Monday, 21 September 2015

YOU EAT THOSE WORDS!!!













We need food to survive, like writers need to write to survive,
like alcoholics believe they need alcohol to survive.
In this blog post I will be covering the roles alcohol plays in writerscafe.org as well as what role food has in writerscafe.org.

Food seems to be where the power is, when you think about it, look at Mcdonalds, KFC, Coles Supermarket, Woolworths, they’re huge companies to do with food.
 McDonalds seems to be the most powerful out of the mentioned companies because, not only is it cheap and fast, but it doesn’t taste all too bad. 
McDonald’s practically have consumers eating out of their hands. 

I believe this quote somewhat best explains what I’m pointlessly raving about:
“Overweight and hungry people are linked through the chains of production”
“our choices are not our own” (BA1002, Lecture week 8, slide 8, Patel, 2007, p.1)

For a while, writerscafe.org did experience the horrors of not only foodie blogs but also a lot of writing coming from writers under the tasty wiles of alcohol. I found a great example of writing under the influence here as well as a foodie recipe, here!
References:
Kuttainen, V., Patel (2007, p1)  (2015) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place: Food Networks, Lecture 8, slide 8. Retrieved from: www.learnjcu.edu.au
Keewee93 (2015) Writerscafe.org. Retrieved from: http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/keewee93/1472645/ Rickymarozz (2015) Writercafe.org. Retrieved from: http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/rickymariozzz/1592824/
Image reference:
(21/09/15)
Retreived from: 
https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1440&bih=946&q=dora+the+explorer+map&oq=dora+the+explorer+map&gs_l=img.3...1848.6513.0.7392.21.16.0.0.0.0.626.1089.4-1j1.2.0..3..0...1.1j4.64.img..19.2.1086.een3LUSh27I#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=eating+paper

Food Glorious Food

Food Glorious Food

 

We can’t live without food, it’s a fact but do we need to take a picture of every meal and post it on a social network? I don’t think so and I’m not the only one check out this link and see what others have to say.
A social media craze that just won’t go away is taking photos of your food and sharing it with your friends on social media. I personally don’t see why people do it however I can tell you about how other people have come to understand it. For some taking photos of food has become a form of art and as such they are always looking to find the best and the most stunning shots of foods, as it was said in the lecture food is just not food (Learn JCU, 2015). Others however seem to be food photographers because the want to appear to be having the best of meal ever and are in way showing off. To an extent I believe that some people do it to show their social status, the better to food looks the higher up the social ladder you must be.
Facebook is a platform for food photographers as on Facebook you are able to create pages dedicated to one type of food or it could be a page dedicated to a more general type of food. Not only this but once on a social network your food can be seen around the world. The food photographer revolution is one that I feel be around for a lot longer than any other trend because it fits in so perfectly with the lives of so many people and now it has become a habit.

References

Learn JCU. (2015). Retrieved from Lecture 8 Food Networks: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2008961_1&course_id=_69740_1


Maps, Maps, Maps



Image credit: Google image search


For this week (more like what was meant to be a thousand weeks ago) I shall explore how Writerscafe.org works with maps!
in the wise words of Dora the Explorer: “Map, map, map map. Map, map, map map, Hooray!”

Wrtierscafe.org brings together “two people feet apart, two people, a world apart” (Seeing through Maps: many ways to see the world, Denis Wood, Ward l. Kaiser & Bob Abramms, pg. 1 and 2)
Writerscafe brings many people from around the world together, with the common interest of writing.
Maps can be presented in many different ways, it can be virtual, physical, even in your mind!
Mapping in itself is very broad, as shown in the lectures: “Maps are both mirrors and shapers of the world, they reflect how we see the world,
they inform and shape how we act and conceptualise the world” (Kuttainen, BA1002 Lecture week 4, slide 11, 2015)
To follow up on this there are creators and there are followers, quite like Writerscafe.org if you really want to go deep here.
At writerscafe.org, there are the creators/makers who of course write the stories and the poems and then there are the followers who are better known as the readers.
And a lot of the time, especially at writerscafe.org, there are creators who are also followers and followers who are also creators. For example,
when I first started at writerscafe.org 3 years ago, I was a reader – I then became both a creator and a follower, where as some are
“Detached observers strolling through the streets at a leisurely pace” (Prouty, 2009)
References:
Abramms. K&B, Wood. D (Page 1 and 2) “Seeing through Maps: Many ways to see the world”, retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892285_1
Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 4, Maps.
 Prouty. R (2009) “Turtle on a Leash” Retrieved from: http://www.onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle-on-a-leash.html
Image Reference:

Foodblogs make me cry.

