Final Reflection portion

Other assignments included daily readings for class that were sometimes very dense psychological papers. Not being super accustomed to reading psychological studies the first time we read Devine I was very confused but we worked through it as a class. And reading others blogs after dense readings helped to get a better picture of the paper as a whole. This helped me work through papers as a better reader and made me more interested and willing to read them. The readings in the class could be a lot at times but they helped me shape a better understanding of food and of how the world relates and expresses itself through it.

Reading the chapters from What to Eat by Marion Nestle was hands down the most important piece of writing we read all semester, to me. Her writing encompassed so many things, she talked about taste, quality and price all in the context of supermarkets. This was most useful because it also related many issues back to big business and to governmental influence which was not only shocking but at times outrageous. Reading this book and What the World Eats were good ways to contrast diet and influence in the rest of the world and really opened my eyes to how others eat – much differently than I do!

Final Reflection portion

As Rozin states, “A second cause of fads is social influence. Humans like to do what others are doing, particularly prestigious others. As more and more people, particularly elites, adopt a custom, or a line of research, it becomes more attractive.” The social influence on fads and other eating-related behaviors is one that I’ve really grown to notice throughout this course. In regards to eating organically, the idea of this alternative market as being a ‘fad’ is a definitive possibility. In general, the organic market was influenced by prestigious, more ethically minded, healthier, environmentally aware, reflexive consumers. This just goes to show the true power that society has on the actions of humans. In particular, I never really paid attention to just how important social and cultural influences really are on our behaviors as consumers and producers. The role of social and cultural influence is seen in many areas of food and hunger within our society, some more obvious than others. For example, as Fitchen (1997) states, the poor’s food choices are dominated by American culture. This leads them to make decisions, usually poor in the nutritive sense, and rather strong in regards to what is popular in culture—they cling to, and subsequently spend more money (most of the time that they don’t have) on ‘status foods’ because they are culturally accepted. Fitchen’s research truly drives Rozin’s point home: “As I shifted my interest from food choice in animals to food choice in humans, it became obvious that culture was the dominant force in shaping human food choice.” (Rozin, 2007, p. 759).

Final Blog Reflection

Throughout this course I have learned many different things about food and how it changes across areas around the world. I have always taken an interest in putting good fuel into my body and have tried to learn as much as I could about the different tricks our food companies have up their sleeves. I think classes like this one are very important in our world today because so many people lack the education of what their consuming and how it is effecting their health. As I learned more about the things we add into our food or feed our animals to grow faster/bigger/ the more I think about the increasing levels of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc. Looking at all of these increasing health risks, makes it almost impossible not to point to our food as a major factor. Food in the United States and many other places around the world has become a money concern instead of a health one. What we put into our bodies is influenced by other things than just being healthy, like convenience and price.

In Fast food perceptions: A pilot study of college students in Spain and the United States, they discuss how two of the main aspects of buying fast food is that it is convenient and is cheap (Bryant & Dundes, 2008). By making bad food more readily available and less expensive it encourages people to eat unhealthily. Even though I am aware of the dangers of fast/processed food, I can't say that I haven't eaten it while in a rush before. Many people who are busy with work, have children or do not have the greatest source of income continue to eat fast food because it is already prepared and it tastes delicious. Even if you avoid fast food restaurants like the plague, the way our food industry is run makes it almost impossible to avoid processed foods that are just as bad for you.

The averages american watches around 3,000 advertisements a day and watches about 2 years of TV in their lifetime. Media sources like TV have a huge impact on what children want to consume. Most advertisements are for foods high in fat and sugar and are appealing to children because they are often portrayed as "fun" items of food. One study looked at how advertising effected food consumption in children of different weights. Advertisements that show foods with higher levels of sugar and fat have been shown to cause significant increases in intake in overweight and obese children. Children who watch the most TV are also effected by enhancing their preference for foods high in fat, sugar and carbohydrates (Boyland & Halford, 2011).

I really enjoyed the soup kitchen part of this class because it is something I try to do often while I am home in Detroit. It was interesting to see how different Meadville's soup kitchen was from others that I have helped out at prior. I was amazed that the food and meals were picked out by a single woman and was happy to see how much food was donated to the kitchen. I always feel very humbled while helping out and at the same time grateful for what I have. The people passing through the soup kitchen were all very nice and thankful for our services. Prior to this class I had no idea that there was a soup kitchen in that church and would love to go back and help out next semester as well.

Our final project was also really fun and intriguing for me to do. I chose to research areas around Meadville that grew local organic produce and found a lot more than I expected. It was really interesting to read the backgrounds of each grower and understand why they farm the way they do. I have to say I really respect and appreciate all the hard work that goes into their produce and that they haven't caved into the ways of mass production. It was cool to see how each grower had customers that were regulars and were considered their "friends". They felt that knowing where your food comes from and who is handling it has a huge impact on what you buy and I couldn't agree more. I am excited to come back next semester and use the newfound knowledge that I have on local organic produce and make myself some delicious, health-conscious meals!

