Food and Cultural Identity

Food and Cultural Identity

Introduction

Food habits are related to cultural identity and are influenced by cultural and social training. Religious traditions, social class, the income, food restrictions and prohibitions are characteristic of each culture. Social transformations introduced new dietary habits and consequently new identities that became part of everyday life, generating new needs that emerged as a result of economic, social and technology (Heinzelmann, 2008). The particularities of each region coupled with the influence of the colonizers and immigrant cuisines made ??them one of the most diverse in the world, transforming it into a tourist attraction in some cities, promoting the recovery of cultural and regional aspects, besides waking up in the tourist or visitor to the desire to local culture also for their scents, colors and flavors.

Discussion

Food habits are closely related to the mode of human life and speak volumes about the identity and culture of the people. They also display the wealth or poverty of a people and their abundance or scarcity. The beginning of human civilization was marked by human efforts to acquire food: cultivation, preparation, rituals, customs, and the pleasure of eating (Fuchs et al., 2011). According to Franc (2001), taste preferences of individuals are formed culturally while they are controlled socially. Culinary habits are influenced by factors such as social class, race, religion, age, education, health and the environment Therefore social can say that taste is formed socially and individually, and influencing consumer behavior as an expression of the social class to which belongs (Franc, 2001). The way a person eats, what he eats, where he eats and how he feels are all related to the concept of cultural identity. The dietary restrictions and prohibitions of different peoples are characteristic details of each culture. These are considered “fine” eating habits by people of their own culture who again see the same manner own. The traditions of religious origin also influenced eating habits (Franc, 2001). For example, the conservative Hindu class regards cow as a sacred animal and considers it a cardinal sin to devour its meat.

Throughout history, the role of food in human life has been changing constantly and taken new meaning. At first, man was looking for food just to satisfy his biological needs. With the passage of time, the search for food took new forms and was related to elements of luxury, religion, celebrations, offerings and social status, finally ending with the satisfaction of completing the ritual (Gordon, 2002, p. 9-70). The identity of an individual is polymorphic and can be viewed from several standpoints. Professional food Cultural identities are forged by type of production unit and sociogeographic job: the distance to the home and the degree of isolation were crucial in the way men eat in ancient Andalusian countryside. Those who can return home each day to eat bread, bacon, sausage, cheese and other cold foods, while laborers moving in radios consume about thirty miles hot casseroles, made with beans, rice, etc. shared between all (Gordon, 2002, p. ...