In class post. Deciding what to eat

What I eat is dictated by many things, but the biggest of these is time. If I am short on time I will usually eat what will not take very long to prepare. This often consists of things that are microwavable like Hot Pockets or things I don’t have to cook myself like fast-food products. For the meals that I have ample time I am more likely to spend time cooking something, or I will go to a restaurant that is not quite as fast. Another thing that dictates what I eat is the activities in my life. When I am in something athletic like a sport, I tend to eat healthier than if I were not.  These healthier choices help me to perform at a higher level as well as just making me healthier as a person. I would like to change to spend time choosing what I eat and making smarter food choices.

EE1: Making Memories with Food

Making Memories with Food

Ever since we were little we were always told, “You are what you eat”. You might not think that this applies to you, but other people may think of you like a food. Now they probably aren’t thinking of you as something they want to eat (unless they are a cannibal). Rather, they are almost certainly thinking of you by the food that reminds them of you. A certain food may act as a metonym for that person; this means that the food becomes almost a symbol of that person. I know that in my life there are definitely foods that instantly make me think of a person or group of people. In our lives foods can be valuable as a source of memory elicitation especially when it comes to the people that are associated with them.

                As a child of two different households, it is very easy to associate specific foods to each of my parents. The biggest connection between one of my parents and a food has to be my dad and macaroni and cheese. My dad being the typical man that he is did not have very much experience cooking when I was little. He tried his best to make us home cooked meals, but he would usually just end up serving us pre-cooked foods like TV dinners and pizzas. When he finally came across a meal that he could make and that we liked, it soon became a staple in our household. This food was the always delicious macaroni and cheese. As time went on other dishes we added to the meal; the most popular of which was grilled salmon. Even after my dad got better at cooking and got remarried he still cooked us mac and cheese on a regular basis. He has since taught me his recipe, and I have made it myself quite a few times at college. Every time that I make it it never fails to make me think of my dad and all of the great times that we had while eating together.  No matter the restaurant that I have ordered macaroni and cheese I have never found one that can compete with my dad’s version of the classic.

                These links between the food that we eat and the people we associate with them are not just linked to the family that we have known our entire lives; they can also be found with our friends. I can see this when I look at my friend Tyler and burritos. Only a couple years ago we fell in love with a place called Pancheros. Pancheros may be incredibly similar to restaurants like Chipotle, but there was just something about this place that set it apart. Soon Tyler and I began frequenting Pancheros on a regular basis; sometimes as often as three times a week! This created a strong link in my brain between these delicious burritos and my friend Tyler. Even now that I am in college and I rarely see Tyler, I still think of the good times we had at Pancheros whenever I order a burrito.

                In the first reading of this quarter, “Eating White”, Geoff Nicholson makes a very similar connection to his mother. He talks about trying to recreate the meals that his mother used to make for him and the ways that these foods help to bring back memories of his late mother and his time growing up in Northern England. He then goes on to talk about his time growing up in England with his mother and his mother’s fascination with white and very often bland foods. White foods were a kind of comfort food for his mother, and she continued to cook them until she died.  His attempt to reconstruct these bland foods is a way for him to remember his mother as a person.  When describing the meal he says, “If this seems a rather pallid and unexciting meal, then that’s exactly the way my mother would have wanted it.”(Nicholson, 21) Even though these foods are incredibly bland, they still bring back fond memories of his mother.

                These links between people and food are what make up the cultural food differences in this world. The experiences we gain from growing up create who we are as adults, and this includes the foods that we eat. The people that raise us set the groundwork for our future eating habits. This is evident in Roy Ahn’s ,”Home Run: My Journey Back to Korean Food”. Ahn talks about the influence that his Korean heritage has on the way he eats. While growing up his parents fed him traditional Korean cuisine, even though they now lived in America. As Ahn grew to adulthood he lost some of this connection to Korean food, but a stop at a Korean restaurant made him reflect on his family and the foods that they cooked him as a child. He had formed distinct connection between his mother and the Korean food that she used to serve. With a child on the way he decided that his Korean heritage needed to be passed on. This recollection of the important people from his past, therefore, was able to help the continuation of his food culture.

