The Land of the Lost
We are drifting down a river of pasta sauce, littered with french fries stuck in a boat of deep-fried nonsense. Watch out, meatball dead ahead! The American food scene has no identity, no soul and frankly no nutrition. We are a nation of fast food, delivery and eating on the go. Who doesn’t love a burger in the car? Our food courts have more choices than the breakfast buffet on the Vegas Strip. We love to mix Mexican with Italian and call it culinary fusion. But really our food culture more resembles a confused teenager — goth one year, emo the next and currently resembling a bearded hipster. We are jumping to and from food trends faster than we can digest our last meal.
There have been moments of glory. Who doesn’t love a cronut, fancy toast or maybe a blooming onion with dipping sauce. But the these have been sandwiched with culinary atrocities like the KFC Double Down. #justdont
I am all for trying new things, but at some point we lost our creative juices and just started throwing things together and calling it art. All I see is a few squiggly lines. Should I try to squint more? We love our options. Nothing seems more American than a family of four eating four different meals, all from separate restaurants at the same table, at the food court, in the mall. We celebrate our food diversity. It has however, destroyed the creation of a distinctly “American cuisine.” If I were to describe the current American food philosophy it would be any type of food, in any place, at any time. Convenience is the one ingredient for all of our food. We ignore growing seasons, local specialties and most importantly, taste. All sacrificed so our food can look the same and be served in square cardboard boxes or wrapped in branded foil.
Reader Note — this is going to get complex, confusing and abstract. I promise to get you back to the ground level before we finish.
The Tactics
We are in a time of immense nutrition discussion. Food has become as polarizing as the 2016 presidential election. We know what we love and what we hate, but are unable to agree on anything in-between. Love it or hate it, food culture is actively shaping your life and silently shaping your health. It has a bigger impact on your finances and lifestyle than any other factor in your life. There is not only an economic gap in this country, there is a massive nutrition gap — or maybe they are becoming one in the same? Here is what is driving this:
1. Political — Food is political, there is no way around it. It’s at the center of everything, even if you consume it on the go, in a car, you are making a political statement. Food tables are where deep rooted and intense political conversations happen. What you eat, where you eat and how you eat is a defining statement of your social class and maybe more importantly, your social ambition. It’s hard to avoid these topics when understanding American food beliefs. Choice still stands at the center of this. Americans want anything at any time. This is the reward of prosperity and hard work and has become connected to our food philosophy. Over time this has turned a beautiful idea into a sneaky pest that’s overcomplicating and undernourishing our bellies. If you still don’t believe me, the way you think of food is part of this political statement.
Let’s look at an example: Farm to table is all the rage in every liberal American city across the country. It represents a return to local, organic food — REAL FOOD. This food trend existed before the days the Pilgrims landed the Mayflower on Plymouth Rock. The farmer who works in the field, collects the eggs, and kills the chickens is seen a figment of the American past. Do you think he or she ever bothered to call the food they ate “farm to table?” How redundant and silly. Yet as a nouveau food culture, we are grabbing hold of these ancient practices and proclaiming them new. Calling this as the new American food cuisine would be like un-ironically dressing as a cowboy in Times Square and being surprised when people look at you funny. Quick confession — I am totally on board with the farm to table movement no matter how faux it is, even though this realization makes me cringe a little, but not enough to stop eating avocado toast. I just want you to realize what is really going on here and how important food is in stating your view of America — more important than even the clothes you wear.