Food is obviously a very important part of surviving, to the fact that we need it to live. What is so great about food is that each culture, and race has different kinds that you can say, essentially, will remind the eater of the origin of that food. For example, Mexican or any sort of Asian food in my opinion just make me want to go there just because the food is amazing,  Kuttainen (2015) understood and explained it well when she said "that food is indeed a repository of a culture." Tumblr being a blog that connects people and their interests together allows people to show and display food that they either like or what they dream of eating.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUvGyJPCQAE9gFN.png

Food blogs on Tumblr can make people cry, smile, hungry, drool, or just annoyed at the fact that they don't have access to the food in the picture in that moment or at all.  With weight becoming more of a problem due to people's excessive intake of food, and sitting behind a computer screen major of the day, it isn't a shock that one-sixth of our population is overweight (pastel, 2007). Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram are the go to sites to look at food, with the ability that we have now with businesses becoming more up to date with technology culture one does not even have to leave the house to get food like Pizza, Chinese, McDonald's, etc. Food can relate to the sense of POWER; with food lightly linked to income and status and even health, as you won't see a billionaire trying to scrape for dollars to try get a decent, healthy meal, as take away is a lot cheaper than healthy products. They will be eating something made by a chef at a expensive restaurant, which can lead to them posting a picture on their blog to flaunt their money/food.

With this it is easily shown that food can be linked with power to Tumblr, and any other social media site, as food or any other object can be used to effect one either positively or negatively.

Reference List;;

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Food Networks. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from Blackboard Learn JCU: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892329_1

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Retrieved from: www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

The Diaspora of Pinterest


Image from: Venture Burn.
Diaspora, originally defined as the dispersion of Jews beyond Israel, now moved to a wider definition of the scattering of people from there home land. Pinterest is a way of linking these people together even thought there are worlds apart. The idea of linking people around the world together almost instantly.
During the gold rush era in Australia, many thousands of people with a variety of different cultures moved here. “The diasporic community can exert pressure on the younger generation to maintain traditions and connection to homelands.” (Kuttainen, 2015). 
The “community organisation that defines their cohesion.” (Ma Mung, 2005) relate to pinterest in the way that communities or groups are made from the same types of topics.
Reference

  • Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 7: People Networks.[Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/
  • Ma Mung, E. (2005) Diaspora, spatiality, identities. In W. Bosswick, & C. Husband. (Eds), Comparative European research in migration, diversity and identities (pp. 33-48). Spain: Univeristy of Deusto.

Facebook a.k.a. Foodbook?

                                        [Image: Bulandos, R, 2014].

Food is essentially a concept of life. It is something that is essential for us, as human beings, to survive. The six main foodways are: self and community identity, space and place, reality and virtuality, communication, exchange, and power, (Atkins, P, Bowler, I, 2001). Two of these foodways, communication and power, will be exemplified in the setting of the social networking website, Facebook.

Communication is a key feature of Facebook. Due to the fact that food is such an essential part of our lives, it is natural for some of us to communicate this need for it on social media. Facebook is a brilliant resource that people use to share recipes, photos of food that they have made, desire to make, or have been served, and also to discuss experiences with food. In addition, Facebook provides food brands or companies to promote their business and communicate to their followers what promotions they have on or what is new in their food chain. Facebook provides it’s users with the opportunity to share narratives, and this includes narratives regarding food.

