The Influence of Food on African American’s Cultural Identity

The Influence of Food on African American’s Cultural Identity
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The Influence of Food on African American’s Cultural Identity
Introduction
It is an undeniable fact that food plays a significant role in the life of a human being and humanity as a whole. The food consumed by an individual or a group of people is integral to their sustainable growth and development across the social, political, and economic dimensions of life within the equally diverse communities around the world. The impact of the food consumed by such individuals or groups goes beyond providing the nutritional value and energy as basic needs for survival to defining the people’s way of life. In essence, the food consumed by or within a group of people functions to create an impression and expression of the individuals’ cultural background. The analysis and evaluation of various elements concerning the consumption of food within a given social setting determine or rather reveals a lot about the people’s way of life. Elements such as the ingredients or the unique recipes used by members of a given group, the dietary habits, as well the values and beliefs pertaining to food consumption play significant roles in determining the social integration and interactions within the community. Hence, it suffices to say that food refers to a lot more than meet the plate of an individual having a meal at home or an eatery as it creates a platform for the establishment of a person’s historical background, opinions, views, principles, values, and beliefs. Such revelations further create an impression of a person’s personality, which reflects their overall cultural orientation. The analysis of some of the elements of food among the African American community, for instance, provides an excellent framework for the development of an informed understanding of their way of life. Provided herein is the evaluation of the relationship between the African Americans and some of the elements of food towards whether or not it influences the former’s cultural orientation or identity in the American community as a whole.
The Correlation of Food to Culture
It is imperative to establish an effective framework for the analysis and evaluation of the different elements of food or practices concerning food and their influence on the African American cultural identity. The development of an understanding of the inter-relationship between food and culture is thus paramount to the research provided herein CITATION Alm14 \l 1033 (Almerico, 2014). The consumption of food, for instance, makes for one of the elements for evaluating the influence of food on the African American culture and that forms an important factor in the development of the equally diverse social constructions concerning intake of food CITATION One15 \l 1033 (Oney, 2015). The distinct expectations on the consumption of food such as the time and number of meals to consume in a day as well as the choices of food items consumed make for one of the characteristic features defining the culture of an individual or a given group in society. The type of food consumed by a given group of people or its members in society further functions to provide a sense of belonging to the partakers of the same and through which other members of society can identify individuals from the particular group known for such consumption CITATION Sha18 \l 1033 (Shah, 2018). In essence, the different food practices are reflective of the unique details on the history, beliefs, values, as well as lifestyles of their perceived affiliate communities. The American obsession with hamburgers, for instance, accounts for its common perception as an American food by individuals from different societies around the world. the same case applies to the common association of Italian food with pasta. The above examples provide a historical background of a given group based on the type of food consumed, which may also function to highlight the eating or dietary habits of individuals from such communities. Such food identities function to develop impressions and expressions of an individual’s personality including their psychological, physical, and social well-being. Hence, food takes the form of a cultural product whose influence in determining people’s way of life should be taken into consideration when breaking down the cultural orientation of an individual or a group in society.
The African American’s Food Culture
African Americans' food practices or culture play a significant role in the development of the community’s identity in the United States society as a whole. The African American dishes, for instance, function to create the community’s unique social construction concerning food and thus forming an essential element or feature upon which the community’s cultural orientation develops. The unique food-based social construction stems from the historical background of the community’s food practices and the transition of the same across different external influences into their current forms as witnessed in today’s world CITATION Cul14 \l 1033 (Decanted, 2014). The fact that the elements of food or food practices function to highlight the historical background of a given group of people necessitates the understanding of their origin.
The African American community established in the United States through and during the era of slavery. The forefathers of the African Americans were shipped to the United States as slaves from Africa and with them came the indigenous food practices of the Africans coupled with other cultural practices CITATION Wal16 \l 1033 (Wallach, 2016). The African slaves kept upheld their food practices in an effort to maintain their African cultural orientation in foreign lands. The inherited food practices of African descent have been instrumental in the development of the African American identity upon which members of the community find a sense of belonging CITATION Sha18 \l 1033 (Shah, 2018). African Americans ’ food practices further contribute to the cultural diversity of the American food culture with their unique ways of food across the country. Among the inherited elements of food include the type of food consumed by members of the community that include sorghum, okra, and watermelon. These food substances were shipped along with the African slaves to the United States and their incorporation into the countries food culture functioned to bring positive changes to the country’s diet and eating lifestyles. Among the captured slaves from Africa were the community’s traditional cooks who brought the traditional recipes for African dishes with pronounced influence in the African American dishes as witnessed in the Southern states of the American society. However, the historical background of the food items consumed by the African American community coupled with the unique ways of preparation and consumption of the same only function to provide common characteristic features of the community’s food practices that may be shared across different societies across the United States. However, it is the more intricate details of the habits around different elements of food that function to influence the cultural depiction or identity of the African American community. It is these habits that form the basis for the different or unique perceptions of individuals from the African American community and upon which the cultural identities form. Nevertheless, the authenticity of the said impressions and expressions of the African American culture based on their food practices makes for a contentious issue that requires detailed analysis and evaluation for validation. Among the existing perceptions or impressions of the African Americans’ cultural identity based on their food practices include the notion that individuals from the community have large appetites that reflects the large volumes of food they eat in a given meal CITATION Wal16 \l 1033 (Wallach, 2016). Such...