HW 5 - Dominant Discourses Regarding Contemporary Foodways in the U.S.

             When one thinks about contemporary foodways in the U.S., one often finds them self thinking of health, be it their own, or that of the masses. Why do we jump to the topic of health? It's the dominant discourse regarding foodways of the United States. Who says so? Definitely not us, we're no corporate public relations rep, or a nationally recognized doctor. We simply observe from the sidelines. What is a discourse? In lamens terms, it's a discussion. It's a discussion where the topic at hand is thoroughly analyzed, and is, well, discussed. A 'dominant' discourse, is the discussion crafted by the people who lead that discourse, and then that becomes the socially accepted way of discussion on the topic. 

             The dominant discourse of food, is more often than not, about health. It's a constant struggle. Like anything else in life, it's a cycle, a never ending cycle. A doctor or scientist, (or anyone else who has a million degrees just to tell you that you're fat) will release a study saying that this food has this much trans fat and ups your chance of obtaining heart diseases, or this food is so awesome, it has fiber, whole grains, it was pulled from the dirt, and not put through a shitload of machines (it tastes like shit, but that's ok, it's good for your colon!). Then after that study is released, good old McDonalds put's pressure on the marketing department, and the guys who 'engineer' the food, to make some new thing that screams hip, modern, and healthy, so long as it doesn't cost over 5 cents to make. So, you can see the discourse. McDonald's or any other fast food giant, will claim their products are healthy, while doctors will claim otherwise. Regardless of the discourse however, people will continue to buy into both 'healthy' foods and the 'unhealthy' foods.

             Why do we take food so seriously? Because it's one of the three things we need to survive. Water, food, shelter. So something that is essential to human survival will hold more of an audience than anything else. We care about what we put into our bodies, because there's a standard that one must live up to. There are seldom people in the world who are 100% happy with their appearance, and everyone is always trying to change something. And what you eat can have a huge effect on that appearance. Pay attention to what people say about food, because regardless of what you may think, it is relevant to your life.