Power is an additional foodway which will be linked to food, in the setting of Facebook. According to Kuttainen, V, (2015), food can be a, “source of shame or pride”. This quotes demonstrates that food has the power to affect someone’s self-worth. Food also has the power to affect how Facebook users see each other. If someone posts a photo of themselves eating at a very expensive 5 star restaurant, then they may, as a result, be viewed as higher class. If someone ‘checks in’ at McDonalds, then they may be seen as lower or middle class. Food has a large amount of power on Facebook.    

In conclusion, it can clearly be seen how food is directly linked through communication and power to Facebook. Food has the potential to have a significant effect on the social networking website, Facebook. More can be read about the relationship between food and social media here.

Reference List
Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place:       Lecture 8. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au on 18/09/15.

[Image] Bulandos, R. (2014). 25 Ad Designs That Will Make You Look Twice. Retrieved from           http://ymbproperties.com/blog/25-ad-designs-that-will-make-you-look-twice/ on 18/09/15.

The Cyborg Self and How We Continue to Fill Its Needs

Image From: Content Time.

The world as we know it would end if the internet was to be; disabled, destroyed or decommissioned. The people on Pinterest tend to show with the endless need to show what they like, what there doing or what there going to do, they continue to fill their need to create there cyborg self.
From this weeks incredibly long and dense readings i found that it relates really well to Pinterest, as it does to Facebook, in the sense that “what we understand as human is indeed a product of cultural and technological innovations in combination, making us cyborgs” (McNeill, 2012). Pinterest more shows what you like, what your into or what you might think of doing rather then what your doing/done. It’s post-human in a sense, but it also shows the sides of humanism in that it most of the images pinned of there only show what we as humans find important or popular. It is possible to follow people boards on Pinterest thats how topics tend to become popular or trendy.
“The cyborg self of social networks has tremendous potential for rethinking the human.” (McNeill, 2012) as “In a virtual space, you are not the only person constructing your identity.” (Luyn, 2015). These linked statements nail the world of social media and someday everyone well live with this in mind.

Reference
  • McNeill, L.(2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. Biography 35(1), 65-82. University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from Project MUSE database.
  • Luyn, A. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 6: Networked Narratives: Intertextuality .[Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/
  • Carr, K. (2015). How to Tag Pinterest Members. Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-tag-pinterest-members.html
Image Reference

Sunday, 20 September 2015

FoodChat

Food is a hugely important part of society (outside of the need to eat to keep alive). Alot can be told about a culture by the kinds of food it makes, ingredients used and ways of eating. Kuttainen (2015) said it best when saying that food is indeed a repository of a culture. With this digital age though, food is becoming less of a cultural indicator and more of a personal statement, with specialised restaurants becoming more and more frequent as global connectivity is letting people know that there is a whole other world of cuisine to try. Snapchat lends it self particularly well to restaurant culture.


The reason I believe this is because being solely for photo and video, with very little room for text, is perfect for a restaurant's needs business-wise. There's nothing more disappointing in the world than your order coming to the table and looking fantastic and having it taste like garbage. Before you tuck in though, you might remember to send a snap out of how wonderful your food's presentation is, to friends and colleagues who were perhaps wondering where to eat this weekend. The minimal use of text doesn't allow for a full review either. Not only this, but Snapchat lends itself very well to food because, as stated previously, it's intrinsic to culture, and nothing makes a person seem more cultured, interesting and open minded than seeing them eat a huge variety of national cuisines. It could also simply be the concept of "food porn" that appeals to people, food that they can envy others having and leave it entirely up to their imaginations what such a treat would taste like. Food Network has a list of Snapchat accounts to follow that show nothing at all BUT food, so to that I say, bon appetit. Though whether or not this food culture contributes to the one-sixth of our population that is overweight (Patel, 2007), is anybody's guess.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Food Networks. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from Blackboard Learn JCU: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892329_1

Milam, A. (2015, June 18). Snapchat Stars: Food Lovers to Follow. Retrieved 20 September, 2015 from Food Network: http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2015/06/snapchat-stars-food-lovers-to-follow/

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Retrieved from: www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Unknown (2014). Apple. Retrieved from: http://mojo.dailybruin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_5614.jpg

Real or Fake?


