Slow It Down: Food Manifesto

365 days out of the year, 24 hours per day, drive-thru’s in Southern California are in use. We live in a world where speed, efficiency, and technology take over our everyday lives. While speed and efficiency are normally positive terms in this day and age, it is reasonable to look into the advantages to slowing down to eat rather than eating with speed and efficiency as top priority.

photo: Ben Stanziale

Eating “on the go” is an incredibly familiar term with people all over the world today. Humans in America and across the globe are always trying to get work done, and stepping back to eat a healthy meal is often overlooked. Dr. Demory-Luce says in Sage Journals, “30% of youths between the ages of 4 and 19 years consume fast food on a typical day,” More info here. This staggering number clearly shows that a large amount of kids in America are eating fast food, on the go, every day of the week. When we are trying to get work, school, or anything done in our everyday lives, it is all too easy to become lazy and go eat a hamburger in a drive-thru. In fact, I conducted a recent study at everyone’s favorite fast food spot, In-N-Out. On a Wednesday afternoon between 2:15 and 3:05pm, 39 Cars used the drive thru, while only 22 people walked in to sit down at eat. Obviously people are picking the quick fix over sitting down to enjoy their Double-Doubles. While passing through a drive thru may seem like a great, mouthwatering quick fix to a hungry stomach from working all day, it’s physically and mentally unhealthy.

It is no secret that fast food is physically unhealthy. It is absolutely loaded with processed ingredients that are damaging to the human body. But physical damage isn’t the only problem with “on the go” fast foods. Eating at drive-thru’s while rushing to your next destination is also mentally unhealthy. When people order at a drive-thru and eat their burgers and fries as they drive to work, they don’t give their mind a session to rest. You are now thinking about driving, traffic, and where you are headed, forgetting about what your eating and forgetting to just take a break from the everyday stresses in life.

Back in Connecticut where I live when I am not here in Southern California, the pace of life is vastly different. Here in California, it seems like people are always moving, always driving, or always headed somewhere. In Connecticut, people generally seem to take it slower, and relax at given points in the day. That isn’t to say that people aren’t working hard in Connecticut, but I think people generally have a better balance of everyday work and relaxation during their meals especially.

In Ridgefield, my small town in Connecticut, we don’t have a single fast food restaurant, and probably never will. The town is an old one, and many people have lived there for their entire life both happily and healthily. I think the fact that we don’t have fast-food restaurants shows that we take it slower when it comes to eating meals in Ridgefield. Many people cook their breakfasts at home, waking up earlier before they leave for work everyday to eat a good, healthy meal. Here, I’ve noticed a lot of people go grab a bagel on the way to school, or stop at a McDonald’s for a cup of coffee on their way to the office. At home, we just don’t do that; we eat breakfast in our homes and take our time every morning, thinking about the day ahead, or just relaxing and reading the newspaper as we eat a bowl of oatmeal, or a plate of home-cooked eggs.

Lunchtime home in Connecticut usually involves a break from work. Contractors and workers go to Tony’s corner Deli, and business people in town go out to lunch on Main Street. People always seem to make a point of taking a break from work during lunch to enjoy it with friends and to sit in peace for a half an hour, or even an hour in the middle of the day. Tony’s Deli has been around for years, and the guys in town always know they can meet up with a buddy or other workers there and enjoy their awesome soups and sandwiches made by Rosie behind the counter. Either way, they know they can take a break from their hard work during the day to stop at Tony’s and enjoy each others company, and the home-made type food that Tony’s has to offer every single day.

Finally, people finish up their work and school days and it is time for dinner. Dinner is one meal that really seems to be spent at home in Connecticut. Main Street closes down by 8 o clock or so during the week, and the town gets fairly quiet by nightfall. People love to come home to their families and eat dinner around the table while talking about their days, or talking about Mom’s lasagna that is being devoured by the whole family. We love to eat at home and take up to an hour to just enjoy what we eat, take it slow, and enjoy each others company.

In California on the other hand, I have noticed that people eat in their workplaces, eat fast foods, or eat in the car after they pass in the drive thru. While California is without a doubt a beautiful place to live, it is very different seeing so many people eating food in a rush, and failing to stop and enjoy their meals. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner all seem to be more rushed here compared to back home. I think people would greatly benefit from sitting down, slowing down, and enjoying what they eat. Whether it be food people cook at home, or food they get at a local eatery on Main Street in Orange, I think we would see positive changes in everyone’s physical and mental health by eating slower and enjoying meals, and we would be overall happier people.

Taking a look at the Happy Planet Index, I noticed America certainly isn’t at the top of the list. Countries like Costa Rica and Canada both rank higher than the USA in the Happiness Index, measured by taking life expectancy, well-being and ecological footprint. The USA had a combined number of 37.3 while Mexico was up at 52.9. It is reasonable to think that the well-being in America could be affected by fast food and its unhealthy effects on the human body. America currently has the highest obesity rating in the world, greatly due to our high volume of fast foods. I think if people slowed down to eat, and turned away from the drive-thru at their favorite fast food restaurant, we would be healthier, and as a result happier people.

Overall, I have really noticed a difference in the pace of life in California compared to Connecticut. All three key meals are such vital points in our day, and it is important to take those meals slowly and just free the mind and relax from everyday work life. Having the option of eating at a small restaurant where you can take your time with eating and thinking or relaxing with the people you’re eating with is something I think we should take advantage of out here on the west coast. Even with local eateries in old town Orange, I will drive by a drive-thru and still see it packed to the gills on any given day.

