secret recipes

I asked my roommate why she thought secret recipes were important, she answered “because they’re secret”, and in my opinion this sums up why we love secret recipes pretty well. Our society has a strong craving to know the things we don’t; our curiosity is endless, and this reflected in many aspects of our culture, even food!  Secret recipes serve as the targets for our inquisitiveness within the food culture. Secret recipes hold importance to those who know it and those who wish to know it for many different reasons.  For the recipe-holder secret-recipes are important because the possessors now have something that others covet. And having others desire your recipe to a particular dish is a compliment to your culinary talents and an ego booster! If you just gave away your recipe, you access to culinary importance would be shared by all, and therefore no longer significant. When you have a highly craved recipe you have leverage (even if minute) over others. For those who don’t know the recipe, secret recipes are important because they present a challenge. Either you try and find a way to gain access to the recipe or you have to make you own recipe that surpasses the undisclosed recipe. Our culture’s love of food and our limitless curiosity is combined and mirrored r through our embrace of secret recipes.

For corporations like Coke and KFC secret recipes serve as a way for them to distinguish themselves from competitors. It has also proved to be a strategic marketing plan. Coke isn’t like Pepsi because it has a secret recipe that can’t be duplicated;  KFC isn’t like Popeye’s because KFC uses 11 herbs and spices that distinguish it from all other fried chicken, and in their point of view makes it better. The use  of a secret recipe by large food franchises lets consumers know that they won’t be able to find a product similar to theirs anywhere else; thus drawing them in, and in some cases  even spend more money. Having a product  that has become  very successful over the years, then keeping the process and ingredients involved  in its creation stumps competitors and excites customers!

food injustice.

During Food Inc. I found the images, of animal cruelty the most compelling. I don’t eat meat, so seeing the suffering and torture that the animals endured was very persuasive. I have no issues with other people eating meat, or even selling meat for profits; I have actually sold animals (lambs, pigs & cows!) at my local county fair so I know that there are methods, that warrant quality meet products and ensure  that the animals are treated amicably, and are well-taken care of.  Vegetarians & meat- eaters a- like should have been able to look at the images and see the corruption that runs rampant in these companies. Not only did these images show the immorality of these enterprises, but who really wants to  an animal that has been standing in  its own feces for its whole life?

I also thought that Barbara Kowalcyk’s story was also very compelling. Mrs. Kowalcyk participated in an activity (eating fast food) that millions of other Americans do on a daily basis, yet it caused the death of her child. Not only did she lose her child to the carelessness of these food manufacturing  monopolies, but little change has been made since that day, so her work, while importantt, has yielded little change forcing her to watch while others endure similar experiences, all of which could be avoided.  Her story I think is enough to make any audience member think twice before eating something, and not really knowing where it comes from, or what’s in it. Her story should also prompt change in the way the government oversees food production companies.

Joel Salatin's perspective was also compelling, because he seemed knowledgeable about his topic, and his production techniques, while basic were the safest, cleanliest, and  most humane. He also seemed like a nice guy so it was easy to listen to him talk, and see where he was coming from. 

Overall I think Food Inc. contained a lot of compelling elements that could persuade any open-minded audience member, or at least get them to think about where their food comes from, and if they were okay with knowing the facts of their food's origins. 

Week 5- open topic.

   Our class is focused on food cultures, so I think it’s important to highlight one of food cultures’ most popular subdivisions…DIETS! I consider diets to be a subgroup of the food culture because it deals directly with food & food intake, so it just made sense to me. However all diets definitely do not make sense for instance the “Beer and Ice-cream diet”; people believed that ingesting the two cold products would require your body to work harder to heat the food up in order to digest it (thus burning more calories). Then there was the cookie diet (designed by a doctor) which had its clients eat 6 specially prepared cookies a day, & then one small meal, but people who participated consumed less than 1000 calories a day, so it was highly restrictive. Not only do diets come in a wide arrange of methods and approaches (some credible, & others most definitely not), but the diet industry is an extremely advertised and seemingly profitable trade.

   Print ads, commercials, and billboards pushing the latest diet pill, diet book, or weight loss lost secret are pretty much everywhere. These companies spend a lot of money on celebrity endorsements as well; whether it’s Jersey Shore cast member, Ronnie trying to sell you Xenadrine, or Kirstie Alley in a bikini on Oprah after losing 50 lbs. via, Jenny Craig. These companies use “stars” to attempt to appeal to potential buyer’s ethos, but in reality just because you use the same product that Kim Kardashian “uses” does not mean that your body will look like hers. Especially in today’s society, where a lot of attention is paid to how a person looks, (see: Hollywood, high school) not being overweight is vital, which is ironic because over 30% of Americans are overweight. Shows like the Biggest Loser, I Used to Be Fat and Heavy, have all picked up on America’s growing interest in shedding pounds.

   The diet industry and the food culture share an undeniable connection in my opinion. High food intake (& little exercise) leads people to gain weight, which more often than not results in dieting. American diet trends are discussed on a daily basis, & millions visit fast food restaurants on a daily basis, coincidence? I think not! So it seems to me that America, the food loving we country that we are, do not share that passion for food moderation (our portions sizes are gluttonous compared to a lot other countries) or for exercise. Of course this is speaking in very general terms, there are people who love healthy food, and working out, still I think that it is safe to say that way most Americans consume food has catalyzed a diet-product revolution of sorts, which shows no signs of lessening, just like our obesity rates!