Part of Final Reflection

Reading Rozin’s article allowed me to look at the research we read over the semester in a different way.  He made very valid points on things that the discipline of psychology as a whole tends to do.  Honestly, after reading it and thinking about holes, it made me think that research on food in general represents a sort of “hole” in the grand scheme of research in psychology.  Food research is dispersed across multiple disciplines just because it can be looked at from different angles and perspectives like the physiological side, the biological side, the psychological side, etc.  Within that though, there are holes and I think one of those is cultural food research.  There is a lot of literature on the biology of consumption and effects that food has on our bodies leading to why we crave the things we do and eat like we do.  The other factors that influence why we eat why we eat, however, get less attention.  Rozin talks about the chili pepper in Mexico and the psychological and cultural reasons why that specific culture grew to accept it is a fundamental food.  Exploring deeper the different factors that influence why people choose to eat what they do is something I would love to do.  Culture and social influences are stronger than the research dictates and exploring them further would yield valuable results.  

I think one of the most important and applicable concepts I will take away from this class is research using grounded theory.  Before this class, I had honestly not read many articles that used this technique of research and was admittedly skeptical of it at first.  When looked at the wrong way, it can be taken has having a lack of structure or clear aim.  After reading and digesting more of the articles it gave me more of an appreciation of that type of research.  So much value lies in letting people tell their own story and then forming themes and linkages as you go because it opens up another dimension rather than if you just try and steer an interview or conversation.  I feel that this class has given me new perspectives on how research can be conducted and still be considered research.  In many instances, the grounded theory approach can serve as a more valuable technique than other traditional research techniques. 

A specific unit that I loved in this class was reading Marion Nestle and completing the supermarket assignment.  Those two things were of a more practical nature compared to some other readings we had but I loved them because they gave me more of a sense of awareness about my food environment.  I had read things from Nestle previous to this class, but nothing from “What to Eat” specifically.  It was clear, concise, and informative and then we got to go into the field and used our knowledge a little bit as an application.  It was very effective and really solidified what I read, in my opinion.  It made me more observant and more sensitive to the subjects of time and money in terms of food. 

Another impactful experience from this class was the soup kitchen.  I had gone to the soup kitchen only twice before going in this class and it was over a year ago.  While I remember my experience, I noticed immediately how different and more impactful this soup kitchen experience was.  I attributed this to the fact that now I had this class under my belt and had a whole new range of knowledge and perspective on food consumption.  I was more observant and was making connections to articles we read like the spillover model from Devine.  I was more aware and sensitive to sort of imagining situations visitors might be in and what their thoughts are and what drives the choices people make.

Food and Hunger Reflection Paper

"According to Rozin, when piles form, naturally holes form as well. This is not usually because they are believed to be illegitimate areas of research but that they are just neglected in favor of more promising areas of research. Looking back on the class, an area of research that I think formed a hole in our readings was there was minimal input of or studies done on farmers. While it was touched upon very early in the semester with the Kingsolver’s narrative about growing up in the southwest United States and other articles, there was no heavy emphasis on the producers of food or where it came from like there was for how low-income families struggle with hunger or what food means symbolically to certain people. A “hole” that can be filled is to try to bring the struggles and commentary of farmers, herders, and other non-corporate producers of food into the mix. After all, they are producing a large percentage of food that we consume; they ought to get a larger voice in the food culture studies and politics."

Reflections on Psych 480

Overall, the part of Psych 480 that seemed to have the greatest impact on my learning was the projects that we completed for the class. The supermarket project, as well as reading Nestle’s What to Eat helped me realize how to shop better, showing me the the healthiest, most cost effective ways to buy groceries. Volunteering at the soup kitchen impacted how I view the foods that are available to me and encouraged me to find a way to help low-income families acquire foods necessary for proper nutrition. Going to the soup kitchen inspired my research project, in which I looked into the nutritional value of the US government SNAP and WIC programs. My research project then helped me to learn a great deal about the nutrition assistance programs available for low-income individuals in the United States. These are all very important areas to learn about, but I would not have been given the opportunity to learn so much about food and hunger in society without this class.

A truly interesting part of this course was the study of food politics. Nestle (2002) details a subtly corrupt system that works around monetary incentives in indirect and direct ways. Lobbying and campaign contributions from corporations have a tremendous influence over legislation. Nestle then goes on to show extremely suspicious relationships between corporation activity (such as lobbying and campaign donations) and changes in legislation. The interests of corporations end up having a larger influence than public health. One particular practice that shocked me was the rotation in the careers of some politicians between working for the government and working for corporations (many times as lobbyists) (Nestle, 2002). This begs questioning of the influence that corporations end up having on politicians that have worked for them before as well as the incentives of representing corporate interests as politicians so as to have a stronger foothold on a corporate job in the future.

