Yesterday, we went to a Celtic Festival in southern Maryland and my daughter’s friend asked her to try some funnel cake. When my kid had no idea what that was, her friend balked. “You’ve never had funnel cake before?! You need to try it!”
“What’s it taste like?”
“Kind of like an old-fashioned donut.”
My daughter took a bite, shrugged, and thought it was just ok. And my son asked why everyone knew what funnel cake was, and I said there are certain foods that are staples for holidays or events. When you think of a movie theater, you think of popcorn. When you think of Christmas, you think of ham. When you think of Renaissance Faires, you think of $10 turkey legs! Who are we kidding? So much of the food we eat is geared around our social experience.
From an anthropological standpoint, food has been the way we come together; the way we share. We are lucky enough to live in a culture that doesn’t just need food to survive: we need it to connect with each other. And being a military family, we’ve traveled to a number of places. I’ve noticed that some of the beach communities we’ve lived in tend to have healthier options and specialty items, such as vegan cafés or juice bars. Here in southern Maryland, if you’ve never eating locally-caught crab, eventually someone will grab you and drag you to a seafood joint. Spoiler: it’s good.
When we study our growing problem with obesity, we often fail to consider the social aspect of food and how that can contribute to the problem more than we realize. Lollipops are given as rewards at a doctor’s office. If our kids are at a friend’s house and they order a pizza, chances are everyone will share in it, whether or not they’re hungry.
National Geographic has a fascinating piece on the evolution of diet. In it, they explore the claims that the Paleo diet is the “one and only diet that fits our genetic makeup.” You’ll be surprised (and a little grossed out) about what our ancestors actually ate! In addition, it looks at the role meat has played in the evolution of the human diet.
Our children will take on the eating patterns of the culture around them. We can only give them a good start. But beyond that, it’s worth learning what they’ll be dealing with in the big wide world.
