You are what you eat.

The famous phrase dates back to 1826 works of Brillat-Savarin who wrote, “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.” Since then the phrase has been applied to physiology in that if one eats wholesome foods, they will have a healthier life. The concept of ‘what you eat making who you are’ can go further then one’s physical health, but it can also be an expression of culture, morals, and identity. If people’s consumption of food (e.g. their choices and reactions) is an expression of culture (Douglas and Isherwood, 1979), then what does the modern food system say about our modern culture? In the modern food system the disconnection of people and food production has led to many corrupt practices. The problem of food security still exists, but now it has a counter part of over consumption.  At the macro-scale, greed and competition has led to produce an ‘at all costs’ mentality and uneven distribution of food resources.  Zooming into the microscale, people’s kitchens used to be an important place for cultural practices to be learned, taught, and continued (Christe, 2008), are now being replaced by microwaved meals and semi-prepared foods. While people have degraded their connection with food, resurgent consumers are demanding markets to change. Like in the case of social resistance to recombinant bovine growth hormone/bovine somatotropin (rBST) in milk production (Goodman and DuPuis, 2002), consumers demanded through purchasing preference against rBST treated milk, and the market answered through a volunteer halt of it use in most milk production. Consumption-based resistance is also leading to a revival of ancient grains in the modern market place (Healy, 2004).  It has resulted in alternative production methods like organic and Buen Vivir (see Gudynas, 2011).  A post-modern food system is one that responded to consumer demands and reflects society more clearly. People are not inherently greedy, wanting more at no costs; they make decisions within a moral framework.  Today, thanks to informed consumers making demands on the market, the food system is beginning to reflect our common morality.

Works Cited

Brillat-Savarin, J. A. (1826). Physiologie du goût ou méditations de gastronomie transcendante. A. Sautelet.

Christie, M. E. (2008). Kitchenspace: women, fiestas, and everyday life in central Mexico. U of Texas Press.

Douglas, M. & Isherwood, B. (1979). The world of goods: Towards an Anthropology of Consumption London: Allen Lane.

Goodman, D., & DuPuis, E. M. (2002). Knowing food and growing food: beyond the production–consumption debate in the sociology of agriculture. Sociologia ruralis, 42(1), 5-22.

Gudynas, E. (2011). Buen Vivir: Today's tomorrow. Development, 54(4), 441-447.

Healy, K. (2004) An Andean Food Revolution; bringing ancient nutrition to the modern marketplace. Native Americas, XXI(2), 46-51 (2004).