Final Reflection

The most impactful event of the semester was attending soup kitchen and reflecting on it’s role in society. I volunteered at the Meadville Soup Kitchen a couple of times during my sophomore year. During this time I would usually volunteer during the end when everyone was cleaning up. At this time I thought that the soup kitchen was doing really great work within Meadville community. The volunteer atmosphere was welcoming and extremely friendly. I had little interaction with the customers attending the soup kitchen. Also at this time I did not reflect about my time and the soup kitchen’s role in society. After my sophomore year I did not return to the soup kitchen because of time constraints. Also during this time off I read the book The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement, this book taught me a lot about various aspects of food justice. A big part I took away from this book is that soup kitchens and food banks are perpetuating hunger in our society. The author stated that they are covering up for the larger more societal issues that perpetuate hunger. He argued for more political and societal change. From this standpoint it was really interesting to return to the soup kitchen knowing this information. After my experience at the soup kitchen I was thinking what could be done in Meadville to advocate for hunger. I was thinking about the resources that I knew of that could enact more change for the hunger within Meadville. I was not able to come up with any concrete ideas, but I think it’s something that should be looked into. It would be interesting if community members were able to create a system that would advocate for food justice.

A New Way of Seeing Food (an excerpt from my final reflection)

My relationship with food has certainly not had the positive focus that Kingsolver argues for. As I have already mentioned, it has often centered on what not to eat: fast food, soda, meat. When I first became a vegetarian, I bemoaned the loss of some of my favorite foods: chicken salad sandwiches, spaghetti with meat sauce, barbecue chicken. I dreaded the monotony I knew that my meals would entail from then on, seeing as I had just become a vegetarian who did not like vegetables. What I failed to realize – and what Kingsolver would have pointed out – was that, by cutting out industrial meat, I had created space for better food, for finding new true loves. Now, on the rare occasion that I eat meat, it tastes wonderful because I only get meat of the highest quality, that which is free range, organic, and local. In the space that meat left in my diet, I have discovered the joys of mushrooms, onions, zucchini, beans, peppers, and kale, all with rich flavors that I may never have otherwise known. I could never have remained a vegetarian if I had needed to force myself to give up meat every day. Instead, with Kingsolver’s approach, I have instead continually made the choice to eat something better, to treat myself to full tastes during meals and a lighter feeling afterward.

Most of the articles we have read this semester have had a strongly negative focus as well. While we definitely need to study and learn about food deserts, obesity, our growing acceptance of fast food, the spillover model, and forced eating episodes, it seems as though only focusing on those negative aspects of eating prevents us from moving forward. Here, we seem to have what Rozin refers to as a “pile” of negativity and a “hole” of positive representations of food. The two areas need to work together, with the negativity providing the problem and the positivity providing inspiration for an alternative. Kingsolver certainly presents her positivity in light of what she sees as negative about the surrounding food environment, and I believe that many psychologists and sociologists could do the same. But, if we are having problems of thinking of positive happenings in the United States’ food world, we could ameliorate this problem by dealing with one of our other issues: learning how to look to other nations for information on food and humanity.

While some of the articles we have read this semester have dealt with other nations (Spain, Denmark, India), the vast majority have focused on the United States. When we narrow our view to such a small sliver of the world, we collectively settle into a pattern of seeing U.S. culture as reality. We build a framework around ourselves that seems natural, failing to realize that we have constructed it. We think that our way is the way that life – and in this case food – makes sense. Even as we critique aspects of our food environment, we cannot escape the larger framework.

In my life, following the American way of thinking meant that replacing a bad diet of fast food, soda, meat, and Kraft macaroni entailed creating a diet with a lot of fiber and plenty of protein and vitamins to go along with it. This path seemed natural, healthy, good. But, as Pollan points out in his essay “Unhappy Meals,” my new diet did not include any actual food. Show me a plate of fiber, a bowl of protein, or a cup of vitamins. What does that look like? Would we recognize it as something edible? Should I feel comfortable with the fact that my diet goals could be met by eating only Fiber One bars, protein shakes, and sugary breakfast cereals? When put this way, my diet ideals reveal themselves as hugely problematic. I, like so many others, had been trapped by what Pollan calls nutritionism, the belief that good health comes from eating particular nutrients rather than building a diet made of real foods integrated into a healthy lifestyle. I had no idea that my thinking was so misguided because I had nothing, no other framework, to compare my reality to. I was stuck inside an American bubble. Since then, I think I have benefitted from learning about how people in other cultures choose their foods. I could follow the Indian model and, instead of doing nutrition calculations when I eat, could look at how that food will make me feel, how it will balance in my particular body. Or, perhaps, I could take a look at the French. Eat what I love, but not too much. Do it slowly. Really think about what it is that I love (is it really boxed macaroni?).