                There are scientific reasons for this connection between memories and the foods that we eat. There is a place in the brain called the hippocampus; the hippocampus is very important for memories, especially long-term, declarative memories. The hippocampus is strongly connected to the parts of the brain that are important for emotion and smell. (Allen) This means that food and memories are closely connected through the hippocampus. In an interview about his novel The Omnivorous Mind, John S. Allen states, “Emotion and novelty tend to make events more memorable, and those tied in some way with food may make for even more powerful memories.”

                Memories form the fabric of who we are as people.  Everyone eats different kinds of foods, but no matter the food there is always some kind of connection to memories. These connections may have different strengths depending on the memories, but I have found that the greatest food-memory connection come from the bonds we make with other people.

P5: Eating on the Edge

In Jamie Horwitz’s “Eating on the Edge”, she develops an argument that it is becoming more frequent that, “food is an additive to a situation…rather than being definitive”. She uses many examples to explain why this has become the social norm. She starts by using an example from her own life; she talks about a student who is eating a messy sandwich in her class and thinks about it like students smoking cigarettes in class during her time. Smoking cigarettes was something you would do in conjunction with another activity, and eating has become something that we use in a similar way.

                She also talks about the ways in which recent innovations have created new ways for food to be eaten at our convenience, but this also makes eating happen more often by oneself. She uses the example of Campbell’s Soup at Hand to develop this point; it has created a perfect way for soup to become something to take with you by being able to be heated quickly and fit conveniently into your cup holder. She also talks about the T.V. dinner which made food more convenient, and it also made our dinners an additive to watching television.

                An example of this phenomenon in my life is the way that I order food that I didn’t prepare, and I eat it while doing things like watching a movie. For example, this weekend I did not have the desire to cook anything or go and get something, so I decided to order a pizza. Once I got the pizza I decided to watch a movie with it. While watching this movie, I was eating pizza nearly the entire time. It had become an additive to the movie rather than a meal that has been set apart to eat with people. 

Beer: A Social Beverage

Beer: A Social Beverage

No matter the time, the situations we find ourselves in are often defined by what we are eating or drinking. Within any restaurant you will find a different style and culture, especially when it comes to the social makeup of the restaurant. Some restaurants are intended to be places where you can be social and interact with other while others are just meant to be places for you to eat. This weekend I definitely found myself at a place that would be classified as the former. After driving for about twenty minutes I came across a bustling restaurant by the name of the Yard House.  Its entrance was filled with people waiting to be seated, and the sounds of classic rock and customers talking filled the air. After a slight wait I was able to be seated and my journey through the sights and sounds of the Yard House was ready to begin.              

                Immediately I was able to determine that this restaurant was dominated by one thing, beer. This was evident from the statement on the building’s sign, “Word’s Largest Selection of Draft Beer”. Once inside the restaurant I was able to see that the bar was situated in the direct center of the building. This was display of its centrality for the establishment. After being seated it was soon apparent that nearly every person that could have a beer was having one. Everyone from the twenty-something year olds on a date to the middle aged parents having a family meal was having a beer, and they certainly seemed to be enjoying it too. The patrons of the Yard House were connected not only by what they were drinking but also by the way they interacted with each other socially. I was unable to find a place in the restaurant where there weren’t people talking and enjoying each other’s company. This got me thinking that maybe these two were connected, and this became the focus of not only my time taking field notes but also during the following days.

                I began by looking into the role that beer has within my own cultural group. On college campuses all across the country young students experiment with alcohol with beer being probably the biggest type consumed. I have to say that the biggest way that beer is used in a college student’s life is as a social stimulant. They use beer as a way to spur them into meeting new people and having a good time. As people drink more beers, they become looser and more open to starting conversations that they normally would be too shy to start. Beer is also tends to be a beverage best enjoyed in a group; almost everyone that drinks a beer while in college does it while surrounded by their good friends. This was the same as in the Yard House where these people all had company while enjoying the wide variety of beer types.

