Margaret Mead describes in “The Problem of Changing Food Habits,” how and why people do not always eat what is recommended for them even when it comes to their own health. There are a number of different researched reasons as to how food habits have developed. However, there needed to be a new point of view with a “systematic and coherent” background that can provide people with recommendations for better eating habits according to Mead. Culture plays a major role in eating habits, which Mead elaborates on throughout her whole text. Tradition of food is played off in many cultures, and is how people decide what to eat today. Knowing this, Mead had come to realization that the cultural traditions have a more important role than nutritionally recommended/desired foods. This then brings in the psychological account for food habits, and how habits are directly connected to food and not only from just eating the food.
There are many ways in which food habits can be tested and followed. One way includes a survey followed by close observations of what a person eats then experiments based on changing that persons eating habit. Another way, is by studying a child from birth and how they perceive food. It is at this time where habits are first introduced. Mead elaborates on how a child starts with breastfeeding, then as they get older there are more limitations yet options at the same time, threats of deprivation, and food they can choose on their own based on what they are feeling. This can relate to roles of a household; women focus on fruits and vegetables while men focus on meats and fish.
The topic of cultural anthropology plays a larger role in food eating habits than most would imagine. It does not matter if one is rich or poor; it doesn’t take a wealthy person to realize what is healthy or not. Taking cultural traditions into consideration, modifying the habits will be more desireable to the people. Mead elaborates that purely based on education and scientific research, poor eating habits have a higher chance of being changed.
Margaret Mead describes in “The Problem of Changing Food Habits,” how and why people choose to eat certain foods by looking at traditions and new scientific data. There are a number of different researched reasons as to how food habits have developed. However according to Mead, there needed to be a new point of view with a “systematic and coherent” background that can provide people with recommendations for better eating habits. Culture plays a major role in eating habits, which Mead elaborates on throughout her whole text. Because cultural traditions are so important to people, Mead came to a realization that recommending nutritionally healthy foods will not change eating habits on its own. Traditions and eating habits alone, play a more important role to people than an introduced new healthy way to eat. The word "diet" strictly limits what foods to eat without a description of what that diet is.
ReplyDeleteThere is already an immense amount of research which describes reasons as to why people decide to eat certain foods. Cultural traditions play the biggest role in eating habits because they have been accepted by people and society for their whole lives. There are many reasons as to why traditions are a comfort to many. One that plays a big factor, is culture being an important role to a child early in its life. When eating habits are first introduced to children, the habits grow as the child grows. Food also can be eaten based off of mood. It can be seen as a comfort, stress reliever, etc. This explains why changing eating habits are easier said than done.
When looking at the nutritional value of foods, it does not take a weathly person to realize what is healthy or not. Mead states that this is something that can be educated to all people no matter what the circumstance is. However, it takes more than just pure statements to tell someone about what is healthy. With scientific data, educataion and recommendations, there will be a higher chance for food habits to be changed. It's important to look at the society in different groups instead of as a whole, since everyone has a different habit and desire for different foods.