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Food is an important factor in the everyday human life. Humans need food to be able to live. But how did the food people eat today come about, no one really knows the in depth explanation. What about more common foods that are a part of everyone’s everyday lives, like potato chips. They are a simple, easy snack food that is commonly in every American household. But does anyone know how they came about, who invented them. Well, let me explain a little about who that person was. The inventor of the first potato chips was a man by the name of George Crum. Crum was an African American man who worked at a lodge in New York as a chef in 1853 (Chamberlain). According to the story goes, Crum was trying to invite a smaller French fry that customers couldn’t use a fork with. In the end Crum invited what is now a major snack food in the United States and all over the world. So why exactly did I bring up Crum’s …show more content…
We have all been there! It is the same way with soul food, with benefits come drawbacks. Many will agree that soul food is great and warms the soul of the consumer, but what are some of the drawbacks to eating this delicious cuisine on a daily basis? The one major drawback is that most soul food is prepared with Crisco and other greasy substances used to cook that aren’t good for us. Any person that eats soul food on a regular basis without proper workouts or exercising of any type has an increased possibility of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and other cardiac problems. The article states that this is a major factor in obesity in the African American community and a reason why many of modern blacks have a shortened lifespan due to the consumption of these greasy, fatty foods in a large quantity throughout their lives (Soul). Speaking of modern African Americans, how does food intertwine with the modern culture of African
Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" and George Tillman's box-office hit Soul Food explore the hardships and trials of black family life, and through the characters, setting, and theme of both the story and the film, the issue of class and the search for community is discussed.
In the essay “Her Chee-to Heart”, by Jill McCorkle, she discusses about the various difficulties she has encountered of being a junk-food junkie and the struggles of overcoming the guilty pleasures of junk food. Firstly, one of the many difficulties she encounters are her feelings, which ultimately overwhelm her into continuing to eat various types of junk foods. Her feelings of nostalgic memories when consuming such goods as a child, the enjoyment and the savory tastes it grants her, are constantly mentioned throughout the essay, directly contributing a major factor into her desires of junk food. Furthermore, while she is quite aware of the consequences regarding the health side effects of consuming such foods and what the food is ultimately
Schlosser sets off chapter 5: “Why the Fries Taste Good,” in Aberdeen, Idaho at the J. R. Simplot Plant where he introduces John Richard Simplot, “America’s great potato baron,” (Schlosser 111). Simplot dropped out of school at 15, left home, and found work on a potato farm in Declo, Idaho making 30 cents an hour. Simplot bought and turned profit on some interest-bearing scrip from some school teachers and used the money to at 600 hogs at $1 a head. He feed the hogs horse meat from wild horses he shot himself, later selling them for $12.50 a head. At age 16 Simplot leased 160 acres to begin growing Russet Burbank Potatoes. In the 1920s the potato industry was just picking up as Idaho was discovered to have the ideal soil and conditions for successfully growing potatoes (Schlosser 112). Soon Simplot was the “largest shipper of potatoes in the West, operating 33 warehouses in Oregon and Idaho,” (Schlosser 113). During World War II Simplot sold dehydrated potatoes and onions to the U.S. Army. By the time he was 36 he “was growing his own potatoes, fe...
Soul Food explore the hardships and trials of black family life, and through the characters, setting, and theme of both the story and the film, the issue of class and the search for community is discussed. Big Mama wanted her family to come closer. The more she tried, the farther apart they became. During her struggle, she encountered many obstacles including her own son 's beliefs, but she did not let them curve her appetite to gain higher status in society.
As a child I remember my mom preparing Sunday dinner Saturday afternoon. I was told it took time to prepare everything. Then come Sunday dinner after church we had some of the biggest meal placed before us. Mac and cheese, collard greens, cornbread that looked like pound cake, pork chops, fried chicken, etc. As I got older I asked for some of those recipes and she could never answer what all I needed to do she showed me. Her main concern was I loved what I was cooking and to cook to please others. I guess that explained all the salt, pepper, and other heavy ingredients. I choose to write about soul food because I believe it’s a part of my heritage and its a meal I enjoy from time to time. African American Registry states that in order to understand
Nutrition and health have become more popular in today 's society. Our generation is becoming more and more indebted to the idea of being healthy and eating nutritious meals. However, in “The American Paradox,” by Michael Pollan he argues that our unhealthy population is preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthy than their actual health. He also mentions the food industry, nutrition science and how culture affects the way we eat and make food choices. While Pollan is right about all these factor that affect our eating habits, there is more to it than that. Convenience, affordability and social influence also affects our food choices making them inadequate.
