The Problem with American Food Culture

Culture is one of the hardest things to change. Unfortunately, our society is stuck in the culture of convenience. We want things to be immediate and easy. However, food is a slow process and when forced to be fast- health, safety, and the environment are compromised. Changing the American food culture is a difficult but necessary task.

Food is a tricky issue because so many factors are attached to ones habits including individual preferences, social relationships and settings, cultural or religious practices and customs as well as economic, environmental and political influences. What factor influences you the most? Which factor do you think influences people the most?

Often times it becomes hip or the fad to change ones usual shopping and dining habits. This is a step towards progress and can catch on, even if only in some communities or areas. For example, although it has been known for years that this is better for the environment and ones health, it is now popular for middle to upper class Americans to eat organic. Also, more recently, the hundred-mile-diet is the ‘cool’ thing to try, in which you eat only ingredients grown one hundred miles away or less. Despite these periodical efforts towards good habits, I have been trying to think of ways to help people change their lifestyle more permanently.

Here are some ideas:

1. Educate the importance

2. Give options

3. Go step by step

4. Teach the benefits

As for educating the importance of new ways, people need to know the effects that their choices have on the environment. For example, eating food out of season or food that travels a long distance is harmful to the Earth. By giving people options and going step by step, people can gradually make adjustments to their routine. If people incorporated more local or organic food into their diet rather than other foods, slowly they will change their habits. It is important that people know what is out there. Changing diet does not mean never eating meat again but rather limiting intake or never going to McDonalds but instead going less often and ordering in to use less packaging. Lastly, people should know the benefits related with changing our wasteful ways. They will save money, the environment and more importantly their health.

Here are some informative sites to help individuals make healthy, smart, and economical choices:

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/downloads/Stretch_FV_Budget.pdf

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/benefits/index.html

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/GrowingVegetables/

http://www.auntieemsdelivery.com/howitworks.html

Many of these strategies can be translated to a smaller community on campus and in the marketplace here.

As part of the food group, it is our job to educate students about their choices so they can make smarter choices and use the power of their dollar (meal plan money) to influence campus dining. Simple changes can be encourages such as not using the ‘to-go’ boxes or plastic forks and spoons, despite their convenience. The marketplace and Cooler do have a selection of organic and local foods and they advertise these so students need to be aware of this. Also, people should be persuaded to stop buying bottled water and carry around a water bottle to re-fill. How can we stop people from using bottled water? We all do it sometimes; it is just so convenient!

Maybe we can pressure campus dining into making policy changes such as charging 10 cents for ‘to-go’ containers or plastic bags (like done at Whole Foods) and this money would go toward the sustainability fund or to the budget for local and organic food campus dining purchases. Do you think this is possible? Would this make people think about their wastefulness or just anger them?

-Grace