The Gastronomy of a Nation

The Gastronomy of a Nation - the Media Perspective

Go to

http://www.gastronomyafharrison.co.uk/page335/php

for the quotation given in No. 1 below.

The three pages of health education papers and its aspects within my book “Are We Really What We Eat” describe the situation in 1986. The lecture would give an evaluation of the present situation relating to today’s pupils becoming parents in the context of their responsibility for the health of their own children.

The lecture would progress to examine modern themes within the UK media and on bookshelves. Taking the media first and using just five examples at this stage the discourse would progress to books and one example has been given:

1. Alex Renton (The Times – times2 section, 13 Feb 09, p10) pursues “Fairtrade just tastes better”.

2. In relation to USA Gastronomy, Giles Corran (The Times, 21 Jan 09, p28 describes “The perfect meal for the world’s fattest nation” given at Barack Obama’s inaugural luncheon “that looks like it was conceived by an obese nine-year-old on the back of a 48-hour Oreo bender”.

3. The oreo (a cookie created in 1912 by Nabisco in New York) is being used with chicken tikka massala as British weapons against the Taliban. Tim Hayward (Guardian, 6 Feb 09, p 3) describes the “4000 calorie packs [which] spell the end of corned beef hash.

4. “Top stores call them ‘budget foods lines’. I say they are a disgrace” writes Jay Rayner (Observer – First Person, 18 Jan 09, p 34. He asks “why highly profitable supermarkets force the poor to buy and eat such low-grade food”. The story heralded a TV programme on 21 Jan 09.

5. “Toxins are all in the mind” – “ .. cutting out major food groups can be very bad for your health”. These recommendations are made by Hadley Freeman (theguardian, 6 jan 09, p 26) and the front page headline asks “Is the detox diet the new face of anorexia?”. Ms Freeman leads the fight against such books as exemplified by the following example.

The search for super energy

Energy is the key to life, whether you think of it as a spiritual energy, a flowing life force like the 'chi' of Chinese medicine, or the electrical impulses that scientists tell us govern every bodily function. Without an adequate supply of mental, spiritual and physical energy, leading a full life becomes impossible and maintaining good health is out of the question.

Energy equates with vitality and we all know people whose boundless and unquenchable vitality seems to have no limits. These are the people who are the 'doers', the creators, the rocks in an emergency, the steadfast friends in a crisis. But their performance is not built just on their goodwill, kindness or humanity. Without the energy to follow through, their good intentions would fall at the first hurdle.

But millions of you wake up every morning feeling exhausted and worn out. In fact, tiredness is one of the most common problems that send you to your doctor. Overheated, stuffy buildings and crowded public transport take their toll. Who knows what else you catch when you catch your morning train? Traffic jams and bad weather turn even the most mild mannered into road-rage maniacs. And the depressing thought of another routine day in a frustrating job that you don't enjoy, the stresses of dealing with the public or a demanding, insensitive boss are enough to make you go straight back to bed and hide under the duvet.

[Therefore read my book and you won’t feel these negatives ] - van Straten M. Super Energy Detox, Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2003, pp 6/7

Food in the media as a theme would include media evaluation of Government Utterances and this is an example of its findings:

“It is now well established that diet contributes to the probability of developing cardiovascular disease and some cancers. In the UK, 17% of men and 20% of women are obese and over half the adult population is overweight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.”

That can be seen via the navigation panel link “Health Education & Food” and then the top link to “Health Education and Food”. The quotation is in the left panel under the heading “Government” and more of the type follows in the lower panel.

Acres of news text and hours of radio and TV are devoted to food and drink every day in the UK and elsewhere. Occasionally, news comes within the “Extreme Gastronomy” category I have created and which I will develop elsewhere. In February of this year in the UK, a young girl died of self-starvation due to dental phobia. You hear of parents giving excessive amounts of salt to their children. There are other forms of starvation and nutritional neglect meted by parents. However, it is the case that when similar effects are experienced by animals, the public attention is sometimes increased.

The Gastronomy of a Nation - 1

Tuesday, 24 February 2009