                Through some online research I was able to find some more links between the social parts of life and beer. One of these links is the use of beer as a kind of social status indicator. The Social Issues Research Centre says that, “differences in age, class, status, aspirations, and affiliations are frequently expressed through beverage choice”.  This is clear when you compare the Yard House customers to average college students. The SIRC says that, “imported or ‘foreign’ drinks have a higher status than ‘local’ beverages”. This was shown by the attraction of the people at the Yard House to their variety of beer. With such a large selection, people are able to choose a beer that is much rarer than what they are accustomed to. Drinking a beer that is rare makes the drinker feel important unlike drinking a traditional, commonplace beer, and it also makes them look as though they are higher socially. College students on the other hand are forced to drink common, cheap beers. These beers have a reputation of being bad and poorly made, and this has a habit of then being projected onto the person drinking it. This makes college students appear to be at the bottom of the social ladder.

                The Yard House is a location where food, drinking, and fun all come together. Through an hour of observations it was able to give me insight into the ways people interact with a beverage like beer. It has connections to the way we interact socially as well as the way we view each other socially. 

Potential Sources for SE3

This page examines the social and cultural aspects of alcohol. It looks at things such as alcohol's role as a status indicator, situation definer, statement of affiliation, gender differentiator, and the role of drinking places.

http://www.sirc.org/publik/drinking6.html

Cate and O'Donnell: Food and Community

Much of who we are comes from the foods that we eat; it can come from the individuality that it gives us within a group, or it can be a way to fit into a group. In “Breaking Bread with a Spread” and “The Cultural Politics of Eating in Shenzhen”, the authors explore the ways that food and communities are linked within specific groups and the different roles that these foods have within the communities.

                In “Breaking Bread with a Spread”, Sandra Cate looks into the foods that inmates in a local prison eat and the ways in which the food brings them together while also setting them apart within the prison community. The main cuisine that she looks into is called “spread”. Spread is different for every inmate , but it is basically a mixture of whatever ingredients an inmate likes within the limited ingredients in the prison. Spread is a way for the inmates to use their creativity. They create many different spreads by experimenting with everything at their disposal, often trying to recreate meals that they loved from the outside. The spreads are also a way for inmates to connect with one another. Spreads are almost always eaten with other inmates, and the groups that are formed are usually based off of common tastes and cultures. As inmate Kermit Saunders said, “It’s like we bonding in here when we break bread with a spread”.

                Mary Ann O’Donnell examines a much larger and different group in “The Cultural Politics of Eating in Shenzhen”. She looks into the ways that China is divided based upon the foods that they eat and the areas that they live in, and how this affects the kind of people that they are. For example, the people that live in southern China mostly eat fish. Fish is very hard to come by, so southerners are forced to be “sneaky” and “quick-witted” to get the food that they need. In Northern China, however, there are cows, and cows are not very hard to capture and kill. This difference in cultures created a more honest group of people in Northern China because they did not have to fight for their food, but northerners did not become as intelligent and crafty as the southerners because they did not learn the skills from the fight for food. As time has gone along, there has also been a division caused by the age of the people of Shenzhen. The “Old Shenzheners” often have experience from living in the countryside which has given them a great appreciation for the food of the city. Meanwhile, “New Shenzheners” do not have these experiences so they are fully immersed in the city lifestyle and think of their food in a much different way.

                In these articles the authors are looking at very different communities, but they are very similar in the ways in which food brings them together. In Cate’s article about prison the inmates are divided based upon their tastes and previous culture, but they were also able to express themselves through the food. In O’Donnell’s article they are united by the areas that they come from as well as their life’s experiences. I found it interesting in prison that something like food could set someone apart through their individual exploits with food, but it could also bring them together and give them a sense of belonging. I also found it interesting that the food of each area of China not only changed the tastes of the people, but it also changed the personality types associated with the groups.

Gatorade vs. PowerAde: A Battle of Thirst Quenchers

Gabe Ellison

4/7/13

WRIT 1133

Gatorade vs. PowerAde: A Battle of Thirst Quenchers

No matter what sport you play there are times that you use sports drinks for hydration. The market for sports drinks is dominated by two major brands: Gatorade and PowerAde. As you can imagine in a market that is dominated by two brands there is very stingy competition between the two. No matter the advertisement, all of their ads are aimed at the same people, athletes. These two advertisements are prime examples of the techniques employed by sports drink companies; celebrity endorsement and scientific evidence.

