Major Corporations and Facebook

Major Corporations and Facebook

By Jason O'Neill

Image From: twentytwowords.com pnMMj.jpg

As emphasised by Patel, it is the power of large corporations that control the consumer’s food choice. Take apples for example, there are about seven thousand varieties of apples and yet the most common seen on your local store shelves will amount to about five different sorts. This is because major corporations will only put the ‘healthiest’ looking produce on the shelves. This being the apples with the most colour or harder to bruise. Guided by profit motive, the corporations that sell our food shape and constrain how we eat (Patel, 2007).

Social media is also controlled in the same way by similar major corporations. Certain groups and pages are funded by these corporations for social media networks like Facebook to advertise. The more people who become a part of these groups and pages add to the popularity of these sites. And on social media networks, popularity means power. Therefore it is important for major corporations to get as much advertisement possible to gain popularity as it is their means or profit.

Taste is culturally constructed (Kuttaiten, 2015) and taste in the sense of social media perspective would be considered our interests. So the phrase “you have good taste in …” applies to the interests of that individual. These interests could also act as an expression of our identity. Thus when we join a group or page that is seen as popular we are also seen as popular. Because being popular is seen as high status many people will see their only choice being to conform to these corporations and join their pages and groups to keep up with the current trend.

References:

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.

Image Reference:

Abraham. (2012, April 25). Chart showing the 10 companies that own most of the food products we buy. Retrieved from TwentyTwoWords: http://twentytwowords.com/

Facebook Foodies

Almost everybody with a Facebook account has seen a plate of food posted on the social media site. But why do people feel the need to share their meals with the world? I think it is because of how food can be used as a form of communication, and that people use food as a tool to show their life in a particular light.

People can use food as an interesting narrative tool, to communicate their life to their friends on social media. For example a picture of somebody’s expensive meal in a fancy restaurant can suggest that they have a lot of money and that they have a sophisticated pallet. Somebody could also post a picture of fast food or a simple meal to imply that they are a laid back person, or an obscure foreign dish can be used to imply a sense of being ‘cultured’. Atkins and Bowler (2001, p.285) explain that eating food native to another country creates a social divide between those who are seen as cultured and those that are not.

So effectively food can be used as a narrative to communicate ones, personality, wealth, culture, religion, and social status. This makes food an incredibly strong form of communication. The sheer amount of information that food can convey, can allow somebody to make assumptions about almost every aspect of somebodies personal life. What is not posted can have just as large of an impact on public assumptions as what is posted. For example if somebody never posts nutritious foods then there is no real way of deducing if they are a healthy or nutritious person.

It is safe to say that food is a very powerful tool of communication that can imply many things about somebody, whether they are true or not. People should be wary of what they post on Facebook as they may not realize just powerful of a communication tool food can be, and how it can shape how other people view their lives.

References

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001) Food in Society: Economy, Culture, Geography. London, England: Hodder Headline Group. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/Conc-camcontent-bb_bb60/items/getitem.jsp?as_course_code=12-BA1002-TSV-INT-SP2&content_id=_768726_1&course_id=_26169_1&doc_id=30459

How Social Media is Changing the Way we Eat (2014) Retieved from https://www.menulog.com.au/blog/social-media-changing-eat/

Image Reference

Taking Photo of Food (2013) Retrieved from http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1371671/images/o-TAKING-PHOTO-OF-FOOD-facebook.jpg

Food Culture

By Jaymi Quincey

Culture is represented by language, fashion, music and food. These key characteristics create a community and self-identity all around the world. Cultural food from many different countries can found almost anywhere there is a market for it. Atkins and Bowler (2001) discuss the misrepresentation of cultural food origin and food labelling. They also mention the false link and labels that allow the traceability of foods to the site of production but also origin (p.277). In terms of food and society Kuttianen (2015) states ‘Taste is culturally constructed, also an expression of our identity’. As mentioned before, cultural food represents culture but the place of origin of a specific taste or food can be labelled elsewhere. For example ‘Brazilian coffee’ can be grown in several different countries but remains as ‘Brazilian coffee’ regardless of the community it comes from. This misrepresentation of a culture based on an origin naming or tastes that doesn’t represent the true authenticity of the culture. Asian take-away is another example, where business owners can ‘westernise’ the menu and tastes of food in order for business to strive. Another misrepresentation of culture through food is from the first Diasporas, migrations or colonization. Culture and food was spread all around the world but with time changing but is almost unnoticeable unless you travel and experience the food in the country of origin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Chinese_cuisine

Labeling is a major issue in the cultural identity also for instance “If a business claim goods are 'made in' or 'manufactured in' a particular country: 50% or more of the total production or manufacturing costs of the goods must be incurred in that country. These products could contain ingredients from other countries. A product with 'Made in Australia' label won't necessarily contain Australian ingredients” (The Department of Justice, 2014). This creates a false representation of the product and may in fact deny the country of origin recognition.

