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Cultural Foods and Their Global Differences

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Cultural Foods and Their Global Differences

Cultural Foods and Their Global Differences As a lot of us are aware there are many different cultures in the world that have different eating habits. It really depends on where you are and what culture you are in. The cultures can range in so many ways from being dependent on having fast food to only having home cooked authentic meals. In some cultures they still use recipes and methods that date far into the past. In this research I will be going over a few different ways cultures precede with their consumption on food and how this may reflect their everyday lifestyle. In the United States there are thousands of different cultures that take place when it comes to eating. One of the biggest things that come to mind is the vast amount of fast food in the southern states. When going over parts of the book “The Human Mosaic” It is very noticeable the percentages of sales of fast food. Southern States such as Louisiana and Alabama they consume up to 50% or more in fast food, where as in states such as Maine, Pennsylvania, Vermont, etc… consume less that 30%. This might be why there are a higher percentage of obesity in the south put there is no physical proof that the assumptions are true. Some parts of the United States eating habits can be quite diverse from each other. Even though some cities can have a very popular food it’s hard to not find what kind of food you are looking for. Cities such as Chicago and New York City are well known for having deep dish pizzas, whereas cities like Kansas City, Memphis are heavily influenced by preparing barbeques. It is safe to say that having access to different kinds of foods can vary by location. States around the coast may pull a bigger portion of foods from the ocean because they have easier access than states in the Midwest for example. Different ethnicities in the United States can also make an impact on eating habits. Cities that may have a high immigration rate might see more stores and restaurants that are affiliated with different cultures around the world. For example in San Francisco there is a part of the city called Chinatown. This area has a high ethnicity of Asian people and most traditions/culture methods are performed as they would be in the country of china. On the other side of the world the Country of China has a very different approach to food cuisine. Though there are many different varieties of food to choose from it is not considered normal to rely on different variations such as pizza, barbeques, pasta, etc… They also do not rely so much on fast foods. It could be that in the country of China it is not as diverse as some countries like The United States for example.
For a typical Chinese meal it can consist of two things. The most common food that is included in most meals is a carbohydrate like rice or noodles. The second portion of a meal is foods like vegetables, meat, or fish. In some cases they might also get a side of soup before or after a meal. A big difference to note in eating is that in Chinese and Japanese culture they use chopsticks and ceramic dishes for utensils. The reasoning behind that is these cultures feel that using forks and knifes for eating is considered barbaric because they can be used for other things such as a weapon. In the country of Italy foods consist of a lot of pasta. Italians are thought to be narrow mind and do not really delve into different cuisines as much as others, however, younger generations are starting to experiment with different foods around the world. One of the biggest things is having home cooked meals together as a family. This is considered as more of a tradition dating back to as far as the 4th century BC. Based off of one of my sources I was reading it states that approximately 5% of Italians eat out on Sundays. Their meals have two courses which are called primo and secondo. The primo always has some sort of pasta and soup that is hand made that very day. The Secondo course can vary depending on what part of the region you are in. The course can range from having fish and meat to having multiple side dishes. For the country of Iceland there are limitations as to what they can have for availability to eat. In the middle ages it was very tough to find any kind of food being that it has harsh winters and only 1% of woodland. Vegetables are not able to grow here because of the weather so all of it is imported. The biggest food source in the country is fish thanks to its surroundings of the Norwegian and Atlantic seas. Lamb and dairy are also considered big components of food sources. Though there are many different kinds of cuisines in the world one thing that I seemed to notice in my research was the choice of foods each culture eats has an influence of its natural surroundings. Iceland’s main course of food is fish based that its surrounded by oceans. America has many variations of cuisine because of its diverse ethnicity and religion. China and Japan consume a lot of rice because it was originated in the eastern hemisphere. As the world advances in global trades I feel that every country will eventually be able to have much larger variations to choose from in cuisines. Most countries do have these different options already, but I think it will get to a point where countries will be more like North America and have multiple regions of different authentic food.

Works Cited
Wertz, R. (2011, 01 01). Food and drink. Retrieved from http://www.ibiblio.org/chineseculture/contents/food/p-food-c01s01.html
Domosh, M. (2013). The human mosiac. (12th ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. DOI: www.whfreeman,.com/geography
Italian food culture, all about joy, family and tradition . (2012, 01). Retrieved from http://www.discoveritalianfood.com/italian-food-culture.html
Weichselbaum, E. (2009). Traditional foods in europe. Retrieved from http://www.eurosfaire.prd.fr/7pc/documents/1263815283_traditional_foods_can_sustain_european_cultures.pdf
(2011). Explore the USA. Retrieved from http://travelfoodanddrink.com/north-america/usa/
CSP Daily News. (2013, 01 02). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.cspnet.com/industry-news-analysis/marketing-strategies/articles/mobile-living-social-media-shape-americas-food

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