Diaspora is a common term to describe Dispersed communities that can be considered a form of people networks. There are two main features in this term 1) A hub of origin (a central pole of dispersal and various clustered places of immigration) and 2) Links (real or imagined) between members of the various poles of the migratory space (Kuttainen, 2015).


Throughout snapchat the term diaspora is rarely used and unless a user is having a conversation about it the chances are of hearing or knowing about it is very little. Although in certain media like Facebook, which have constant updates and information based on current events that are connected to diaspora unfortunately it seems like snapchat does not cater/acknowledge any of these affairs. It’s sad to type this knowing that so many people die trying to flee from their country due to wars or leave their country/culture/family to get a better life and yet all you can see on snapchat discover is what Kylie Jenner is wearing to dinner, if Drake wants Nicki Minaj or Serena Williams or Justin Bieber new photo shoot.. You could say that Snapchats can connect people with certain origin, ethnic or religious background in a sense on the live stories, as it connects hundreds of peoples’ snaps and connecting them together through this. These live stories like certain public holidays, concerts, festivals and fundraisers can connect a group together that have left their common origin but this is only a virtual sense of connection. In reality there is nothing that mentally or physically connects these people. When you think about it there is a difference between diasporas and each are related to a mode of a community organization that defines their cohesion (Ma Mung,2005).  A community have a bond and on live snaps on Snapchat they are a virtual community but it does not play apart in their daily life or their history of how they got there.


Reference
Kuttainen,V.(2015) BA1002:Networks,narratives and the making of place, lecture 7. Retreieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_69740_1&content_id=_1892235_1&mode=reset


Ma Mung, E.(2005) Diaspora, spatiality, identities. In W, Bosswick & C. Husband. (Eds). Comparative European research in migration, diversity and identities (pp.33-48). Spain:University of Deusto. 

Snapping Food


When it comes to social networking systems you could say that the craze of food photography is a huge trend. People all over the world like to show off to everyone on what they are currently eating or craving. You could take into consideration that these photos could be unconsciously posted onto social media for more than just the reasons that they intentionally planned. When a person posts on social media about what food they eat it can shape how people see them just like how their images of clothes or house they own can influence their identity. When people post on social networks of what they eat it can cause a chain reaction of questions to their identity from where they are to what they can afford to how wealthy they are/what social class they fit in to what culture they might be to what religion and it goes on and on (Atkins, 2001). At times a simple picture can also show their culture again influencing their identity in that networking system.

 Food can be known as a repository of culture (Kuttainen, 2015) as each culture have certain dishes that they specialise in giving the people and the culture their identity. A person’s identity is affected by food photography in good and bad ways. When posting a photo of a tub of chocolate ice cream and M&Ns next to it saying “love me some chocolate”, people are given a different look to someone else who posts a similar picture saying “ My Cheat Meal”. The person who just says “love me some chocolate” is given a unhealthy identity or that they don’t look after themselves when in fact they could be really fit and just love chocolate. However the person who says “Cheat Meal” people think that they must be fit or gym junkie when in reality everyday could be their cheat meal and they just don’t show it.



However Snapchats food photography is somewhat limited. You could say that there are times when people snap their food and say “dinner” or “date night”. This still can cause the chain reaction of questions that I mentioned earlier however it is only limited as after 10 seconds or 24 hours people can no longer see it and the next set of snaps can then influence the identity. However on discover there is a Food category that can influence the community of Snapchat as well as on live there are festivals that have images of food which again influences the identity of that particular culture or event being live streamed. 


reference list 

Atkins, P & Bowler, I. (2001) chapter 21:the origins of taste. Food In Society:Economy, Culture, Geography (P.p273). London, Great Britian: Arnold. 

