'American Comfort Food & Culture\r'

' sympathiserableness diet for thought, in common parlance, refers not adept to the sustenance obtained from edibles, just now similarly to the guts of well-being obtained from counter. In this case, it whitethorn be psychological or emotional satisfaction. As defined by YourDictionary. com, comfort viands is â€Å"any viands eaten not precisely for its pleasing taste but also for a sense of contentment, nostalgia, etc. that it provides. ” The miserable reality is, the pleasing taste in most(prenominal) cases does not equate with hefty food. Comfort food, piece of music it provides feelings of soothing extravagance and gratification, may rescue ill do on the body, and the persons concerned may or may not even realise it.Yet one wonders why plenty, though cognizant that definite foodstuffs ( worry the nicest tasting hot up) argon unwellnessy, quench partake of it. Upon closer analysis, one sees that food and diet be inextricably conjugated to, if not embedded in, evolving society and culture. use up got the case of the States, where one can witnesser comfort food in deuce distinct and interesting dimensions: degradedfood that is usually barren of nutritional eccentric; and traditional gastronomy reach batch by one measures to an otherwise, as exemplified by authentic to the randomness the Statesn cuisine, painstakingly prepared by the matriarch of the househ octogenarian as junior family members look on and assist.Fastfood has wrick a highly profitable industry and spherical phenomenon, while home cuisine zeal is becoming a vanishing art. As families become immersed in the vicious cycle or struggle to survive, attain work success or recognition, traditional meal preparations are being replaced by cheap newsbreak meals. â€Å"Saturated fats and meats are displacing grains and fresh vegetables. Meal metres are shrinking. McDonalds is everywhere. ” (Walsh 36). Regular fastfood fare a the man be on burger s and fries continually entice young and old alike, in America and other part of the creative activity.â€Å"The sapidnesss of childhood foods seem to leave an indelible mark, and adults often return to them, without always wise to(p) why. These comfort foods `become a witnesser of pleasure and reassurance, a fact the fast food bonds work stiff to promote” (Schlosser 123). Huge marketing budgets have been allocated to convince consumers to head for fastfood restaurants with kids and other family members in tow. What people easily take for ruinn is that as they opt for fastfood meals, â€Å"they consume much calories, less fiber, and more fat” (Schlosser 241). blubbers may be categorized as grievous or bad, and among the most hateful sorting is trans fat found in fastfood staples like french fries. Trans fats contained in hydrogenated cooking anele pose a banging riskiness to sum of money health, as studies have revealed. â€Å"It serves to dislodge current efforts to get trans fats out of the American diet” (Boyles, parag. 5). Obesity, fatty liver and heart problems are but some of the dangers of fixedness fastfood consumption in big servings.Fortunately, dowery curb the health dusk among America’s population are medically hold uped reports and a growing health consciousness that have spawned concerted efforts by consumer groups to ban â€Å"the use of trans freats in restaurant food in major cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago” (Boyles, parag. 5). This had also generated â€Å"pledges from a growing number of fast-food restaurant chains to make their crossroads trans-fat free” (Boyles, parag. 5). Showing an darling gesture of support in such(prenominal) initiative or clamor to give consumers healthier food options are fastfood companies like Wendy’s and KFC, to name some.Home-produced food may be the norm in certain societies, and â€Å"it shouldn’t be surprising th at the societies that have been most successful at retaining food cultures are the ones that have also resisted the deplume of Westernization” (Walsh 39). This is not to say, though, that traditional fare like Southern American cuisine is not laden with calories, sugar and fat. Southern American food with multicultural cultivates includes deep-fried foods and gamey gravy make with pan drippings and remnant coffee (Brant parag. 3).If not taken in moderation, they may pose some undesirable health effects, Economics likewise lays a big role in people’s food options. â€Å"Most Southerners were subsistence farmers who relied upon their on harvests to feed their families” (Brant, parag. 3). Delectable dishes, notably â€Å"big country breakfasts of eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausage and grits, and supper plates of chicken-fried steak, corn cacography and collard greens provided farmers with the fuel to work from cheer up to sun down in the scorching heat and humi dity of the south” (Boyles, parag. 5).While certain recipes and ingredients of south American cuisine stand out, the myriad, longed-for flavors reflect â€Å"a combination of culinary heritages from around the world” (Brant, parag. 1). In many parts of America and major cities around the world, contributing to the decline of traditional mealtimes are the trappings and offshoots of the young technology era. There is media, with its powerful influence; and migration from slow-paced rural communities to cities marked by fast lifestyles. â€Å"Not only do these changes confer stress for families, but nutritional quality declines as well” (Walsh 38).Cornell University Professor of nutritional Science Jeffrey Sobal, was quoted by age as saying that ”parents complain that they make [traditional] dishes, but the kids won’t eat them. They requisite the things that they see on television” (Walsh 38) and consenting adults acquiesce. Indeed, various interweaving factors shape now’s American food culture and while â€Å"we might †indeed must †disinvest up the worst of the fastfood excesses, trying to conserve the diets that keep us both culturally and physically healthier, no one pretends we’re ever going to turn back the clock entirely” (Walsh 39). It is, after all, the age of convenience products.Further boosting the popularity of fastfood restaurants is the business strategy of way not just on product innovations but also in providing a complete customer experience. Hence, McDonalds has its Playland to appeal to tots. other(a) fastfood restaurants strategically focus on a theme, slogan or attitude to yet lure customers, wittingly or unwittingly. all in all told, fastfood has both an upside and downside, While most present-day comfort foods meld flavor and texture for utterly enticing eating options, consumers will do well to take a moment to determine if these foods are worth the momentar y pleasures they provide.As for restaurants who have made a giant step towards religious offering consumers the healthier route through food alternatives that limit dangerous ingredients, it is high time they sustain their initiatives that will put a country’s burgeoning population down the healthier path. \\ Households that find it difficult to retread their dietary paths are usually hindered by budgetary limitations. It can be gleaned that inexpensive, time-saving fastfood has supply the rapid growth of fastfood outlets on a global scale, Individuals with high standards of living, on the other hand, are better able to try out and widen their food choices.Indeed, given today’s societal trends and the fastfood phenomenon, only time will tell if healthier and tastier alternatives to trans-fat-laden `comfort food’ will see the day. In the meantime, America is seen grappling with diet-related illnesses even as health empowering news updates are little by littl e holding sway Works Cited Boyles, Salynn. â€Å"Researchers enounce Findings Justify Move to Reduce Trans Fat in U. S. Diet. ” Emedicinehealth. com. 26 March 2007. 13 appalling 2008 <http://www.emedicinehealth. com/script/main/art. asp viper? articlekey=80077>. Brant, Kelly. â€Å"Southern Comfort. ” Allrecipes. com. 13 August 2008 n<http://allrecipes. com/HowTo/Southern-Comfortâ€Southern-Food/Detail. aspx>. â€Å"Comfort food definition. ” YourDictionary. com. 13 August 2008 <http://www. yourdictionary. com/comfort-food>. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The lowering Side of the All-American Meal. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. Walsh, Bryan. â€Å"How the World Eats. ” TIME June 2-July 2, 2007: 36.\r\n'