Autoethnographic Food Journal

Autoethnographic food journal 
Name:
Date:
Major take away
Describe the points of the readings that seemed the most important to you or affected you the most.
The chapter 4 of the reading titled: The Senses: Taste, Smell, and The Adapted Mind” has given me the perspective that my food preferences are dependent upon my culture and my biology. The food the I was presented with when I was young has been programmed into my mind as delicious. It certainly reflects the idea from the reading that there are preferences that are innate. As a learning being, as humans are beyond instincts, but dwell more in learning systems. Genetics also play a big role in the embedded experience of our ancestors in our DNA.
In Chapter 6,"Food as Pleasure”, the concept that stuck with me the most is how it describes good food. The author describes and likens a good meal with music. A symphony that excites the senses in various ways by tinkering with intricate combinations. When different ingredients are in harmony with each other, it produces a unique flavor that stimulates another dimension within human experience. Each combination is a unified whole.
Eat it! (or not…)
List some of what you ate in the previous few days or perhaps something you witnessed that had a food component (a movie about food, a store you visited, a new restaurant, a friend’s cooking, or your service learning experience at one of food pantries or soup kitchens that partners with St. John’s University, etc.). How did the readings for today change the way you viewed this food or event? Be sure to cite a relevant page number from the reading so you can easily refer to it in class /on the exam.
1) Meeting friends and eating at a restaurant for fun. Eating is not merely a continuation of existence, but also a social activity that is shared among people. The food that we eat is our way of getting satisfaction. Because of the reading, I now realize that when people eat outside, they are after the experience of gaining fun and enjoyment in that activity. (Anderson, 2015) People do not necessarily choose what to eat in terms of nutritional value, but by the kind of experience that it can give a person. It is reflected in the journal in the chapter titled Food as Pleasure. Page 96
2) Family dinners- Family dinners are times when the whole family sits and eats together. Family dinners are perhaps one of the most satisfying in terms of flavor. The food that is presented are handed down from recipes of the grandmas and their ancestors before them. This eating activity is not merely for nutritional purposes but also give time for social interaction and catching up with family members. It is a time to enjoy existence with the family while enjoying delicious food. Eating brings peo...