Sociology

Behind the possession and consumption of food lies the morals, attitudes, pleasures, and anxieties which have been shaped and developed by different cultural settings. John Coveney  says that the  science of food and eating serves as the basis for many of the judgments we make about ourselves and others as eaters (p.1). It is implied that the moral decisions we make for ourselves, whether they are good or bad, are directly related to the technical and rational wisdom  of science that has taken on a role that was once the province of religion.

Also, science articulates the basis of peoples moral concerns. From food choices to the art of food consumption, it is implied that there are various schools of thoughts which govern and explain the variation of cultures and attitudes toward food. In this paper, four distinct standpoints on the meanings and symbolism of  food are explored. The prisms discussed in this paper aim to shed wisdom on the representations of food and to render knowledge on the perpetual  views of scholars concerning food meanings and symbols.

1. The Culture Behind Hunger
Jane Fitchen says,  hunger is embedded in the larger context of eating, and so to understand hunger, we need to understand eating  (p.389). As eating can be a culturally shaped act and can be influenced by various attitudes, hunger can also be defined by cultural concepts and surrounded with social meanings.

The cultural aspect of hunger is best explained using the crisis in the United States. It is noted that the hunger situation in the country is not the outcome of the insufficient food supply for the total population (Fitchen 385). Fitchen argues that the complexity of the hunger situation in the country is a  matter of some people regularly having inadequate access to sufficient food  (p. 385). Based from several studies, it can be said that the hunger situation in the United States is all about the variation in culture and upbringing of its people. The differences in cultures and beliefs have led to the various attitudes on eating.
 
According to Fitchen, the people who seem poor enough to qualify for government-issued food stamps may be seen in food stores buying not only the basic cheap staples but also the expensive and popular items such as pizza, potato chips, soda pop,steak meals, and prepared desserts (p.387). Fitchen explicates that the  low-income people maybe seeking to satisfy subjective as well as metabolic aspects of eating, perhaps attempting to convert their perceived hunger into a sense of well-being or to affirm that they can live like other Americans  (p.387).

The sociological and cultural ideologies behind hunger suggest that food is an influential indicator of social status and gives people the right to maintain the wealthy stigma that has long been imposed to the to Americans.  Although domestic hunger in the United States has been overlooked by people who believes in the stigma that Americans can have whatever they want in life, hunger and malnutrition are lurking in nation as seen through the eyes of the Americans who do not have the access to the countrys supply of food.

Fitchen explains that even with the food crisis, there are people who may  inadvertently be transforming their hunger into malnutrition and also hiding their hunger  from public awareness  (p.387). In this realization, it can be said that food and eating are grounded in feelings about self, interpersonal relationships, dreams and goals, and these factors are shaped by the dominant culture (Fitchen 394). The dominant culture in the American setting are all about luxury and abundance and poor people are wanting to have them through the purchase of  food meant for rich people in accordance with the established cultural order. The cultural aspect of hunger depicts the hidden desires of the poor to level with the wealthy people and to disturb the widely accepted social concepts such as steak is for rich people while cheese is for the poor.

2. Food as an Ideological State Apparatus
In 1971, Louis Althusser defined that the Ideological State Apparatus is the  conceptualization of power as a force which operates in ways that are subtle, disguised, and accepted as everyday social practice  (Allison 297). According to Anne Allison, the scholarship of Althusser reveals that the obento lunch box can be a dominant ideological apparatus because it is a representation of the domestic role of women and their service to their families.  The obentos or boxed lunches are Japanese meals made by Japanese mothers who were governed by the obento-making principles which include freshness, beauty, nutrition and artistry.

The obentos were made by mothers for their children who would have to consume the obento at school. According to Allison,  the obento as a routine, task, and art form of nursery school culture is endowed with ideological and gendered meanings that the state indirectly manipulates  (p. 297). Allisons thesis means that the Japanese lunch boxes are a part of  how the Japanese government  conditions, molds, and shapes both the mother and the child to obey and follow state power.

The obentos are not just meals, they are elaborate meals crafted systematically by mothers and are carried by their children to school and by adults to work. In this sense, it can be said that the obentos are a visible proof of how the Japanese government manipulates the society according to gender and societal order. The ideological appropriation behind the obento is that there should be an order to the food  a right way of doing things, with everything in its place and each food coordinated with every other and, the one who prepares the food takes on the responsibility of producing food to the standards of perfection and exactness that Japanese cuisine demands (Allison 300). The obento creates a picture of mothers as producers of meals for the family and also establishes the fact that the food is an apparatus utilized by the country to manipulate the society to be able to maintain social order, gender roles, and the nations culture.

3. Food as Part of a Mass Culture
It is an accepted fact that the doughnut is perceived to be the unofficial national food of Canada (Penfold 165). It is believed that doughnuts represent the history, struggle and desire of the nation as it tries to establish itself in the map through the utilization of mass culture. In this information, it can be argued that food can become one of the catalysts in forming a nations distinctive identity because it unifies its people towards a common goal, common taste, common preferences and common ideologies.

Nutritionists claim that the insatiable craving of Canadians for the doughnut is connected to their need for fatty foods to fight off the Canadian cold (Penfold 167). The cold winter is one of the factors that shape Canadas identity because it is in this season that the nation is able to flourish its capabilities. With this information, doughnuts can represent the identity of a certain individual or nation because it symbolizes trends and cultures. The passion of the Canadian society over doughnuts can be attributed to that  sensible, hard-working bunch who are not easily taken in by the latest food fashions  (Penfold 171).

As doughnuts are meant to signify a common belief, it creates an impact and an effect to the society who has been wanting a visible presentation of that belief amid the rising trends in mass culture. Doughnut populism means that food is a part of the mass culture in which all of its devotees are the ones who shape the nation. Food unifies the nation creating a sole image that consumes the totality of its people, geography, society and culture.

4. Food and its Relationship to Gender
According to Jessamyn Neuhaus, meatloaf has long been characterized by cookbook authors and editors as  a meal a woman could easily prepare for her loved ones a simple main dish best suited for the family dinner table  (p. 87). In this notion, food can signify gender roles and responsibilities.

In the given quote, it can be said that cooking is one of the roles of women as they are the ones serving their loved ones such as their husbands. Another idea instigated by the concept of meatloaf is that women  bore the total responsibility for the familys daily meals and meatloaf, believed to be simple family fare, seemed to belong in womens recipe books and magazines  (Neuhaus 88). Meatloaf can represent the stigma to women as the ones who should maintain the budget of the family and its daily survival.

In the context of mens cooking, it can be said that meatloaf can serve as mens tools in which they can exercise their creativity in cooking. It has been encouraged that men cook because it is their hobby and not because they need to stretch the budget and feed their family. The gendering of cookery, as symbolized by the concept of meatfloaf, dulls the conception of feminism and upholds mens status in terms of art and skills. The gendering of cookery indicates how the society has limited the capabilities of women to domestic roles. It also suggests that men are meant for leisure and fun and not for serious roles.