2. Industrial — Everyone understands the journey of the hunter/gatherer to the farm. It was a monumental shift in human evolution. Growing food was your life. You were tied to your land for survival. Without it, you were dead come winter. What most of us miss is the 2nd, but equally important food movement — from the farm to city. It changed how we grew food. Previously, farms grew many different crops and raised animals. They were often self-sustaining but limited in scale and submissive to the seasons and weather. This meant many small farms that supplied cities with food but all worked independently of one another. They created better-tasting food but were way less predictable. This can be scary as food shortages and price fluctuations can be a part of daily life. Politicians hate this because the image of a hungry child is bad for business. So after WWII, we changed this and went all in on industrial farming and mono-crops. One in particular: CORN CORN CORN. From a societal and mathematical perspective is quite brilliant. If we limit the input for the entire food system to one cheap and readily available crop (corn), we can make cheap food for everyone! From beef to chicken to Twinkies and of course soda. Corn is part of everything you eat, it becomes ingredients like Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Baking Powder (cornstarch), Calcium Citrate, Citrate, Corn Meal, Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Decyl Glucoside, Dextrin, Maltodextrin, Dextrose (glucose), Malic Acid, Xanthan Gum along with dozens and dozens of others. I don’t mean to bore you with a regurgitation of the Micheal Pollan view of food and the American food system, but want to make it clear that most of your food choices are driven by this process and therefore the American food culture. Corn is why we can have hundreds of different foods on the shelves in the grocery stories. Corn makes food cheap. Corn maximizes food options. Corn makes food over-processed and homogenized.
3. Complex — How is it American to tell people what they can and can’t eat? Why should we limit options, remove convenience or increase food prices by removing government subsidies or including environmental costs? There are obvious reasons to do this and obvious reasons to not, but more importantly being aware of the situation might just be enough for now. There is nothing simple about this process — food is global and it’s hard to tell whether the chicken you had for lunch is from a local farm from a few miles away or shipped halfway around the world. It takes attention to detail and nuance to find the hidden signs to figure out what is healthy and what is not. Time, effort and sadly money are all a part of this equation. What is being missed here is the direct impact food has on your physical and mental health. Making food choices is the same as making health choices. The more conscious you are of these decisions the higher likelihood you are of being healthy.
Nothing lives on an island by itself — food options, lifestyle and health are all connected. The science of food, the ingredients of food and the nutrition of food like saturated fat, sugar and carbohydrates can’t be taken lightly. How you buy food, where you buy food and how you eat it combine to create your food understanding. Are you eating a burger in your car or grilling with friends in the backyard? While the meal might look the same, the experience couldn’t be more different.
The Villains
We didn’t just end up in this place. We started down this journey with more idealistic views and goals. More food for more people. Corruption and greed blasted their way past these ideals and took root like a bad egg, spoiling the rest of the meal. If you were going to look at one of the major villains you can’t ignore the sugar industry aka Big Sugar. If Big Tobacco was the culprit of the previous generation, I believe Big Sugar will be the same for our generation. You might see this as an over-reaction. I am here to tell you it’s not. In fact, the Rand Institute published results showing obesity is linked to higher rates of chronic conditions than smoking, drinking or poverty.
On that top of that, we know that 50 years ago the sugar industry paid researchers to fudge data to show that fat was far worse than sugar. They purposely and maliciously manipulated the overall scientific discussion. It was simple and overt fraud. If you were to look at one single moment that changed the American understanding of food and could be directly responsible for the crushing numbers of obesity, this would be it. I am not suggesting we blame the sugar industry for the full scope of the obesity problem in the US, but they gave us the biggest push in that direction providing false information to consumers and confusing an entire generation of what the “healthy” choice was.
The Fools
Even with all of this out in the open, the most influential, yet undiscussed player in the American food culture is the US government. They regulate our food, require nutrition facts to be disclosed and decide how food can be labeled. They decide for consumers what is “healthy” and what is not. The FDA should be an expert grouping of the smartest nutritional minds in the world. In fact, it’s exactly what you expect — a bureaucracy with little scientific understanding or food knowledge.