                In this Gatorade ad, it is very clear which advertising technique they are using. They are using images of a very famous athlete, or ethos, to tell you to buy their product. This is meant to show the consumer that if this athlete drinks Gatorade and is amazing; it can help you be amazing as well! In this case the athlete is none other than Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is widely viewed as the greatest basketball player of all time, and he is probably one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.

The ad contains the image of a bottle of Gatorade next to pictures from various points in Jordan’s life. These include him in high school, college, various iconic points in his pro career, present day, and even his motorsports company. The images from Jordan’s pro career are used in various Gatorade commercials because they are linked with their product. One is of him collapsing in the arms of his teammate during the famous playoff game in which he played despite being horribly sick. This is an example of his perseverance with the help of Gatorade. Another is of his incredible free-throw line dunk during a slam dunk contest; this is meant to show Gatorade’s ability boosting properties.

The layout of the ad is the series of pictures with the words THEN. NOW. FOREVER. in large font underneath. This tells young athletes that Michael Jordan has used Gatorade throughout his legendary career and always will, and in order to be as great as him you should too. The words are in traditional Gatorade font and are bold enough to be easily read. The Gatorade bottle sticks out against the background of black and white photos because of the its vibrant red color. This highlights the Gatorade as well as emphasizing the classic nature of the pictures.

The PowerAde advertisement on the other hand uses scientific information to attract consumers to their product. It has many statements about its ION⁴ advanced electrolyte system. It states that it, “helps to replenish 4 electrolytes lost in sweat”. These electrolytes are sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. By stating that their product contains these electrolytes, PowerAde is implying that these are necessary for people that sweat on a regular basis, and who sweats more than athletes? Stating that their product contains these electrolytes also implies that their competitor’s product does not have these in them which creates an image a superior product.

 The layout of the PowerAde ad is very simple, but also very bold. The ad features a series of very colorful PowerAde bottles against a black background. This makes the bottles stand out and creates an athletic color scheme. The text is very basic and white on a black background which makes it easy to read. The largest word on the add is the word complete. This gives the impression that the drink is well rounded and contains the things that you need. Next to the where it says ION⁴ there is what looks like an x made out of a molecule diagram. This adds to the scientific nature of the advertisement.

Both of these ads are trying to attract the same group of people by different means. One uses a celebrity endorser to attract their customers while the other uses scientific reason as their selling point. These can attract different people within the broad groups of athletes in the world. In the world of sports drinks, the products all taste very similar so advertising is incredibly important. Attracting a customer can create a lifelong connection with your product, especially if the customer is an athlete.

The food cultures and values that can be derived from these ads are found in the way that we view athletics in our society. We view athletics as one of the most important things in our society. We see success in athletics as a major goal in life and envy those who do succeed. These ads play on the way that all athletes strive to be the best and the companies are trying to tell you that there product gives you the best chance at being the best. 

Potato Chips: the universal food

Throughout our lives I’m sure all of us have heard the phrase, “you are what you eat”. However, when you think about this more, it must also be true that you are what you buy. In this article Freedman and Jurafsky explore the ways in which advertising changes depending on the people they are trying to appeal to. They did this through the examination of the potato chip industry. They separated the potato chips into groups based on price, with one group being the “expensive” chips and the other the “inexpensive” chips. The expensive chips tended to be advertising to the upper class while the inexpensive chips were trying to appeal to the middle and lower class. The way that they are able to do this is through the use of different language. The more expensive chips on average had more words and longer words than the inexpensive chips; this is because wealthier people tend to be more educated than middle and lower class people and, therefore, are more attracted to sophisticated packaging. Wealthier people also have more freedom when it comes to the products that they can buy so they try to eat the healthier products even if they are more expensive. Therefore, the more expensive bags of chips contain more words that are health related such as healthier, low fat, no cholesterol, and low sodium. This use of negative language implies to the consumer that the other products have these bad things in them, so you should buy their product to be healthier. Another big part of chip advertising is the emphasis of “authenticity”. Freedman and Jurafsky say that, ”For the upper class, being authentic means being natural”. This means that more expensive packaging contains many words emphasizing the naturalness of the product and a lack of artificial or fake ingredients. Meanwhile, “, for the working class, authenticity is rooted in historicity, including family tradition, the model of a company as a family business with an explicit founder, and regional American locations”. This means that for the working class they are able to connect more with advertising that contains more mention of things such as it being a family or hometown business. I found it interesting that there is such a connection between a product and a person. I didn’t realize that the product that a person buys is so closely related to their values such as health and family. This essay opened my eyes to other food products and how they are able to appeal to the consumer in similar ways. I think these same principles could be found in the beer industry. I feel that if you look at the ways that beer companies try to appeal to their target demographic you could see some glaring similarities. For example, the lower and middle class are mostly concerned with price while the upper class is concerned with things like the expert craftsmanship.

