February Blog: Food Fashion & Elitism

Marco Rueda
Comm 160
3/2/17

Food Fashion and Elitism

            I was very intrigued by the articles we were introduced to about food culture in America.  In particular, Out of the Kitchen and onto the Couch really captivated my interest.  It presented various perspectives about food dynamics from past to present.  The sentence that I want to expand on is “television likes nothing better than to serve up elitism to the masses, paradoxical as that might sound.”

            The article emphasizes that viewers or consumers can identify with fashionable or prestigious food, simply by observing food related shows on multiple networks.  Viewers become familiar with terminology used to describe elitist cuisines and have been able to adopt these fashionable and luxurious dishes into their own repertoire of food inventory.  It has become a very common spectacle to observe people on social media glamorizing their food concoctions and providing descriptive illustrations of their creations in an elitist and fashionable manner.  I see this practiced daily by people who are not wealthy and do not have any significant culinary background.  I think it’s important that Americans or other ethnic groups with basic culinary skills or financial status can enhance their food aesthetics.

            Author Michael Pollan, in his article Why Eating Well is Elitist provides interesting information about how elitism can impact consumption patterns amongst Americans.  He asserts that eating healthy or fashionably is costlier and that poorer families that are simply trying to keep stomachs full cannot purchase foods that are representative of elitism.  One dollar that is spent on processed foods provides 1,200 calories.  That same dollar only provides 250 calories in the produce section of the store where most components for elitist meals can be found.

https://pollan.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/05/11/why-eating-well-is-elitist/?_r=0