Exam 1

Understand how structural changes lead to changes in food culture according to the Developmental Perspective of Food Culture.

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What is delocalization?

A process by which increasing amounts of a population's or community's diet comes from an increasing distance away from that population or community.

Distinguish among acculturation, enculturation, and assimilation.

Acculturation = adaptation to a new majority society Enculturation = passed from generation to generation through language and socialization Assimilation = fully merging into a new culture (not usual for first generation; more typical of later generations)

What is significant about the Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, CA?

Adventists focus on family, God, camaraderie and nature. The claim this relieves stress, strengthens social networks, and provides consistent exercise. This population maintains a healthy BMI, get regular moderate exercise, snack on nuts, eat meat in moderation, eat an early light dinner, and give something back.

How would you describe the current food supply in America?

Americans rely less on imported foods vs. other nations. Food supply of astonishing variety and abundance, independent of season and geography.

What is the difference between an herb and a spice?

An herb is made from the leaf of a plant. A spice is made from the seed and roots of a plant.

What were other crops outside the Fertile Crescent domesticated around the same time?

Barley, peas, lentils, chickpeas, flax, and bitter vetch.

Describe how the Buddhist principles of reincarnation, karma, and non-violence may relate to maintaining a vegetarian diet.

Buddha = "the enlightened one" A person who perfects Buddha's teachings achieves nirvana (a state of calm insight and wisdom, no longer subject to rebirth into the sorrows of existence). Many followers are lacto-ovo vegetarians (they eat dairy products and eggs, but no meat), some eat fish, some obtain from beef, some believe it is permissible to eat the flesh of an animal if they did not kill the animal.

Discuss the spread of chili peppers around the world.

Chili peppers allowed for a wide range of flavors to be produced in different forms around the world.

Name the strategies that food companies use to encourage Americans to consume more of the foods they produce.

Convenience, ubiquity (availability), proximity, frequency, variety, larger portions, and low prices.

Review the process of fermentation and be familiar with the fermented foods discussed.

Converting carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, molds) under anaerobic conditions. Milk (cheese, yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream), meats (salami, bologna, cervelat, fish), grains (yeast breads, beer, sake, whiskey), vegetables (cucumbers>pickles, olives>green olives, cabbage>sauerkraut/kimchi, soybeans>miso/soy sauce/tempeh), fruits (grapes>wine).

List four factors that may influence an individual's choice of foods. Pick one and explain how this factor influences food choices. Provide at least one example to support your explanation. Also include how this factor might change over the course of one's life.

Culture, marketing, health, and cost are four factors that may influence an individual's choice of foods. Due to cultural factors, this influences one's choice of foods from the customs one has. This factor changes over the course of one's life if they migrate to a new country or through the availability of some foods.

Nutritionally speaking, how were the diets of our hunter/gatherer ancestors and what foods did the earliest humans eat?

Diets were healthy, likely balanced, and ecologically variable and geographically dependent. They ate wheat, barley, chickpeas, lentils, cabbages, lettuce, berries, nuts, seeds, and animal protein (goats, sheep, cows, pigs, eggs, fish).

Be familiar with the common types of food preservation methods covered.

Drying = removal of food's water Curing = preserving food through salt and drying Pickling = preserving by acidification Canning = packing food into containers that are canned or heated (destroys microorganisms)

Discuss the difference between enculturation, acculturation and assimilation and provide an example to illustrate each.

Enculturation is what is learned through language and socialization from generation to generation. An example of this is through social identity-food habits, dress, language, family structure, and religious affiliation. Acculturation is what is learned through adaptation to a new majority society through migration. An example of this is the back and forth between traditional practices and adopted customs. Assimilation is the full emersion into a new culture which is most typical of later generations. An example of this is how cultural foods have their own spin in the US vs. the home country.

Understand how food can be used symbolically.

Food is more than just nutrients. Symbolic meaning is associated with a cultural identity.

