HW 5 - Dominant Discourses Regarding Contemporary Foodways in the U.S.

When people talk about food in the United States, there are a few things they mainly talk about. These are the dominant discourses about food. Dominant discourses are the conversations that surround a subject, and are confined to a few key points. These conversations are “dominant” because many people have them. They are confined, because while the topic of conversation is something that is being discussed a lot, people basically say the same things over and over again, as there are only so many things that are considered “okay” to say.

The main dominant discourses about food in the US seem to center around health, and the ways food can hurt or harm it. If you eat too much, you might become overweight, or obese. If you eat the "wrong" food- fast food or processed food - you put yourself at risk of becoming unhealthy from all the chemicals/preservatives that are in the food, or you are just not eating the right stuff. If you just get unlucky and happen to eat a food that has something wrong with it (ex. Salmonella), you can get sick or die. And if you eat the "right" food, then you are seemingly okay- but what is the right food? Does this simply mean eating more vegetables, or do they have to be organic, farmers market vegetables? Can people really afford to do that?

The foodways of someone reasonably well informed would be mostly healthy. He or she would probably try to eat more vegetables, avoid fast food, try too cook at least some of the time, eat at least one meal a day with family and friends, and eat pretty healthily most of the time. He or she would also exercise pretty regularly and live somewhere that made it possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and overall, be in pretty good health.