Reference:

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). The origins of taste. In food in society: Economy, culture, geography (pp. 272-295). New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc.

The espresso guy. (2015). Espresso guy. Retrieved from http://www.espressoguy.com/coffee_beans/buying_coffee_beans

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, lecture 8: Food networks. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au


The Department of Justice. (2014) Australian Consumer Law. Retrieved from http://www.consumer.tas.gov.au/fair_trading/country_of_origin

Image:

American Chinese Cuisine .(2015). In Wikipedia. [Image]. Retrieved Septemebr 18, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Chinese_cuisine

"A Palate Through a Lens"

By Tyler Leese

Food holds different meanings for each person, and social media is fast becoming a way to express this meaning. Each day, week or month, we are exposed to new cuisines through the likes of media advertising, our surroundings, and our friends or family. The metaphor “You Are What You Eat”, aside from our health, also depicts a cultural meaning for each person. Atkins & Bowler (2001) mentions that the making of foods from our own cultures, keeps connections with our heritage and helps to maintain connections with our community, which can be related to a diasporic point of view as mentioned in my last blog.

As most people enjoy sharing their food with the world via social media; Instagram is one of the perfect platforms to directly express yourself and your foods to your friends and followers in a way that suits you, and from which ever lens filter you desire.

                                        Image from: http://cdni.wired.co.uk/1920x1280/a_c/askctfood.jpg

Furthermore, this activity helps to establish food maps which detail more about a person and their place of origin, which as (Kuttainen, 2015) mentions, connects with multinational food systems showing different types of foods, portrayed differently by different people. Moreover, Atkins & Bowler (2001) describes the story of rice as originally being of Japanese origin, but now evolved into a transnational core food source and used daily by a variety of different cultures. 

Expressing identity through food on social media is powerful, not just for expressing one's own beliefs, but also as (Patel, 2007) mentions, determines the classes of people through what they eat.

Many people who I follow on Instagram are highly cultured and their food certainly depicts this. The use of rice in most foods is prolific and therefore cements the theory of Atkins & Bowler (2001) as being a widely used resource. In summary,  food brings people together and creates communities and cultures which form identities. Social media however, while expressing a collaborative view, has been a significant contributor to this network and the development of self expression.

Reference List:

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. R. (2001). Food In Society: Economy, Culture, Geography. New York, United States Of America: Oxford University Press Inc.

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: Markets, power and the hidden battle for the world food system. Melbourne, Australia: Black Inc

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

Image Reference:

 Imgkid.com. (2015). Instagram Food [Image]. Retrieved from http://imgkid.com/instagram-food.shtml

Global Food.

Is this an 'Italian' restaurant?.. Toy Story's Pizza Planet Restaurant.

The worlds population is becoming more and more multicultural, and so is its pallet. However, we still associate certain foods with the races they come from. Hot curries are Indian, noodles are Asian, burritos are Mexican, yet these are all foods that are regularly part of the Australian diet. Hell, nobody calls getting pizza 'Italian', because it's so heavily entrenched within our society. In regards to Australia, this could be because we have no actual food identity, I mean apparently lammingtons are from New Zealand, but really, it's all about what's available, something which is dictated entirely by those who control the food businesses. In the reading, Patel,(2007) remarks about the type of food which is presented to us. He states that food that is transportable, long lasting and  easier to make visually appealing will get picked against others while remarking about the many types of apples there are vs the amount we have to choose from. The same could be said when thinking about what food is advertised to us on Facebook, whether by our friends or companies. These companies pay money to appear as sponsored posts, so it's likely they have serious impact on sales, which means that it influences people's choices.


Alcohol is perhaps the best example of this. Alcohol based posts are littered over Facebook, and I'd wager that over 50% of posts of my friends somehow relates to alcohol.I mean if you go out, but don't post about how drunk you are to Facebook, did you even go out? The answer is yes, but that's not the case for some people. And you know the companies love this exposure, as they often post re-post photos or create competitions encouraging the behavior, always making sure to remind people to 'drink responsibly'  in the smallest text available. And this isn't going away any time soon, alcohol has always been part of our culture, social media has only enhanced it(Kuttainen,2015).


