"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 

Home is Where the Food is

Lauren Wun-Hym

In today’s society you can walk through the food precinct in town and find a wide range of cultural foods and cuisines, all easily accessible to everyone, whether you are apart of the culture or not. Kuttainen (2015) notes that taste is not only culturally constructed, but also an expression of our identity, that is to say that through our personal cultural experiences with food, we are able to construct a self identity, and also allows us to create or reinforce a community identity. Food allows people to experience different cultures and to relish our own cultures, whether we are living in our traditional homeland or not. 

Atkins & Bowler (2001, pp. 273) acknowledge this sense of identity that is gained through food, stating, “one factor in the origin and persistence of foodways is that they often represent an important expression of our identity, both as individuals and in reference to a broader ethnic, class or religious grouping.” Food enables ethnic groups to express their identity, and come together as a community, allowing them to connect and understand others and their cultures. So, when walking through the food district in town, people are able to share a collective sense of community identity and belonging, people as strangers coming together through a common love of food. 

Image from: http://www.lumosforbusiness.com/

Yet it is not necessary for people to go out to restaurants to experience a taste of different cuisines from different cultures. Tumblr has many blogs dedicated to specific cultures, or to a multitude of different cultures, providing recipes, historic information regarding specific dishes, traditional ingredients and traditional uses for different dishes. Each day the Internet allows us to create a sense of identity more and more, providing access to worlds and cultures we thought were out of our reach. Our community and self identity is deeply ingrained in the food we eat, whether it be trying a new foreign cuisine or a dish your mother used to cook on special occasions, food is an much a part of our identity as our own name. 

References:

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

Foodways. (2014). In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 17^th, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodways.

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 reference:

Lumosforbusiness. (n.d.). The way we eat. [Image]. Retrieved from: http://www.lumosforbusiness.com/uploads/images/image/23/the_way_we_eat.jpeg

Eating Vicariously Through Facebook

By Marina Douglas

It’s lunchtime. You’re sitting down to a home-made sandwich and scrolling leisurely through Facebook when you see it: one of your friends has gone out to eat and consequently shared a picture of their delicious meal. It might be a huge burger, resplendent with accompanying chips. It might be a sundae that’s dripping with chocolate, and you feel your mouth start to water as you realise that there’s actual brownie under all that ice cream. Whatever it is, your poor little sandwich suddenly seems meagre by comparison – a pitiful creation that can’t live up to the glory of what everyone else is eating. But you eat it anyway. And you keep scrolling.

Food plays a huge role in shaping self and community identity on Facebook. Every day we are exposed to images of food in ads, pages, shared posts, and the alarmingly frequent updates from those friends who secretly think themselves connoisseurs. Atkins and Bowler (2001) touch on this, stating that there is a “socially-derived desire for our consumption habits to show us in the best possible light.” (p. 272). Indeed, food has the power to change opinions about a person’s class – everything from the location of the meal to the accompanying comments has an impact. It’s an expression of our identity, and can be a source of shame or pride (Kuttainen, 2015).

Image from: cdn.images.express.co.uk Photographing food

The presence of ads in media only drives us further to present a desirable image, according to what the ad suggests. How is your self-identity going to hold up with all these blatant social cues around? In his analysis of the world’s current food problem, Patel (2007) points out that we have more food than ever before yet there is both famine and obesity. As social beings, we feel a need to avoid identifying with either of these things and this also impacts on our choices of what to eat and who needs to know about it. This is where Facebook comes in. Because at the end of the day, no matter what you eat, there’s something immensely and unsettlingly satisfying about letting people know about it, with that unsaid declaration of “This is my food and my life. Look at it. Envy me. Love me.”

References

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.

Freeman, B. (2014, October 17). Digital junk: Food and beverage marketing on Facebook. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/digital-junk-food-and-beverage-marketing-on-facebook-32609

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 Inc.

Image Credits

Gavin, A. (2014). Photographing food [Image]. Retrieved from http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/1/590x/photographing-food-share-503694.jpg

The Blanket Over Food Networks

By Stephanie Reid

In a world where the obese outnumber the 800 million that are hungry in the world (Patel, 2007), we are facing a new world. Those that eat too much are quickly growing in number, even though the numbers of those that do not eat enough are not depleting. The food of the world is going to those that already have enough, but it is not being shared with those that do not have any.

The food networks have a very long, dark history with slave trading (Kuttainen, 2015). This narrative behind the food that we eat is never spoken of, even though most adults definitely know of the history of slave trading. While these people were enslaved in the food industry, they were fed little to nothing and received almost nothing for their work. Food and trade companies feed us the narrative that they want us to see, and therefore we would be buying their products. 

They communicate through the means of their networks, so that way we don't have to see a thing (as their consumers). Clothing companies do the same thing. 

Site

Often, we see this occurring through Facebook, where, as phrased by Patel (2007) that ‘guided by profit motive, the corporations that sell our food shape and constrain how we eat, and how we think about food’. However, instead of hiding the slave trade narrative, Facebook shows us advertisements that we ‘want’ to see in order for them to gain a profit as free social networking platform.  

Facebook, as guided by profit motive, sells us a story that we ‘want’ to see in order to keep the profits rolling in; as do food companies, by putting a blanket over the slave trading that we pretend not to see.

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.

Eyewitnesstohistory.com,. (2007). Slave Trade: the African Connection, ca 1788. Retrieved 17 September 2015, from http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/slavetrade.htm

Panerai, A. (2014). Obesity Vs. Malnutrition: a thorny paradox. Echeion. Retrieved 17 September 2015, from http://www.echeion.it/hot-news/obesity-vs-malnutrition-a-thorny-paradox/