If you want a reference point to the efficiency of a food agency who knows little about food and is easily influenced by sugar and corn conglomerates, it is like:
- Throwing gasoline on a fire
- Peeing into the wind
- Letting kids play with fireworks
- Diving into the shallow end
- Eating yellow snow
The result has been poor administrative decisions that shaped American food culture with little basis in scientific fact, but rather based on economic and political influence. Need an example? The food pyramid helped create the current food crisis that pushed carbohydrates and fought against fats with veggies and fruits stuffed in the middle. We know today that this was largely false and based on poor science. It was convenient at best, negligent manslaughter at worst, but really all about self-preservation. Americans are left to fend for themselves and do their best to ignore this government sponsored propaganda that has been fueled by the villains of the food world. While this sentiment might appear radical and sensationalized, it echoes the health and food crisis in the US. We spend more on health than any other developed nation and for the first time ever, we are seeing diminishing returns. Pile on the fact that childhood obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents over the last 30 years and you see the concern. Action is the only option.
The Saint
Simple beautiful style. Elegant grace. Butter, butter and more butter. Funny way to think of the healthy food movement and while some may differ, I believe Julia Child is our food savor. With a life that spanned most of the 20th century, she brought good food to Americans. Yes, French food, but more importantly she showed America how to cook and therefore how to eat. Her personality was showcased in her cookbooks and TV shows and in the meals you eat today. She connected Americans to their food. In a time of TV dinners, Wonder Bread, and Twinkies, she started a movement. She made cooking fun and brought it to prime time. Without knowing it, she has shaped your meals more than anyone else in recent history.
Not everyone joined in, and in many ways, this was the divergent point. For the next 20–30 years there were two food movements. The organic food movement crawled like a turtle much in the darkness of the food generations of 70s, 80s and 90s while the processed food movement raced ahead like a rabbit. You know the tale and all things economic and political pushed the rabbit ahead. In the last 10 years, forgotten but never gone, the turtle showed back up in the more obvious places of Napa and the Hudson Valley, and more obscure places like Portland, Austin and even Las Vegas. Food became the scene and with that, the culture moved once again.
The Saviors
How did we get back to the glory days of Julia Child? Welcome to the world of the celebrity chef. They are witty, opinionated and a touch obnoxious. Sounds pretty American to me? From Wolfgang Puck, Guy Fieri, Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay and my favorite Anthony Bourdain, they showcase the beauty of culinary flair.
Food is so rock and roll. TV shows, best-selling books, movie appearances, these men and women are the epitome of American culture. Flaming skillets with seared meat and saucy dishes full of flair, personality and rock star flavor. They make cooking look fun, sexy and wizardly all at the same time. These meals have been paired with craft cocktails and Napa wines to make Monday nights as fancy as a dinner party in the Hamptons.
Like celebrity chefs, Americans are loud, in your face and moving faster than their legs can keep up. Maybe this is what will define our food culture? Most cultures have a set pantry when it comes to their diets. Foods and recipes passed down from generation to generation and dictated by the landscape. Maybe this will never be the American way. The American dream might always mean many food options at all times of the day. America has always been a unique place, different from all the rest, maybe our food culture will follow the same path? More defined by its personality than its ingredients?
I am a firm believer that the more connected to your food you are, the healthier your will be. If that means Guy Fieri’s bleach blond hair and back of the head sunglasses are part of the culture, I will give him a pass in order to further the chances of winning this food war.
Winner Take All
If it hasn’t been obvious, I have chosen a side. This was not an unbiased article, it is an opinion piece. I am not suggesting it’s time to figure out your opinion on food or your notion of American food culture, I am yelling it as loudly as I can. My stance on this matter is clear, but I urge you to make your own. Health and food decisions shouldn’t be relegated to day, week or month segments. A diet trend or a 30-day plan is a feeble attempt in health understanding and therefore by sheer volume designed to fail. Take a health stance that can last 5, 10 or 20 years. The same way you might choose a financial strategy for your retirement or home mortgage. Don’t bite off more than you can chew and always be more conservative than what might be required today. In the end, if you want to binge eat and drink through your final days, I would suspect you will have made it farther than most and have the energy and vigor that will allow you to take that bullish approach. Trust yourself and create the food culture that embodies your background and health beliefs. #merica
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