Everyone has some involvement with food, therefore it is the common thread among people from different backgrounds, religions, cultural or ethnic groups, and even socioeconomic classes. It can bring people together as well as clarify differences between them. Cookbooks and recipes reflect a society and are a snapshot of where the nation stands in its history.₁
Examining eating – perhaps the most instinctive and basic human act – can point out social and political processes, watersheds and beliefs, and that food itself, including the alleged ‘quiet’ and ‘sidelined’ practices relating to the food culture created, can serve as a historical ‘recorder’ of much louder events, developments and decision-making.₂
Israel’s national identity …show more content…
“Ethical eating” and organic food are actually other ways to fuel consumerism and display one’s social status.₅ More affluent individuals can assert their social standing by purchasing from organic farmer’s markets, receiving Community Supported Agriculture boxes, and shopping at their local “Eden Teva Market,” a chain based off of the American Whole Foods Market.₅ The reality is that organic food, in many ways, has become superficial, as the guidelines for what is organic has been watered down and prices are raised for often identical products.
The difference between rich Israelis and poor Palestinians is a difference between individualization and community.₅ Poor citizens do not have the luxury of having likes or dislikes when it comes to food, as they eat whatever is available to them. “This functional attitude, which disconnects food from pleasure, dominates how Palestinians from poor backgrounds think about food regardless of their contemporary financial circumstances.”₃ On the other hand, wealthy people can choose to eat organic or to eat meat more regularly and have the opportunity to develop tastes and …show more content…
“Organic Spinach and Edamame Hummus” is a product that one can easily find in a store in the United States, which goes to show how much food can evolve from its original form while globalizing. In America, hummus is often vaguely referred to “Mediterranean” food, which demonstrates how foods that heavily break into the main market are stripped of their ethnic backgrounds, history, and individualization.₃ Both hummus and Israel have evolved and are continuing to evolve, have historical ties, and are globalizing rapidly, which can lead to confusion and conflation of what the real identity