For Judaism and Islam, describe and compare the dietary laws for food preparation and consumption, as well as the role of fasting. Use examples of fasting practices in each faith to support your explanation.

For Judaism, the Torah sets down the Ten Commandments in which they describe the right way to prepare food. The Kashrut or the Jewish dietary laws is a religious pillar concerned with the fitness of food. Kosher or kashur means "fit" whereas glatt kosher is the strictest standard of preparing food. Islam means "submission" where the Qur'an holds the most sacred writings. Muslims follow the five pillars of Islam-faith, prayer (salat), almsgiving (zakat), fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca (hadj). Eating is for survival and it's recommended to share. Permitted foods are called "halal", unprohibited foods are called "haram". Bread (unleavened) is used as offerings and in prayer.

Summarize the religious requirements of halal and haram foods according to Islam.

Islam = "submission" Muslim = "he who submits" Five pillars of Islam = faith (proclamation of the unity of God and belief in that unity), prayer (salat), almsgiving (zakat, an offering to the poor and an act of piety), fasting (Ramadan, from dawn to sundown, abstain from food, drink, smoking, and having sex), and pilgrimage to Mecca (hadj, once in a lifetime if means are available) Halal = permitted or lawful foods (eating for survival, sharing food, self-indulgence is not permitted, hands and mouth washed before and after meals, if no utensils, only right hand used and left unclean) Haram = prohibited or unlawful foods (all swine, improperly slaughtered animals, blood and blood products, alcoholic beverages and intoxicating drugs, unless medically necessary)

What technological advancements (U.S. and Europe) in the 20th century contributed to changes in food processing, production, distribution, etc. and the rise of the food industry?

Jethro Tull's seed drill improved processing plants, the industrial revolution allowed people to transition from growing food to working in factories, gasoline was used for trucks to deliver, refrigeration, and electricity.

Define the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut for eating kosher.

Kashrut = the Jewish dietary laws (the religious pillar concerned with the fitness of food) Kosher or kasher means "fit" = popular term for Jewish dietary laws and permitted food items Glatt kosher = strictest standards used in obtaining and preparing food

How has overweight and obesity progressed on population level in the U.S. and worldwide since 1980?

Obesity has demonstrated that BMI's have increased in most regions though more children and adolescents are moderately underweight than obese in South Asia, Central Asia, East Africa, and West Africa.

Generally, what are the worldwide trends related to over-nutrition and under-nutrition? In what regions of the world does under-nutrition remain a concern?

Over nutrition leads to a global epidemic of obesity. Most of the world lives in countries where obesity kills more than malnutrition. Under nutrition leads to a lack of dietary deficiencies such as iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin a, and vitamin d. In countries like Mali, Philippines, or in Northern Africa, under nutrition still remains a concern.

Distinguish between prebiotics and probiotics.

Prebiotics = non-digestible parts of food that help bacteria flourish with microbiota accessible carbohydrates (MAC's) like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and seaweed. Probiotics = "good" bacteria in the gut, microbial supplements consumed for health reasons that are ingested to alter the gastrointestinal flora (gut bacteria) for health benefits. Used as treatment and prevention.

What are Hindu dietary practices?

Principles = purity, pollution, self-control, detachment, truth, nonviolence. Hindus avoid foods that hamper the development of the body or mental abilities, many are vegetarian, and adhere to "ahimsa" (avoid inflicting pain on an animal by not eating meat-cow is considered sacred, not to be eaten or killed)

Identify the Christian religions that have specific laws regarding foods and eating.