Kuttainen, V (2015). BA1002:Our Space:networks, Narrativesand the making of place. Lecture 8:Food networks. (powerpoint slides). retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2008961_1&course_id=_69740_1  

Where Cyborgs Go To Die

A ‘talking stick’, also known as a ‘speaker’s staff’, is an apparatus of aboriginal democracy used by many tribes, especially those of indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America. The stick is passed between a group of people, and whomever has the stick has the power to talk. If this idea were incorporated into Tinder, the metaphorical talking stick would be given to those who swipe right last in a pairing.

http://www.yourtango.com/2015251011/10-worst-tinder-dates-ever-witnessed-by-bartenders


As discussed in previous posts, to open a message with a potential match, both parties must have swiped right. This means that the first person to find out that you and your future S/O have matched is the second swipe-er. This gives this person the power to send “The First Message” or in Tinder terms: “The Cheesiest Pick-up Line Possible”.
Because of these specifications, the power of the speaker’s staff goes to the second swipe-er and therefore has nothing to do with cultural groups or demographics. This in itself facilitates communication between diverse groups of people - or more specifically, has the potential to facilitate communication between diverse groups of people, depending on the diversity of your ‘swipe rights’. However, though the power of the speaker’s staff goes to the second swipe-er, access to speech is spread out evenly among users.
So, given that the power of the speaker’s staff is given to the second swipe-er, that person also has the power to direct the flow of conversation by creating their mood with their specific online identity (Kuttainen, 2015), (McNeil, 2012).

For example, should you begin with “I’m an apple farmer who missed out on farmer wants a wife”, the humour gives the first swiper the ability to respond in kind, “You should’ve led with ‘you’re the apple of my eye’”.
OR should you begin with “Hey, how are you?”, the first swipe-er can only respond in kind “I’m fine, thanks.”

However! Unlike with other social media mediums, it is IMPOSSIBLE to maintain a virtual persona that is unlike the IRL persona you have, for one very simple reason.
The idea of the app is to ACTUALLY MEET IRL.


References:
Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002 Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place. Week 3 page 3


McNeil, L. (2012) There is no I in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography.



(Marking disclosure: FLOSS! I was trying to put my portfolio together when I realised that this week 6 post wasn't up but it's been sitting in my BA folder since then... so I didn't really know what to do...) 

The Cyber-Organic Canivore

   You would not treat multiple severe lacerations by chumming down a charred steak. Then why so in games like Minecraft? And why does a loaf of bread not fill your character while a single grilled pork chop? Although farming is not really a part in any of the games on the Mineplex server, it is still relevant as food gathering and medicational consumption is vital. Power seems to be given to meat, when it comes to sheer (though now indirect through a hunger system) healing power, with steak and pork chops as the most potent. This highlights power dynamics within the game, while the game is international and has a massive following, it would be hard to imagine this game aimed at Jewish or Islamic players. Furthermore a vegetarian would little choice but to suffer with impotent bread. As Patel  (2007 pp2-19.) puts forwards, the capitalist consumer world is about convenience, for the retailer; there is little actual choice for food consumption choices for these people. Although these beliefs may not necessarily translate into this virtual space, it is something to consider. Another interesting point is in the game primary focus on meat, this is a token sign that this game was made by reasonably wealthy people in a wealthy country, which really encapsulates the issues of childhood inactivity and obesity  in these countries.

References.

Patel, R. (2007) Introduction . Stuffed and starved: Markets, power and the hidden battle for the      world food system. (pp. 1-19). Melbourne, Australia: Black Inc.

penny,(2006)[Image]. pork chops (homecooked) - delicious!

Saturday, 19 September 2015

Food Networks on Facebook

 Food networks on Facebook
By Madelaine Sacco

Retrieved from http://spaceelephant.com/ 

Facebook has the ability to be integrated in to the food network as a form of communication and exchange. Through Facebook, individuals can gain access to recipes from all over the world, including those from their country of origin (if they were/descended from migrants). As the Week 8 lecture describe, ethnicity was a food way that shared cultural recipes regardless of whether the ingredients are obtainable (Kuttainen, 2015). Thankfully, Facebook is a large basis for food networking, and so it is easy for an individual to ask others about where to find certain ingredients so as to try foreign or familiar recipes.

“One factor in the origin and persistence of foodways is that they often represent an important expression of our identity, both as individuals and in reference to a broader ethnic, class or religious grouping” (Atkins & Bowler, 2001). Atkins and Bowler (2001) discuss food as an expression of identity, and the same can be said for expressing identity through food on social media. Often you can find pictures that individuals have taken of their home made recipes, or a meal that they are having at a restaurant; all of this is indicative of a person’s identity. Through their choice of meal, or whether they are trying ‘something new’, an individual is giving hints of what kind of person they are, and their type of cultural heritage, based solely on cuisine.

