One of my favourite things to do when I am in a new place is visiting grocery stores. I like walking on the aisles, looking at different products and letting myself be amazed by the diversity (or in some areas, lack of diversity). I look at the prices and convert them to my home currency. If I understand the language, I sometimes look at the ingredients, especially those I have never seen before.
I enjoyed the three readings for this week, but Food: The Key Concepts (Belasco, 2008) really resonated with me. Telling people I am in the faculty of Land and Food Systems often comes with a couple of confused looks, and if the person is curious, a couple of questions.
Belasco helped me express why food systems should be studied and why I decided to study food. I liked how he talks about food and the optimism with which he addresses some of the current issues of our food systems, such as the “true cost” of food. I also liked how the author emphasizes the importance of academia towards better food systems instead of creating polarization between academics and grassroots movements. I will send him an email to see if he wants to grab virtual coffee with me (wish me luck)…
I also really enjoyed the media studies reading. Although I have been learning in a somatically and a symbolically way my entire life, it was nice to understand the difference between both types of learning.
Question from me to you: Do you visit grocery stores when you travel?
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- Picture 1 – Chedraui supermercado, Oaxaca, 2019.
- Picture 2 – COOP, Switzerland, 2019.
- Picture 3 – My dad visiting grocery stores with me in Richmond, 2019.
Quotes that I found and liked on this week readings:
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- ” Our daily life is a trip around the wo
rld, yet the wonder of it gives us not a single thrill. We are oblivious” (East, 1994, as cited in Belasco, 2008). - “Food identifies who we are, where we came from, and what we want to be.”(Belasco, 2008)
- “Food reveals our souls” (Fine, 2008, as cited in Belasco, 2008))
- ” Our daily life is a trip around the wo
Hello Fernanda, my name is Katerina. I really liked your post because as you yourself do I also love to visit grocery stores every time I travel. My favourite part is always to look up local specialities and indulge them with no regrets. I also really liked the section with your favourite quotes especially the one that says “Food reveals our soul” (Fine 2008,Belasco 2008). I reckon this quote carries a lot of wisdom with it because by looking at the food you like and how you eat it I believe you can understand and get to know the people and their culture on a deeper level than you would think. A simple thing such as food can encompass deep meanings.
I love visiting grocery stores when I travel! My favorite was going to the market in Iceland, it was so different from where I grew up in North America. I agree with you and Belasco on the importance of food system academia, because education about things like the true cost of goods and sustainability is incredibly important looking forward, especially facing issues like climate change.
Hello Fernanda! I found your reflection super relatable. The first thing I want to do when I travel to somewhere new is either check out local grocery stores or go out and try local cuisine. Though I haven’t travelled much outside of North America and China, the most interesting grocery stores I’ve been to have been in Kauaii and Shaghai (lots of the items are very different from those carried here). I agree with your opinion on the importance of studying food systems as I believe that such topics will become more important in the near future.