Article: Divided We Eat
Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/11/22/what-food-says-about-class-in-america.html
I once read an article on how "Obesity is the Illness of the Rich." However, "Divided We Eat" by Lisa Miller cites the opposite trend: that obesity is not the illness of the rich but the plight of the poor. Miller argues that while corpulence used to be a sign of being well-fed and wealthy in the past, obesity has become a sign of poverty in today’s fast-food society. Obesity is more prevalent in poorer areas as lower-income families are forced to buy inferior goods -- sugary, fatty foods that are filling for a low cost. Fast food restaurants have seen sales increases with economic slowdown; although it might be unhealthy, McDonald's Dollar Menu is substantial for a cheap price. Upper classes tend to eat healthier, trendier foods because they are able to afford it – shipping exotic cheeses from around the world, eating organic apples, sprinkling kale in their cereals. The author of the article even went on to call food a fashion. According to Miller, the French do not have this problem as they see food as something to be shared and as a means of bringing people together -- unlike Americans who see food in terms of calories and nutritional value. The idea of banning the sale of soda to food stamp recipients was also mentioned in the article, with arguments in favor of and against the proposal in New York. Ultimately, Miller argues that food has increasingly grown as an indicator of social status in the United States.
The author goes on to elaborate how her neighborhood is "foodie", being able to afford to follow special diets of organic Whole Foods and local grocer markets, while just a few blocks away in Brooklyn, other families are struggling to make ends meet and feed their families anything at all. I personally find it ridiculous how these people can ship cheeses from around the world as a mark of social status and then act concerned about the food-insecurity of inner cities. While sipping her imported breakfast and chatting with her equally food-obsessed friend – the author states that "[she] cautiously [raised] a subject that had concerned [her] of late: less than five miles away, some children don’t have enough to eat; others exist almost exclusively on junk food." Miller was supposedly concerned about her fellow city neighbors going hungry. However, she herself was eating luxuries -- an Alessi capuccino with organic milk and imported parrano cheese from the Netherlands! Moreover, her wasteful friend bought a bushel of organic apples even though her mother-in-law already offered her regular apples, an instance which just shows the disparity of the rich and the poor.
Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/11/22/what-food-says-about-class-in-america.html
I once read an article on how "Obesity is the Illness of the Rich." However, "Divided We Eat" by Lisa Miller cites the opposite trend: that obesity is not the illness of the rich but the plight of the poor. Miller argues that while corpulence used to be a sign of being well-fed and wealthy in the past, obesity has become a sign of poverty in today’s fast-food society. Obesity is more prevalent in poorer areas as lower-income families are forced to buy inferior goods -- sugary, fatty foods that are filling for a low cost. Fast food restaurants have seen sales increases with economic slowdown; although it might be unhealthy, McDonald's Dollar Menu is substantial for a cheap price. Upper classes tend to eat healthier, trendier foods because they are able to afford it – shipping exotic cheeses from around the world, eating organic apples, sprinkling kale in their cereals. The author of the article even went on to call food a fashion. According to Miller, the French do not have this problem as they see food as something to be shared and as a means of bringing people together -- unlike Americans who see food in terms of calories and nutritional value. The idea of banning the sale of soda to food stamp recipients was also mentioned in the article, with arguments in favor of and against the proposal in New York. Ultimately, Miller argues that food has increasingly grown as an indicator of social status in the United States.
The author goes on to elaborate how her neighborhood is "foodie", being able to afford to follow special diets of organic Whole Foods and local grocer markets, while just a few blocks away in Brooklyn, other families are struggling to make ends meet and feed their families anything at all. I personally find it ridiculous how these people can ship cheeses from around the world as a mark of social status and then act concerned about the food-insecurity of inner cities. While sipping her imported breakfast and chatting with her equally food-obsessed friend – the author states that "[she] cautiously [raised] a subject that had concerned [her] of late: less than five miles away, some children don’t have enough to eat; others exist almost exclusively on junk food." Miller was supposedly concerned about her fellow city neighbors going hungry. However, she herself was eating luxuries -- an Alessi capuccino with organic milk and imported parrano cheese from the Netherlands! Moreover, her wasteful friend bought a bushel of organic apples even though her mother-in-law already offered her regular apples, an instance which just shows the disparity of the rich and the poor.
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