When I was little, my father repeatedly told me that I shouldn’t leave a single grain of rice over my plate, otherwise all my ancestors’ blessings would fade away. I was raised in a Korean household within the nation of Colombia. Being the only Asian family in a small village influenced the traditions we had when my sister and I were growing up. My father, who is a single parent and a great cook, taught us about Korean traditions, values, and taboos, not only around food but about life. He would tell the seven-year-old me who was devouring the plate, to eat calmly and chew thoroughly. The silence would reign in the room and that is what my father used to call a great meal; far from distractions -such as tv, phones, or computers- and worries.
My father, who lived his childhood in detrimental conditions after the Japanese post-invasion era in Korea, learned the true value of food. What I considered as basic food, such as a banana and meat, for my father was a luxury that could only be afforded once a year, or if luckily enough just once every six months. Thus, my sister and I were taught since we were little that food was meant to be appreciated by eating it all; not allowing food waste to be normalized under our rooftop. This included, unfortunately, the food I wasn’t too kind about eating, such as tomatoes and papaya. my father would intentionally buy these two products in big quantities so that I could eat them every day and get used to their taste and flavor. Now, I can thank him, because he didn’t fail in the misconception that ‘‘children are biologically picky’’ and allowed me to become a more flexible eater -from eating living octopuses to ants-.
As an immigrant family, food was one of the rare means of keeping in touch with our roots. I remember with nostalgia the taste of seaweed soup (Miyeokguk); its unique umami-rich deep flavor. In Korea, this soup is associated with childbirth since it is given to the mothers to help with recovery during postnatal care -due to its highly detoxifying property-. My father used to prepare a special ancestral ceremony whenever he cooked this special meal on our birthdays; the food would be served, the deceased may eat the tribute, my father would pray to our ancestors to protect our family and send us blessings, and finally, we would divide the rice and the seaweed soup between us three and eat. Buddhism, my father’s religion, although not practice by my sister or me -nor any other religion-, did influence the way our father raised us and the perspective he passed down to us in respect to food. Food for our family means the inevitable connection of living and passed people, who had live through different socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Although my father’s past life was one with scarce food resources, and mine was one with a plenitude of whole foods, the dinner table has represented the juxtaposition of our lives.
Starting high school, my father’s girlfriend, Paula, and her family opened us to a greater appreciation for Colombian food. Every weekend we would be invited to her mother’s house. All her close family members and us four were in total 12 people, sitting at a large wooden table, the tv would be on and everyone would be half eating and mostly speaking. The host would always give the start hint as an invitation for us to eat. She would scream ‘‘Buen provecho’’ meaning to enjoy your meal, and everyone would rush to eat. It was a mess, to be honest, but somehow it felt right. it was then when I realized, the environment is not an important factor for what I consider a great meal, but it is the people who filled us with energy, smiles, and good food that matters the most. These memories have influenced greatly my love for Colombian food; it is the nostalgia that makes every bite more delicious. Most Colombian households located in the countryside acquire their food products in small shops called ‘‘Fruvers’’, where fresh vegetables and fruits can be acquired at affordable prices. This convenient system was only possible due to the diversity in landscapes and weather conditions in Colombia that allows a great diversity of agriculture, livestock, poultry, and fish production to take place.
Since I was little until now, I have never encountered an ethical dilemma while making my food choices. This behavior could be because at that time the Colombian educational system didn’t have implemented environmental nor health education. Yes, all the important stuff, which explains why I don’t have any Colombian acquaintances that are vegetarians. It caught my attention how paradoxical this situation is in different countries. For example, since I arrived in the United States I have noticed that there is a greater interest in the practice of vegetarianism, however, whole foods are expensive, meanwhile, in Colombia, there is less public interest but fresh food is available and affordable.