First Short Essay

WRIT 1133

Gabe Ellison

Eric Leake

Food: The Sustenance for Our Lives

Food is a vital part of everyone’s life; not only because it is needed for survival but because of the way it makes us feel. The food in our lives changes while we change, so food can be a defining thing in our lives. Our love of food is influenced by many things, but the major ones for me are the personal, social, and familial influences.

One of the greatest parts of food is that it affects everyone in different ways. Everyone has a different taste for food. We all have our specific foods that we love, and we also have those foods that we can’t stand. For me my favorite food is seafood. I don’t know if it’s the connection that seafood and vacation have for me or just a general love for its taste. When it comes to the foods that I hate, the two things that create my distaste are a general dislike for the taste and an unpleasant consistency.

My main personal connections with food are with the satisfaction of hunger, enjoyment of amazing foods, and cure of boredom.  Everyone needs to eat food to stay alive; if we go too long without eating we get hungry, and the only way to get rid of this is to eat food.  Eating great tasting food can be one of the most enjoyable things in life. An amazing meal can make you satisfied as well as happy. A large part of the food that I eat is eaten out of boredom. For me eating is very entertaining, especially if the food is particularly delicious. This can be bad because it often causes me to eat unhealthy foods such as candy.

One of the biggest influences food has on life is the way that we interact socially with it. Much of the time that we spend with other people involves food. And who better to spend time with than your friends. When I first came to the University of Denver, food was a big part of me meeting people. I didn’t know anyone before coming here, so that was very important. Early in my first quarter I was able to find people around my floor who wanted to go grab food at the dining hall. This sprung a few friendships that allowed we to gain the confidence to meet more people. I was also the only person on my floor that had a car, so I was able to find food off campus and could bring people with me as well. As the year has gone along I eat most of my meals with friends. I go eat fast food with my guy friends, and I go to the cafeteria with the girls from my floor. I have even started habits of going to certain places with certain friends. For example, every time that I want to get a burger I go to Smashburger with my friend Gracie. This has made Smashburger something of a college staple for me. Food has been a great way for me to connect with people here at college, and it has given me a great sense of belonging.

My family is probably my greatest influence in both my taste for food and the memories tied to them. My parents were the people that fed me for the first eighteen years of my life. This along with my genetic predispositions for taste molded the way that I feel about food. Early in my life, my mom cooked almost every one of my meals because we did not have very much money; this created a love for fast food once we had the money to eat out more. Throughout my life there have always been foods that my parents have forced me to eat foods I didn’t like because they were good for me. Without them I would be the unhealthiest person of all time!

When I reminisce about things in my life there is always a different food tied to a different part of my life. One of the biggest connections I have is macaroni and cheese with my dad. My parents divorced when I was three years old, so I have split time between my mom’s and my dad’s houses ever since. In the beginnings of my time with my dad we lived alone without a woman to help with the cooking or cleaning. This meant that my dad had to cook for us quite a bit. He did not have very much experience with cooking so most of the meals he cooked for us were very simple. The most common of these foods was macaroni and cheese. At first he would just make macaroni and cheese, but as he became better at cooking he added more things to the meal. The greatest combination was macaroni and cheese and grilled salmon. This meal has become a staple in life with my dad, and he continues to make it even though he has now been remarried for the last 10+ years.  Even though I have had this meal hundreds of times throughout my life I still love. So much so that I make macaroni and cheese at college and I use my dad’s recipe.

In life there are not many things that are more important than food. Although it does not seem incredibly special most of the time because it is something we do every day. It is essential because it keeps us alive, gives us enjoyment, and forms many lifelong connections with people. I know that when I take a closer look at my life I can see its great importance to me, especially in the personal, social, and familial aspects of my life.