Food For Thought

By Aydan Johnstone

The central focus for the lecture and reading material this week was on food, and more specifically on power distribution throughout the food network. The introduction of the lecture discussed how food is defined through culture and power. Kuttainen (2015) stated that "food is a mirror of culture" which was a unanimous view across the assigned readings. 'Food in Society' (Atkins & Bowler, 2001) illustrated the connection of food with culture which was thoroughly discussed in the lecture: “tastes are also derived from our culturally constructed inclinations for particular dishes and ingredients”. However, the reading that was most interesting to myself was the Patel (2007) reading 'Stuffed and Starved'. This text was quite casual in tone but was extremely powerful in demonstrating a particular key concept of our subject: Power. Patel (2007) emphasized the power that large corporations exercise to control a consumer’s choice of food. 

Facebook is a virtual network that I am connected with and is ranked among the top three hundred corporations in the world. Facebook is an excellent example of how consumers are subject to mass corporate control through restriction of choice and freedom. The corporate giant reported a revenue of 12.47 billion USD in 2014, a 58% increase from its predeceasing year, and yet the social media platform is absolutely free to join. This begs the question of how Facebook generates revenue, and who is being exploited in this process. This info-graphic explains how Facebook makes money while remaining free, the answer to which is primarily through advertising.  The advertising that is prominent within the news feed of every Facebook user is a subtle form of communication and marketing power that we are being subjected to. Patel (2007) emphasized this point brilliantly in relation to food by stating that "guided by profit motive, the corporations that sell our food shape and constrain how we eat, and how we think about food". As the 2014 revenue report suggests, Facebook is indeed guided by profit motive, and is a corporation that uses advertising as a form of power and communication. This means that they ultimately decide what we as consumers are interested in and how we think about the products we consume. 

To conclude, Facebook is a dominant dictator of our consumer choices through subtle hints of communication and their pole position in power. Advertising highly influences our choices in product consumption.  

References

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Food in society: economy, culture, geography. Arnold, Hodder Headline Group.

Chen, L. (2015). The World’s Largest Companies 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/liyanchen/2015/05/06/the-worlds-largest-companies/

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 8: Networked Narratives: Food. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed & starved. Black Inc.

Popper, B. (2015). Facebook Posts Strong Earnings and Tops $12 Billion in Annual Revenue. Retrieved from: http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/28/7931091/facebook-earnings-q4-fourth-quarter-2014

Ritholtz, B. (2014). How Does Facebook Make Its Money? Retrieved from: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2014/02/how-does-facebook-make-its-money/

Image Reference

Quiles, L. (2015). Controversial Illustrations by Spanish Artist Mirror The Ugly Side Of Society. Retrieved from: http://www.idealistrevolution.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/9.jpg