Food Origins

          Many people live within communities where cultural differences have become integral parts of everyday society. These diverse cultures are able to illustrate distinctions and retain their authenticity in a myriad of ways. One important way is through food consumption. The types of foods eaten by certain people is important in showcasing the authenticity of that culture. However, another important concept is understanding the origin of these food items. Through this knowledge, connections are established that demonstrate how foods can both affect people physically and link them to a diversity of culture.

          The consumption of food is a process done by everyone with very little thought. Just as some of us do not take the time to consider why we eat the foods we do, others do not consider the source of their foods. How was this product made and where did the ingredients originate? According to Richard Wilk, these questions are very important and should always be present in the mind of a consumer. In his book Home Cooking in the Global Village: Caribbean Food from Buccaneers to Ecotourists, Wilk discusses the importance of being aware of where foods originate.  He asserts that people are able to access the safety of the foods they consume as well as the state of the workers and the environment by being cognizant of the origin of food and its ingredients (3). Fundamentally, understanding the origin of food helps reveal the conditions in which it is prepared. The foods I consume are not limited to the state of Georgia simply because I live in Georgia. I enjoy the taste of a good hamburger, but I certainly wouldn’t be able to list the origin of each of its ingredients if asked. The burger I ate a few days ago could have contained tomatoes that were grown in California. The onions could have come from Ohio, and the peppers from Wisconsin. But why limit the ingredients to just the United States? These ingredients could have originated from other countries on other continents. Due to this scale, I should be conscious and cautious of the foods I consume.

          This concept is further illustrated in a recent article written by James Andrews. The article, entitled “Germany Identifies First ‘Mad Cow’ Case Since 2009”, discusses how a cow that was originally diagnosed as being at healthy levels for consumption was discovered with bovine spongiform encephalitis. BSE can cause Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease and, due to this, the cow and its offspring have been properly disposed of (1). As a fellow consumer of cow beef, I found this discovery to be interesting.  I don’t know the origin of most of the products I consume. What if the beef in my burger was in close association with the cows found in Germany? Even though those cows were quarantined, what do I know of the food conditions occurring in Germany? This isn’t to say that Germany should not be a trusted source for cow beef. Discrepancies can be found wherever food is being produced. In fact, Andrews also mentioned in his article how a similar case occurred in California about teo years ago (1). What this does emphasize however is the importance of knowing the source of the foods we eat in terms of how they affect our health.

          Food is made a global mechanism by means of mass production and Wilk asserts that it has been this way for many centuries (8). Along with this fact, he is also emphasizing that mass production also assists in revealing the interactions among cultures. In this sense, countries are linked together within an international web based on the exchange of foods (15). People should proactively learn the origin of their foods in order to understand the cultures that are being shared. Mass production has worked hand-in-hand with globalization and has played a key role in allowing different areas of the world to come into close contact with each other.  These interactions have fueled a type of influence that food has over people, and this influence has endowed foods with symbolic meaning. These food items are then exchanged and their influences are felt in other areas of the world.

          Food is diverse and, being so, its origins should be explored and appreciated. Although I am unsure exactly how diverse my hamburger was, I know that it has traveled through many lands and cultures to arrive on my plate.

Works Cited

Andrews, James. "Germany Idenitfies First 'Mad Cow' Case Since 2009." Food Safety News. 21 Jan.           2014. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.