hunger seems to drive our ways of food consumption, there are things outside of our own bodies that influence our food choices and the way in which we eat. The way we eat is controlled by and is a reflection of our society and cultures. I explore this idea through a food diary I created over a few weeks and the observations made by several anthropologists that I have studied.