Essay On Food Identity

Refugees face many difficult situations after migrating to a new home. Because of the migration and the mixed receptions from the community, their lives start to twist and turn in all sorts of directions. The book Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai tells a story with poems about a young girl named Ha who’s life starts to turn “inside out” as she leaves her home in Saigon during the Vietnam War. The article “Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison” by Ana Marie Fantino and Alice Colak describes the struggles and process of adaptation that refugees in Canada face every day. Ha’s and other refugees’ lives turn “inside out” as they become a teacher for their loved ones and a punching bag for their classmates, but gradually turns “back again” with the help of their community.

“Food for us comes from our relatives… That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships.” This quote was spoken by Winona LaDuke. Known for her work on tribal land claims and being an American environmentalist, Winona LaDuke discusses that food is culture. She also expresses how tribal relatives pass on their food recipes. Through generations, traditional foods are passed down to preserve culture. Consequentially, people have more respect for food when someone says, ‘This is my great grandmother’s recipe.’ Immigrants brought their culture, including their gastronomy, and recipes, from their homeland as a way to preserve and express their heritage and pass it on to their children. Moreover,

The African American culture takes pride in cooking and food in general. Food is mostly provided or prepared for any occasion like family reunions, cook outs, holidays, and funerals. My mother and her cousin, Sherrie would decide who house to celebrate holidays or cook outs and each person would cook and prepare the food for any of our family gathers. My mother also prepared traditional southern meals in our home. Home cooked meals are a value in the family as well as the African American culture. The thought of home cooked meals mean someone took the time to prepare the food so their family can have a balance

The novel “Inside Out and Back Again” describes the life of a family of refugees searching to find home. It describes the highs and the lows of day-to-day life for the family, perfectly describing the universal refugee experience. The universal refugee experience is an umbrella term used to describe the myriad of trials and tribulations refugees endure as they move to a foreign place. These are experiences that all or most refugees typically go through in their process of finding a new home. Ha’s journey is a perfect example of the universal refugee experience. She faces racism, discrimination, loneliness, and, over time, a growing sense of love for her new home. Ha’s life is turned “inside out and back again”. Before Ha had to flee Saigon, she was headstrong and selfish, but she was also a girl who loved her mother and couldn't wait to grow up. She wanted to be able to do something before her older brothers did it, and do it better. But most of all, Ha wanted to fit in, to be liked. At her core, Ha was a normal little girl.

I will be using the sociological imagination on food because, I think it is an interesting and important topic and there is allot to talk about. Food is everywhere in the western world, if you turn on the TV you will surely see an advertisement of Mac Donald’s that they have come up with a new burger, or someone showing off a delicious recipe, and it is not only the TV. if you read the newspaper or a magazine you surely will read a chef telling you how to cook, if you walk down the main road you will see a pizzeria, chicken cottage, zam’s or other takeaways and if you don’t see it you will smell it. But the worst part of being reminded of food is when we become

Food is ubiquitous. Every individual requires its nutrients to live their lives. It chemically provides the human body with the needed glucose in order to convert ATP to useable energy in cells. This means a person literally cannot live without it. Though an immensely important aspect of food is a nourishing supplement; it is not the sole significance of food in human’s lives. Food is symbolic. Food connects people. It is a collective activity everyone must experience; thus meaning it allows people to relate more easily between each other. There is no universal type of food in each society due to the fact that the world is multicultural. Many different styles of food spawn from this diversity. Thus

“Today more than 14 million men, women, and children have been forced to flee their homes, towns, and countries because they are afraid to stay” (Gilbert 9). In the book, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Ha, a young girl, grew up in Saigon, Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Before the war she was just like every other girl living in South Vietnam. She went to school, had friends, played with her doll, and she is a little stubborn but who could blame her. Ha is the only girl out of the four children. Her brothers, Brother Quang, Brother Vu, and Brother Khoi all love Ha even though sometimes they might not show it. Growing up in a war zone was already difficult enough but adding on top of that, Ha’s father is missing. Ha and her family don’t know if he is dead or alive but they keep their hopes up because maybe one day he will return. While the war gets stronger and closer to Saigon, Ha and her family have to decide whether to stay or go. If they leave their home country they will be forever known as a refugee. A refugee is someone who leaves their home country because of a traumatic event such as war. Leaving their country will change everything for them, everything they have ever known would be gone. It