I did call myself a flexible eater at the beginning, nevertheless, since I moved to the U.S my taste buds have been fighting against the explosive -too much for me- flavors of processed foods. They are good, I have to admit, however, they are too salty or too sweet for my preference. Although the idea of trying every interesting processed product was something my inner child was begging for a long time, I simply can’t adjust entirely. As Dunn said, in respect to processed food, the food itself and the marketing are equally important. I believe that those tv advertisements that I used to watch when I was a kid, still have an influence on me wanting to try them. I do feel that I have become more vulnerable to these manufactured goods, which I think is the result of a slow process of assimilation. Regardless of going through this process, I believe my values and perception in respect of food waste haven’t changed; I try not to bring to my plate more than I can eat.
My life and my relatioship with food could be sum up into a few words, as Fan says, love is transmitted through the art of feeding and living is all about tasting the world. I have indeed been lucky of trying the korean and colombian food made out love from my family, and now I am living and learning about U.S culture and context by tasting and learning about its food.
A new perspective
I grew up in Colombia in a single parent Korean household. My experiences surrounding food in both cultural backgrounds allowed me to enjoy what the two cultures offered to me. Growing up in Colombia, where food is accessible and available for most people living in the countryside, I was able to enjoy a variety of whole, fresh organic produce. This system was only possible due to the diversity in landscapes and weather conditions that allowed our food system to be equally diversified. Thus, when learning about the existence of food deserts and the inequality in accessibility for food in the United States, I became more aware of the privileges that developing countries still enjoy against the threat of globalization and mcdonaldization processes. I lived my whole life being indifferent to food to a certain extent. Although my father’s Buddhist values influenced my behaviour of not wasting food and appreciation towards every single grain in our plate, I wasn’t completely aware of the ethical, socio-economical, political, nutritional values that shaped my relationship with food. I became more aware of how my diet choices were not a single person decision, but it has actually been governed by the latino all-family decision-making process. In a setting where nutrition tables are not seen in produce, I did not really know what a calorie or a carb meant. Thus, my sister and I were always told that we would be healthy as long as we ate a bunch of everything, which I learned is not totally incorrect, as long as I ate different types of food in moderation.
This availability of produce, the scarcity of processed food in the countryside, and growing up in a middle income household allowed me to enjoy homemade food, regular and stable meals and food security. In the U.S.A, many Americans from low income households experience unpredictable schedulers that affect how they eat; being more vulnerable to the tyranny of convenience and the McDonaldization scheme. Thus, most of them would recur to processed food and this has been shown to increase diet-related diseases, such as obesity. Now living in the U.S I have been tempted by the aggressive advertising and marketing of the processed food industry reflected in supermarket aisles. I may say that I fell for them many times, especially due to their effective product optimization, such as the mouth-feel and the vanishing caloric density, and their misleading product labels and advertisements. However, I have started to cut down on processed food since I have become more aware of the nutritional tradeoff in these products, the unreliable lobbying efforts in the food regulatory entities, and the negative health impacts of eating ultra-processed food.
After taking this class, I am willing and able to shift gradually to shopping in local food stores and supporting local small farms. I learnt about how small farms are economically tight, for the grower and the employees, due to large scale farms being widely subsidized by the government, making their resulting processed products cheaper, and leaving no space for fair competition. Additionally, big farms cause more detrimental environmental impact than smaller regenerative farms. I believe that I will get absolute pleasure in eating when I completely understand where my food comes from, and the lives that were involved in producing them; the farmers, the animals, and nature.
In the 1990’s in Colombia there was a massive increase in livestock production due to a reform removing tariffs on imported food, specially cheap feed grains. Thus, meat has always been a staple in my lunch and dinner, and even breakfast. However, after learning the unethical treatment of animals in industrial farms, I have started to significantly reduce my meat consumption. This has been quite a challenge, not only because my body feels fuller after eating meat, but also because I am going against a repeated behavior and choice of actions that I have carried out my whole life. Nevertheless, as Tim Wu argues, what makes us humans is our ability to take time consuming and inconvenient actions. That is why I believe that although the food industry needs to be reformed in many aspects, we as individuals capable of making conscious decisions, should integrate a less-meat, whole food diet if we have the resources available. As Marion Nestle argues, “[p]romoting better dietary choices improves individual health, but also supports the farmers, producers, and food service operations promoting food-system change”. (163)