Food, glorious food

Updated 1:00 PM September 22, 2003

Food, glorious food

By Joanne Nesbit
News Service

From the history of foods in various cultures to why we eat what we eat, the public presentation of "The Food Page: The Press and Public Policy" covered it all. Concentrating on the impact media have on how Americans eat, a panel of journalists and experts from across the country discussed food issues related to everyone from individuals to multi-national corporations.

Panelists Harvey Levenstein, historian, McMaster University, and Larry Gant, professor, School of Social Work. (Photo by Marcia Ledford, U-M Photo Services)

The Sept. 15 event was hosted by the Knight-Wallace Fellows at Michigan, with sponsorship from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, School of Social Work and the Office of the Vice President for Communications. Journalists and experts from The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, New York University, McMaster University and Saveur magazine traded information and opinions flavored with barbs and jibes before an enthusiastic audience at the Kerrytown Market and Shops.

President Mary Sue Coleman said she is a fan of the Food Network, citing it as a release from the daily issues of running the University. In keeping with the light spirit of the event, she noted that as president, she has been roasted, sliced, diced and, at times, julienned. Coleman said she has become more aware of food beyond just recipes and tastes, such as the distribution of food and the chemical aspects of what people eat.

Paula Allen-Meares, dean of the School of Social Work, reminded those attending that each culture has its own relationship with food. She quoted James Beard as finding food to be the common ground of all cultures and a universal experience. Expanding beyond cooking and presentation, Meares told of research programs being conducted by her school, including "Food Insufficiency and the Physical and Mental Health of Low-Income Women" and "Promoting Healthy Eating in Detroit." Food is a complicated and complex issue, she said. It is needed, but abused; some throw it away and others have none.

R.W. Apple Jr. of The New York Times chats with Charles Eisendrath, who directs the Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellows at Michigan program, during the food conference.(Photo by Marcia Ledford, U-M Photo Services)

Keynote speaker R. W. Apple Jr. of The New York Times spoke on "Food and American Culture." Food always has been seen as part of a national culture, he said, noting how it shapes the identities of France and Italy. But the United States with its micro-climates and mixed cultures has a multitude of food traditions.

"They brought their food with them," Apple said of immigrants to the United States. "Of the things they threw overboard,' food was the last." On arrival in the United States these newcomers discard their native dress or costume first, then their native language begins to disappear, then religion, he said. But food traditions hang on, Apple said. "People eat what they have always eaten, and the practice continues for a number of generations."

Noting that fast food has become an American symbol and a plague, Apple attributes the rise of "prepared" foods to the increase in leisure activity, that leaves less time for food preparation. Restaurants themselves have added to the changes in American society, he said. There was a time when only a particular social class patronized restaurants. Now, Apple said, a single restaurant caters to all ages, races and socio-economic classes. And he likes this idea.

Larry Gant, professor of social work, addressed the issues of food distribution. Collecting food is the easy part, he said; getting the proper nutritional elements to public and private sites that operate food pantries and kitchens is a difficult job. To aid in the dissemination of nutritional meals, the School of Social Work has begun a pilot program to provide these meal sites with computer systems, software, internet access and educational support to know what's available and how to order the appropriate nutritionally correct goods for preparation, he said.

Susan Alcock, professor of classical archaeology and classics, assured the audience that the ancient world was obsessed with food even though there were no food pages in that era. There were references to food in ancient poetry, literature, politics and songs. "Food equaled power; food equaled status; food equaled security," she said. "In the ancient world diet is what you did collectively."

And while speaking of diets, Harvey Levenstein of McMaster University amused the audience by telling them that when one mentions chocolate cake to the French, they immediately think of pleasure and whipped cream. But when you mention chocolate cake to an American, he immediately thinks of fats, calories and death.

Food, glorious food

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