Food and Eating: M. F. K. Fisher and Douglas Bauer

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Food and Eating Essay
M. F. K. Fisher and Douglas Bauer are among the most renowned writers who produced numerous works pertaining food memoirs as well as other remarkable articles. Bauer wrote a collection of stories that tell people about his life and that of his parents, including the kinds of food they ate, their daily lifestyles, as well as the regrets and rewards they encountered as they aged. On the other hand, M. F. K. Fisher is considered as a patron saint on issues associated with food. She managed to demystify and transform the way Americans perceived issues associated with food. From the cultural perspective of Americans, there are numerous issues that I can relate to, especially when analyzed from the viewpoint of my mother and father.
Food preferences in American-Indian families are culturally determined, and our parents played an instrumental role in ensuring that all meals are prepared from the perspective of our culture and traditions. For instance, our mother was responsible for all the activities that were taking place in the kitchen. This implies that she decided which kind of food would be eaten on a specific day. Our father was responsible for providing the finances that were instrumental in purchasing the food that was being eaten at home. Ethnic food of American Indians differed from the conventional foods that is common in American diet. For instance, our mother concentrated on preparing the modified version of the American diet, and this implies that it differed from the common foods such as pizza, hot dogs, fries, and pasta that is commonly eaten in the regular American diet.
Rituals associated with food and eating habits were also influenced by the cultural aspects of American-Indians. For instance, the American-Indian traditions require the mother to be assisted in performing kitchen activities by our sisters and other female relatives. Just like in the case of Fisher and Bauer, this indicates that the role of gender at home was a major factor when it comes to preparation of food. Females were traditionally responsible for activities associated with food and eating habits. Our father was only responsible for provision of food, and he rarely participated in the preparation of food. It is also important to note that there were cultural influences when it comes to the taste preferences of food and eating. The American-Indian food was usually divided into different portions where the father was served with certain parts of meat while children were required to consume healthy foods instead of junk foods. Eating healthy was key determinants when it comes to provision of food and parents induced their families to eat more fruits and vegetables that were considered as healthy.
What was more ambivalence about the cultural practices of American Indians is the emphasis that was placed on healthy eating. This implies that the mother and father played an instrumental role when it comes to creation of a flexible, malleable, and healthy eating culture. Most of the food structures did not lack presence of fruits and vegetables and this implie...