It’s definitely very important that people avoid eating at these drive-thru’s and start eating at home more, or taking it slower when they eat out at real restaurants as opposed to fast food ones. You may find yourself with the excuse; I don’t have enough time to sit down and eat, or I don’t have time to cook my own food. My response to those excuses is the following: You owe yourself the time to sit down and eat three meals per day. As Brillat – Savarin claims, “The Creator, while forcing men to eat in order to live, tempts him to do so with appetite and then rewards him with pleasure.” While breakfast, lunch, and dinner are the meals that keep you going and give you energy throughout the day, we as humans are lucky enough to be able to enjoy what we eat, and take pleasure in doing so. Eating slowly and healthy is the least thing you could do for yourself, three times a day. I challenge you, the reader, to try and spend 20 minutes on each meal of the day. You will without a doubt be healthier and as a result happier with your everyday life.

King Corn vs America Revealed: Food Machine.

If you eat food in America, you need to watch King Corn and America Revealed: Food Machine. If you eat food in America, but can only watch one of the films, you need to watch King Corn.

Both films cover perhaps the biggest topic in America, food. We eat at an incredibly fast rate, and have an equally appalling demand for products like corn, that are in almost all of the foods we eat today.

While America Revealed: Food Machine was a more interesting film visually with it’s various exciting locations and interesting shots, like the time-lapse photography inside the supermarkets of the flocks of people buying processed foods, King Corn has a captivating story that Food Machine lacks. Food Machine is more of a documentary full of a compilation of facts in interesting locations. King Corn on the other hand, has an incredible story of two friends moving from big city Boston, to Iowa. The two friends stay in Iowa for a year, and learn more than you could imagine about American agriculture, and where the food on our shelves comes from in the first place by getting their hands in the soil and doing it themselves.

One thing I was actually very surprised to hear was in Food Machine when they said how 1 in 3 people worked on farms back in the day, compared to today, where only 2% of people are working on farms. I was shocked to hear this because I know how much processed food we eat today that contains crops like corn. I would have expected more people to be working on farms today, because of supply and demand. People want corn, so I would have thought more people would be farming to meet the demand for it.

All things considered, King Corn is the film I recommend for you to watch. I found myself absolutely sucked into the two friends story about their journey in Iowa, as they made their way around the state learning about what literally makes America run: corn. I guarantee you will find your jaw on the floor when you see the mountains of corn that the two guys find, and show the audience in the film.

check out the King Corn trailer here: 

Mr. Food Explorer Was Here

I couldn’t agree more with Lopate’s statement about essays when he says, “it was not a legal brief, not an argument, but an exploration. I know I find myself learning something new every single time I sit down to write. No matter what, I know that when I am in the writing process, whether it be actually typing on a computer, or sitting in the parking lot at In-n-Out taking notes on people using the drive thru over dining inside, It is an exploration, and you are continuing to learn the entire way through the writing.

As you write, you continue to discover new things about the topic you are writing about. I think this is because you are thinking more and more about a topic as you dive into it in your writing. The more you write, the more your mind runs with new ideas, and strays off into other paths, which can trigger new thoughts, and as a result teach you something new about whatever topic you are writing about.

The research paper for example, about my beef jerky, I came into with a good amount of information that I had learned in previous studying. When I sat down and began to finally write down all of my initial thoughts and fresh facts about beef jerky, I progressed to learn more and more about the topic. I would come to points in my writing where I would say in my mind well that’s great that people don’t want to trust non-name brand jerky, but why won’t they? Questions like those would probably have never come up in my mind until I started writing.

After getting started on that piece of writing, I quickly knew I needed to do my field observation. After talking to several regular Americans like you and I, I began to take my notes and apply them to my actual essay. Once I sat down for the second time to write more about the beef jerky, I continued to explore more about the food, and more about the culture behind it. Writing really is an exploration, from start to finish.

I think my thought process throughout my writing, or anyone else’s writing, is more interesting to the reader than an essay that reads like a document, and just states facts to attempt to prove a point. Writing with personality and a unique thought path with some kind of exploration of a topic is far more interesting.

This blog couldn’t be a better example. As you the reader come down to the final few posts of my blog, it is clear that this format in combination with the topic of writing about Food, is truly a continuous exploration.

Am I What I Eat?

Sitting here at the end of what felt like a quick 14 weeks here in class, I feel like I have learned a lot. One big thing I took away from the course is that you can’t be lazy if you want to get better at writing. You need to have a drive to do well. I remember the first session and hearing how there were so many assignments. Hearing that made me want to drop the class right away.

I couldn’t be happier that I stuck with the class though. Throughout the semester, I knew in the back of my mind that the hard work was not going to go to waste. While at first I was upset to hear that there was so much work to do, I think it was good for me as a young grasshopper food writer. The first  assignment seemed painful. Now, last Friday’s assignment felt easy. I think I grew as a writer because writing no longer feels like a painful process to me. It is easy now, and maybe even enjoyable- especially when I am writing about a topic like food. I think the hard work really paid off this semester in class, as I now feel a lot more confident in my writing.

One thing I took away from actually writing, was writing in scene and not summary. I feel like I definitely learned how to express my thoughts in descriptive writing, and showing instead of telling through my writing. Before the course, I never felt like I could clearly express my ideas in an understandable way to other readers. Now, I feel like writing about the topic of food has pushed me to write with scene over summary, especially since food is such a tangible item, and so important to describe in vivid scene instead of summarizing statements or words. I think doing things like interviewing people for the research project helped me with descriptive writing also, because having first hand interviews outside of the campus made me think differently about the topic. Having this unique perspective on a topic like food is something that is rare to come by in an academic setting like a university, but taking a writing course like this one, allowed me to have opportunities to explore new foods, people, and culture. The foods I like to eat are unique, like beef jerky, and are very personal to some people, like the Aged Steaks my Great Grandpa cooked to perfection. Maybe I am what I eat after all?