This research paper are for those who tend to eat food specifically geared toward their culture and have never veered from it. One would see this research essay as a form of reference/reasoning to their many questions regarding the upheld idea that soul food is the only predominant food choice in the typical African American home. It also signifies the reason it is held at the highest standards of those within the African American race/community. It also centers around those who wish to enjoy other foods but are culturally stuck to eating only things that are generalized to what is considered a norm within their community or race. My goal is to educate those who have been deterred form trying new foods, due to lack of support
Traditionally-prepared soul food have the tendency to be very high in starch, fat, sodium, cholesterol, and calories. This has been very problematic for the black community because it increases the risk of diet-related diseases such as obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. The preparation of soul food is the key element of diet-related diseases. Some preparations would include reusing lard, increasing the acceptable amount of sugar, large quantities of salty meats, and overcooking greens. Collectively, have an increased impact of the overall health in the African-American community. Yet because of the fine print terms and conditions behind the health risk of soul food many still
Eating five to six servings of fruit, choosing whole grains or even just avoiding foods high in density can be a step closer to reducing chances of becoming obese or overweight. Mark Bittman in his article, “Is junk food really cheaper,” argues that Americans are wasting their money on junk food or fast food restaurants when that money could be used towards a healthy home cooked meal. He persuades the readers to have alternatives. Instead of buying McDonalds’ French fries people should get apple slices, instead of drinking sodas drink water, instead of buying junk food get vegetables. Bittman states, “The fact that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes.” I agree food (fast food) plays a huge role unto why Americans are so overweight. It is because fast food is so convenient and inexpensive to some. Even if a person wanted to eat healthy from a fast food restaurant, salads are more expensive than a burger or chicken nugget meal. How can a person with low income choose the “healthy” way when the healthy way is more expensive? Although fast food can be beneficial more so convenient in the short term, it can be very detrimental in the long term. One man filmed a documentary where he was supposed to eat McDonalds three times a day. Unfortunately during the film, he had to stop because his health started to fail. This shows that fast food is indeed not good for people’s
When I hear the words “soul food” I immediately think of the history, the traditions, and my family. On the other hand, those people who are not familiar with these terms; they consider it to be just food. Sure you might also think of hushpuppies, fried chicken, collard greens, grits and ribs, but do you know how and why they came about. Not many actually do. As Baraka concluded his essay he stated, “I guess a square is somebody who’s in Harlem and eats at Nedicks.” I can also agree with that statement. I can see those same squares everywhere else in America; they eat at McDonald’s.
In the book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser writes about the fast food industry. Schlosser tells the story of J.R. Simplot, the man behind McDonald’s source for potatoes. He started his own business right out of the eighth grade, after dropping out. He started out small but eventually became one of the riches men in America. He owned then 160 acres of land to start off this business. He sold his potatoes to companies at first all natural. But he soon discovered that if you dry out the food it will keep for longer, more companies then bought from him. Then in the 1950's he found out about freezing them, and the method of frozen food. McDonald’s started buying and selling Simplot fries. The customers seemed to like it, they didn't mind the change or even realize it. As a result though from freezing the potatoes, they lost a lot of the natural flavors. Companies began cooking their food in a high percentage of animal fat to capture that flavor, but soon they switched. They traded beef fat for more chemicals. The fries flavor all depends on the chemicals, it is all fake, and there is even more saturated fat from their fries than in their burgers.
Our society nowadays is rather different from the society that existed previously. Throughout the history, the habits of people have dramatically changed as well as the lifestyle did. The development of new technologies that we are able to witness in our days is changing how we live and how we perceive the environment around us. With regards to this, it would not be a surprise that our eating habits and how we view the food have also changed with the flow of the time and that the junk food is gaining larger popularity. With the growth of the junk food consumption, people become concerned with the quality of the food they eat and with the effects that it has on their health. Speaking about the influence of junk food on the health, many researchers
Food is a major part of everyone’s everyday life. It’s hard to imagine life without the chocolate cake on your fingers or a carne asada taco in your mouth. Enjoying delicious desserts and fast food seem extremely magnificent to eat and spend money buying them. Although, there have been many controversies in the United States on how it’s the largest country with the most obesity regarding children, which affects their health, many people are still going throughout their day snacking. Many people in America are having full course meals with thousands of calories in one sitting not knowing the short term or long term side effects that are going to take a huge toll on their lives. Food is delicious, but it comes with a secret behind the savoriness/sweetness.
It became so clear that junk foods lead to a punch of catastrophic diseases like obesity, type two diabetes, vascular diseases and cardiac disorders. Those kinds of diseases cost more than $150 billion annually, just to diagnose, treat people who suffer from them. That disease is chronic and leads to many health-related issues, for example, obesity considers a risk factor for type two diabetes, and high blood pressure, joint disorders and many others (The Denver Post 2012). The key of preventing many chronic problems is nutrition. Low income plays an important role of limiting most people to buy and eat a healthy diet and in the other hand, it is easy for people budgets to purchase junk foods. So controlling the prices of healthy foods to be suitable for all people make good nutrition available for everyone. Adequate diets mean decreasing the epidemic of those serious diseases, and stopping the spread and break the bad sequences that may happen. Long-term exposure to junk foods that are full with chemicals like additives, preservatives have led to chronic illnesses difficult to treat. Also, the chemical added to junk foods are tasted unique and made millions of people becoming addicted to them and are available everywhere for example in restaurants, cafes, lunchrooms (The Denver Post
Creating healthy snacks and foods is a great way to maintain a healthy diet. Especially if these healthy snacks are involved in schools. Obesity in children has increased from “5% in 1994 to 30% today”(Zinczenko 462). By introducing healthy snacks at a young age will help aid in a healthy lifestyle. Instead of offering chips at school with less sugar and salt offer a bag of baby carrots or a mixture of fruit and vegetables. I personally would’ve loved to had vending machines in school that were filled with healthy snacks that could be purchased at any time of the day. Scientist who published a study in The New England Journal of Medicine stated, “The largest weight-inducing food was the potato chip. The coating of salt, the fat content, the starch of the potato itself- all of this combines to make it the perfect addictive foods”(Moss 490). An easy inexpensive snack that has become one of the main causes of obesity is the potato chip. I love potato chips but just reading this makes me want to never grab another bag. Moss makes greats points that I strongly agree with. The unhealthy food is out there and the problem is, it’s very accessible to society and inexpensive. Moss makes point how