What's for Dinner?

What is the most important thing about a meal to you? Is is how it is laid out on the table? Who you eat with? Or maybe is it what you eat?

Let's just say that you answered what you eat is most important to a meal, well now we have a whole other line of questions before whats most important is truly exposed. Is it the taste of what your eating? Or how good it is for you? or maybe what it reminds you of from past experiences with that food?

Let's say this time you answered how good is it for you. How do we define good though? Is it simply by different chemicals that scientists measure out all day long in labs which makes it good for us? 

With each product you buy at a grocery store, you have access to what is called the nutrition facts most of the time it is directly on the package and rarely through a website. People worship these numbers and percentages, hoping that if they follow these closely there quality of life will go through the roof. 

Or they ignore them, pretending that the tub of ice cream is a simple trip to the gym to remedy and like nothing was ever even ingested. Regardless, in American culture it is clear that what we eat and how it effects us is the forefront of food culture. Author Michael Pollan of The Omnivore's Dilemma writes that us compared to  the French, Belgium, and Japanese associate food with health the most and pleasure the least. Despite this,  they overall have better health as nations than we do and furthermore spend less time worrying about what they are eating. Thinking of food as "scientific" Americans plague their psyches, disallowing the pleasure that food can bring. 

I have yet to fully fall victim to this cultural plague, and I attempt to enjoy every meal like it is my last. However, I have indeed unwillingly lived this out vicariously with skinny girls in my high school consistently denouncing their body images. I won't get into this because it is a sensitive subject to speak on, but I think there is a correlation between lack of enjoyment of food and the idea that there is unrealistic expectations on what people are supposed to look like to be accepted and more so attractive.

At times it is frustrating with my American friends worrying so much about food and even creates divides in my friendships. It may sound trivial, but for me engulfing my stomach and tongue with other people is an experience that transcends normal interaction. Me and my brother have been downing unreal amounts of 'unhealthy' foods together for years now, and we love every second of it.