Food Symbolism (Maria)

Question 1

What is food symbolism?

Answer 1

An object, image or action that is conventionally understood to represent something else.

Question 2

Name at least 3 reasons why food is a powerful symbol.

Answer 2

1. It is very deeply embedded in everyday as well as celebratory life
2. It can be read in many ways
3. It fulfills physical as well as psychological needs
4. It may be intentionally utilized as a symbol in some instances but not in others
5. It engages many senses, thus evoking strong sensory, emotive and cognitive associations.

Question 3

What are the 3 properties of symbols?

Answer 3

1. Property of condensation
2. Property of unification
3. Property of polirization

Question 4

What is the Incorporation’s Principle developed by Social Scientist Claude Fischler?

Answer 4

You are and become what you eat.

Question 5

Why can’t we eat anything?

Answer 5

Because to preserve one’s identity, one’s integrity, one needs to eat specific foods and eat in a specific way.

Question 6

What are the 3 conditions for a food to be considered edible?

Answer 6

1. It must be safe to eat
2. It preferably sustains health and life
3. It must acceptable to eat it

Question 7

What fat symbolizes in many cultures?

Answer 7

Wealth

Question 8

Why fat symbolizes wealth?

Answer 8

• Fat is came from expensive sources
• Use of fat for cooking is more expensive than stew
• Up until 20th century being fat was seen as a display of wealth

Question 9

What carbs symbolizes?

Answer 9

Power and refinement

Question 10

How sugar symbolizes economical power?

Answer 10

• Sugar made the wealth of many traders and merchant societies
• Sugar was so expensive, the use was controlled

Question 11

How sugar symbolizes military power?

Answer 11

In Antiquity, Middles ages and Renaissance, sugar was used to symbolize victory and power.

Question 12

Who developed the principles to have something sweet after a meal?
A) Arab-Islamic Empire
B) Turkish/Ottoman empire
C) Italy
D) France

Answer 12

B
Turkish/Ottoman empire

Question 13

What are the 4 things that access to fat and meat symbolizes? And what about the consumption of meat?

Answer 13

Wealth and power (inequality)
Human dominance over nature
Strength
Virility

Consumption of animal protein has become the symbol of triumphant capitalism

Question 14

What salt symbolizes?

Answer 14

Attribute of the divine

Question 15

Why does salt have a strong connotation?

Answer 15

• It gives meaning to life and to living
• And when salt is removed => meaning, purpose, value and interest are lost

Question 16

Why was salt seen as “white gold”?

Answer 16

It was
- used as currency
- highly traded
- used for speculation
- used to pay for work done

Question 17

What are the impacts of dietetics changing certains food in favor of others?

Answer 17

It will
- change how one is seen
- deny what one has worked so hard to get
- deny one’s possibility to identify to a specific set of values