References

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, lecture 8: Food networks. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and starved: Markets, power and the hidden battle for the world food system. Melbourne, Australia: Black I

Image Creds
Author and date unknown, Pizza Planet, retrieved from http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/pixar/images/d/d3/Pizza_Planet2.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111206152431
 

Food Exposure: An Online Obsession

Image from: http://trobairitztablet.blogspot.com.au/

Food exposure by many different forms is something those on Facebook get to witness at least once almost every day. Food is a major part of society and has significant cultural ties. Users on social media sites such as Facebook have the opportunity to upload either images or descriptions of foods they have created or bought. As well as users contributing to the online food obsession, advertisements are also made with companies such as McDonalds, Sizzler and Pizza Hut (Just to 

name a few), advertising their menus in an attempt to gain customers. With just these examples, it can be seen that there is a power surrounding food and the way it is being portrayed to others online. 

In this week's lecture, it was clearly stated that "food is not just food" (Kuttainen, 2015). The foods we eat and share with one another can have an influence on the type of person one may become in both a social and cultural context. By expressing the types of food one eats, they are essentially representing themselves for example, by class and culture. In the reading by Arkins and Bowler (2001), it was expressed that distinctions between social groups  could be determined by the 

consumption of exotic foods. This can link back to the power surrounding foods by empowering those with a high social class that are known to upload 'fancy' foods to sites such as Facebook, while disempowering those who cannot. Power is given in multiple forms; by the likes one may receive on their posts about food, having others know they can eat 'fancy' or 'exotic' foods, and even checking in to a restaurant allowing others to know they dine there. 

Food advertisements are also fuelled by power over its consumers with Facebook pages targeting those online, assisting in the choices we make of where to dine or what foods we should eat, ultimately leading me to believe we don't have much of a say. 

References:

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I. R. (2001). Food in society: Economy, culture, geography. New York. United States of America: Oxford University Press Inc.

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, Lecture 8: Food networks. [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from: http://www.jculearn.edu.au.

Image Credits:

Trobairitz. (2012). Moto-blogger food porn humor. Retrieved from http://trobairitztablet.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/moto-blogger-food-porn-humor.html

Is social media sites influencing our diets?

By Eloise Preston

“Food messages are received even when there is no advertising intent” (Adkins, P and Bowler, I). Whether you are scrolling through Instagram, watching your favourite television show, driving on throughout the main street of your town or doing your weekly grocery shopping, the advertisement of food is surrounding us no matter where we go. And this isn’t entirely our fault, as we discussed in this week’s lecture “our choice is not entirely our own”, many people tend to over look at the fact that food is displayed and advertised in a certain way to convince us into incorporating it its our diets.

As our lecturer stated this week, “food is a representation of our identity” (Kuttainen, 2015). There is no denying that the food that goes into our shopping trolleys and the restaurants we choose at, is a direct representation of our culture, social class and economic status. Its no secret that families or individuals that have a poor economic status tend to eat cheap convenience meals. On the other end of the scale wealthy families are eating fresh and healthy foods. These statistics show that there is a strong relationship between poverty and obesity.

Advertising plays such a large role in our diets, especially in the 21^st Century, the way company’s market their food has evolved dramatically. I can guarantee you that every time you log into Twitter, Facebook or Instagram there is a post related to food. These social media platforms are a fast, reliable and cost effective way for companies to spread the word about their product or restaurant. And we as the viewers are liking, retweeting and uploading photos that are advertising for their company without even realising it. Large grocery chain stores also play a large role in what foods goes into our grocery carts, I experience this first hand as a worker in a supermarket. Every week, I notice how particular food groups are strategically placed in certain areas of the store where customers are more likely to notice and purchase the products. I also notice how the number of unhealthy and processed foods are advertised as half price or buy one get one free in comparison to the deals when purchasing fruits, vegetables and lean meats.   

In the great depression, if you were in a state of poverty, you were underweight. In the 21st century, people that are poor are overweight and obese. When you look at this from a historical point of view, we can see how diets have evolved to the point where the poverty classes of society are unhealthy and the wealthy are healthy. I think we can all agree that social media advertising has contributed to this vast change. 

References: 

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, Lecture 8: Food networks. [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from: http://www.jculearn.edu.au

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I. (2001). Food in society: Economy, culture, geography. New York, United Sates of America: Oxford University Press Inc.

Image Credit :

Wilkinson, S. (2009). Aussies share the food love by posting photos of meals on social media. Retrieved from: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/aussies-share-the-food-love-by-posting-pictures-of-meals-on-social-media/story-fneuz8wn-1226637885462