For many immigrant families moving into the U.S the culture shock is significant. Families can easily be overwhelmed by their need to fit into their new surroundings. This is especially true for children in these families. It is easy for children to get caught up in the American way of life, and that can cause the original culture to be forgotten. That is why the adults in these families have to enforce their native culture on their children, so the adults can make sure that those customs are not forgotten.

“In 2013 there were 41.3 million refugees living in the United States”. War affects many aspects of our world, such as living spaces, food resources, and the economy. One way to fix the problem, living spaces, is to have refugees immigrate over to a safe country. Ha’s refugee experience is relatable to other refugee’s experiences because refugees flee because of war, they have a difficult time fitting in, and they share many of the same emotions.

Williams-forson situates her work in the intersection of race; gender and identity arguing that the kinds of food people eat are the key aspects of the cultural identities they are associated with. She draws a comparison in his work regarding the black people’s food preferences and argues that they have been engaged in ideological wars concerning food and race for so long. Williams-forson presents her idea that the cultural aspects of African American people is the key reason why a man should take a big piece of chicken since in most families they are the sole bread winners and are therefore entitled to a large portion of any delicacy cooked in such family. She associates her work on African American food ways with the African cultural heritage

Ha is an example of the universal refugee experience because she goes through things that many other refugees go through, such as the feeling of being “inside out” and not belonging anywhere. Ha has to learn a new language and a whole new way of life, she has to give up many of her old traditions and ways of life like many refugees do. A universal refugee experience is something that is experienced by not all, but most refugees. Ha started out stubborn and forceful before they fled their home, "I decided to wake before dawn and tap my big toe on the tile floor first," (Lai 2). Ha is angry that only men 's feet bring good luck and she will not let that be the case for she wants to bring luck to her family. She loves her mother very much but she would rather hide her brother 's sandals then say that she loves them too, she does but she wouldn 't admit it. Ha from the book Inside Out & Back Again experiences many of the same things as other refugees do, this is known as a universal refugee experience. Many refugees are turned inside out as they go through the process of moving from their home country to a new country and as they try to find a sense of normal life again.

The articles about the St. Louis and the Fresno family have many similarities and differences. Some of these similarities are they have both been displaced, they have to adjust to a new life, and of course they're refugees. A few they don't have in common are the years they happened, how many there were, and of course they are all refugees. Lots of refugees that are sent to places have harsh reasons behind them. These two articles have many similarities but also many differences.

The term ‘processed food’ applies to any food that has been changed from its natural state in some way, either for safety reasons or convenience. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurized to remove harmful bacteria. Other foods need processing to make them suitable for use, such as pressing seeds to make oil.

Culture and memories are expressed through food. Everyone can identify themselves with a concrete culture and in every group there are numerous food dishes that satisfies one, or brings back peerless memories and feelings only they can relate to. Food itself has meaning attached to it, from the way it is prepared down to the ingredients used. Factors that influence food can be anything from practices and beliefs to the economy and distribution. Culinary traditions are important in helping express cultural identity. There is a big connection between food and culture and it is passed down from generation to generation to help preserve and embrace those very traditions that make every country unique through food. It symbolizes pride for their

A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their home country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. There are many different types of refugees, these include refugees who are escaping war, social discrimination, racial discrimination, religious persecution, those who are seeking aid after a natural disaster, political unrest, and those who fear for their lives and the lives of their family. These people are given refugee status and are placed in designated refugee camps across the country where they are supposed to be cared for and educated, but this is not happening. Many of the countries only provide shelter for the refugees but do not provide the rest of the basic needs.