Facebook itself has a unique interaction with food networks; including various pages created by people solely devoted to food, to posting pictures of a meal and commenting on cooking technique, the variety of food networking through social media such as Facebook is truly astounding. Videos are commonly shared showing cheat ways to cook an easy meal, or the success of baking a difficult looking pastry; Just last week a video was shared showing how to bake and decorate a cake so that it looked exactly like a watermelon. The topic of food on Facebook is a common and easy way to communicate to other cultures while surpassing barriers such as language, skill, and location.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Food Network, week 8 notes. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au


Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Food In Society: Economy, Culture, Geography. New York, USA: Oxford University Press Inc.

Friday, 18 September 2015

Farming and levels



Farming food has been very helpful to the advancement of the human race, however recently through food networks many places no longer require their own farming for food. The food networks as Kuttainen puts it "leaves many people stuffed and many starved" which is true for Dota also. the only difference accept Dota the characters choose to except this and help our team rather than take the farm they require. Many characters choose to play the less stuffed hero's so that they may do a better job at supporting the team rather than farming. This is relative to life except typically those supporting those at the top don't have a choice in the matter. There is a choice in Dota though, pick the supporting heroes and help your big eaters get food, or everyone suffers.

When farming in Dota you farm creeps and gain gold from that through the lanes, the best way is to farm all lanes to be efficient, however sometimes it is better to let the farm just go if it'll cost to far to move it or move to it. Also it is possible to deny farm to like when India just left food to rot as stated by Patel. When denying farm you spend time not getting the farm yourself but nor does the other team get to farm and get strong, making your network better. And when the network is strong the weaker leaks also gain strength from the farm. When the big heroes have eaten the other heroes have chance to catch up on their own farm while the bigger heroes start going for the larger targets. As such the food network grows stronger as the weaker leaks get bigger. Dota is far different from life as it takes a communist approach to food, but its still an interesting comparison.

Bibliography


 
Kuttainen, V. (2015) Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, lecture 8: Food networks [Powerpoint Slides] Retrieved on September 18, 2015 from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Patel, R. (2007) Stuffed and starved. Retrieved on September 18, 2015 from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Let Them Eat Cake





Photograph credit: Healthy Food Healthy Hearing


“It could plausibly be argued that changes of diet are more important than changes of dynasty or even of religion.”- Orwell (Atkins & Bowler, 2001) Food is considered one of the most important factors of everyday life. It is unusual to have a celebration without food. On our birthdays we eat cake. At Easter we eat white meat. On Christmas we eat our nannas famous cooking. Food is the comfort that we create that project our culture and celebration traditions. Is it true that Australia has no traditional food from our own origin? Of course we have Tim Tams and Vegemite although this large country is not known for a traditional dish as India is known for its spicy curry’s and America is known for its supersize McDonald’s meals. It is a stereotype that we think of these countries connection to these food groups. The “repository of culture” (Kuttainen, 2015) is projected throughout every aspect of our life. The purpose of food is projected everywhere. The shopping centre is purposely created for food alone alongside restraints and cafes. The world without food would not be productive. Thousands of food recipes are printed and hundreds of cooking shows are filmed just to test the creations of food flavour. Food is the petrol of our body’s. Diets are create around food and fitness counts on what fuel we are putting to our system. The healthier you are the more likely you are to post a ‘selfie’ of yourself on Facebook. It is the culture of Australians to eat although has food overruled our lives? Do we now just eat because food tastes good or are we eating to quench our tastebuds? The dimension of food is everywhere. Is a banana really just a banana or can we follow a history trail back to discover where it really comes from? Do we live to eat or eat to live?



References:
Food Culture, N.D. (2015) In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Food_culture

Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 8: People Networks. [Powerpoint Slide p.2]. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Chapter 21: The origins of taste. In R. Radojicic (Ed.). Food in society: Economy, culture, geography (pp. 272-295). London, Great Britain: Arnold.