Roman Catholicism = fast days (lent, ash Wednesday, good Friday) Eastern Orthodox Christianity = leavened bread used for communion, fasting (no milk, eggs, meat, fish with blood systems, leavened bread) Protestantism = Eucharist (Communion, Lord's supper), a liquid and consecrated bread like morsel are offered Mormons = prohibits use of tobacco, strong drink (alcohol), hot drinks (coffee and tea), followers are allowed to eat meat sparingly; base diets on grains, no caffeine Seventh-Day Adventists = food prepared Friday and dishes washed on Sunday, eating between meals is discouraged, vegetarianism is practiced where meat is consumed except pork and shellfish, avoid tea, coffee, alcohol, and no tobacco, water is not consumed during meals

How are spices nutritionally significant and why might including them in one's diet be beneficial?

Spices can have antioxidant properties that can help with reducing age-related wrinkles and preventing chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.

Describe staple foods and explain their significance. Give an example of a staple food from each group (vegetables, fruit, starches, protein). Provide one specific example of how a staple food of a given region can affect the food culture of that region, in terms of the development of culturally significant dishes and food preparation techniques.

Staple food = a food eaten routinely and in appropriate quantities that provide the necessary energy and nutrient needs. Vegetable-greens, fruits-tropical fruits, starches-rice, protein-legumes. A staple food such as rice gave the region of Asia a standard cultural food that when brought to the US, most Asians continue to eat rice with every meal. Food preparation for this culture always includes rice.

Be familiar with staple foods from each group (starches, proteins, fruits, vegetables).

Staple foods are foods that constitute dominant portions of a standard diet that supplies energy needs and other nutrients. Starches are corn, rice, wheat, acorns, fruit, and root vegetables. Proteins are sausages, fish, nuts, dairy, legumes, and soy. Fruits are tropical fruits, cacao pods, durian, coconut, pomegranate, and prickly pear cactus fruit. Vegetables are greens, mushrooms, roots (carrots, potatoes, bushes and vines (eggplant, tomato).

What were some important foods discussed that traveled from the Old World to the New World and vice versa?

Sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkins, livestock, grapes, onions, etc.

Explain each of the factors that influence food choices, per the Consumer Choice Food Model.

Taste = flavor principles influence taste, the tongue has receptors for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Cost = in poorer societies, price is more important than taste. In wealthier societies, food choices change. Local dietary domain affects prices. Convenience and self expression = individuals choose to follow or ignore convention (ethnicity, religion, affiliation, and regional association). Well-being and variety = food habits impacted by pregnancy, puberty, aging, gender, state of health, and body image. Marketers take advantage of the innate desire for new taste experiences.

Explain why the Columbian Exchange is considered one of the most significant events in human history, especially as it relates to food.

The Columbian Exchange was a revolutionary globalization event that changed the world in its entirety. The Columbian Exchange, as it relates to food, offered the exchange of spices and foods that could not be grown in other parts of the world. Tomatoes that were grown in Mexico were introduced to Europe and the Americas.

Identify the most significant crop in the Fertile Crescent. Why was it so important? Similarly, what were the first animals domesticated in the Fertile Crescent?

The most significant crop was emmer and einkorn wheat. It was so important because this grain is used to create bread. The first domesticated animals were dogs, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, chicken, donkeys, and horses.

What are two foods discussed that spread around the world and are not necessarily associated with the regions they are indigenous to?

Tomato and chili peppers.

What happened to the nutrition status of humans when they transitioned from hunter-gatherers to agriculturalists?

Transition to agriculture = increased nutritional deficiencies meaning that health got worse due to eating crops that were nutritionally deficient and limited amounts of crops.

What is the difference between unleavened and leavened bread?

Unleavened = flatbread Leavened = rising bread (yeast)

Briefly discuss what it means for another culture to go through a "nutrition transition." How is this likely to affect the culture in regard to food habits?

When dietary patterns of people in developing countries change aka "adopting Westernized diet". People tend to consume more energy overall through meat and fat and processed foods. This leads to overconsumption which leads to obesity.

How are beer and wine made?

With microscopic yeasts or mold. Wine begins with fruits that are fragrant and sweet with sugars. Beer and alcohols are made from sugarless, aroma-less dry grains.