American and College Culture & Food (Final Draft)

American and College Culture & Food

                        There have recently been a lot of changes regarding Americans and their relationship to food. While America is a place with a vast amount of different ethnicities and cultures, there is one change that can be seen almost universally across the population. This is the culture of eating less with friends and family, and more either on the go or in front of some form of technology. Despite this universal change there are exceptions and levels of extremity. There are what people from other countries think of as the “typical” Americans who eat mainly fast food and are becoming obese. But also, there are the more hippie and green types of people who eat all local, natural, and organic. The food you eat depends mainly on the way you were raised and the culture you are living within. When a young adult moves away to college, there is a new type of food culture that arises. Students are so busy with schoolwork and social aspects of college that they have almost no time to think about where their next meal is coming from, and thus arises the culture of convenience.

When thinking of college food, the first thing that comes to mind is a cafeteria. A cafeteria is the fastest most convenient place for students to dine where food is always available. At home, students had only a few options of what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was either what there parents were making or the food they had at their house, which was probably also bought by their parents. Going to college is the students first time in their life that they can choose exactly what they eat without being monitored by anyone but themselves. There are as many unhealthy options as one could possibly imagine. Most students are not used to having a soft-serve ice cream machine sitting in their kitchen as well as fresh made fries always at the ready. Because these foods taste good and are so convenient, students are tempted to get them. They are in a rush and want quick food and energy, which these junk foods provide.

            For the health conscious student, there is also a salad bar out all the time as well as some sort of steamed vegetable. Still, these are not very good quality and certainly not local or organic. Students who are used to eating better quality lettuces and vegetables have no option but to settle for the mediocre quality of the cafeteria because it is so convenient. It is not realistic for a student to keep the ingredients of a salad bar in the mini fridge in their rooms. Students are forced to eat whatever quality food is put before them in their cafeterias because for one, they are forced to buy a quite expensive meal plan. Secondly, they do not have the time or means of transportation to do otherwise. Students are sucked into a lifestyle of convenience in which they can only eat what is readily available.

            During the week sometimes students do not even have the time to eat lunch or dinner in the cafeteria. Because of their busy class schedules they do not have time to walk all the way back to their dorm for a meal. This forces them to grab some kind of premade food from a café or convenience store around campus. The reason they are eating this kind of food is not for pleasure but because it is what is available at location and time in which they are searching for food. This idea is backed up by the article Convenience Food: Space and Timing which claims that “convenience foods” are becoming increasingly popular not because of people wanting and liking them, but because of the organizational problems that come along with the increasingly busy daily lifestyles of people (525). This increased business has been a generational movement. Not only has it affected students but the American population as a whole. With increased technology and work ethic, business people, the working class, and stay at home parents always have some task that has to be done. With all of these different priorities family meals are becoming less and less common while convenience foods are taking a huge rise. As society progresses it is the youth and the students that will keep this progression moving. It would only make sense that they would have the most time consuming work to do and be very high consumers of convenience foods because of their inconvenient timing and space for eating meals with friends or family.

            These convenience foods are more often than not very unhealthy. Students eat quick snacks such as popcorn and potato chips to fill their void of real meals. Their lack of being in the right place at the right time to eat a real meal combined with the high stress and late nights of working creates what is called the “freshmen 15”. This refers to the 15 pounds freshmen are said to put on during their first year at college. While obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent in America it is interesting to think about why the youth gain weight specifically during their freshmen year of college. This increasingly busy lifestyle that American society is developing is very stressful and nerve racking. There is always something important that has to be done and there is always not enough time to do it. This high stress and lack of time to eat right causes both students and American society to load up on unhealthy carbohydrates and sugars in order to get the quick burst of energy they need to complete their tasks. This lifestyle is not providing a healthy environment for students and the future of society.

            In American culture eating is a social event, so the majority of people enjoy eating in groups. Most people grow up having lunch with friends at school and then family dinners when they come home. With age comes the increased business of American society, making meals with friends and loved ones harder to come by. College is one of the most social times of your life where you are constantly meeting new people and doing things with them. It is safe to say that most students would rather eat with friends than alone. However, this is not always possible given the time constraints and different schedules of all students. A lot of the time students do not have an open time for lunch at the same spot on campus as one of their other friends. Because of this often students will eat alone doing some kind of homework to keep them occupied. This greatly changes the culture surrounding eating. Instead of it being a fun social event where you get to enjoy food and share stories with friends or family, it is a time of solitude in which the student is eating mediocre food only because they are starving. It is not an enjoyable fun experience, but instead just something that has to be done to keep your body happy.

            While eating in front of a computer or while “vegging” out in front of a TV is also less enjoyable than eating with friends, it is also much worse for you. A study done by John Hopkins University has shown a correlation between a greater food intake while watching television than eating while listening to classical music. It was discovered that, “Overall caloric intake increased by 71% while watching television”(Moray, 72). A correlation has also been see between BMI and the amount television hours watched per day. The more TV a person watches, the higher the BMI they have. This makes sense because this is a sedentary activity and snacking is often common while watching TV. This same principal also could apply to eating while doing the many other sedentary activities that American lives consist of. We are constantly working and doing different tasks, however none of the require any bodily expenditure. Americans get in their car to drive to work or school where they sit at a desk and then drive back home where they sit at a table or in a chair and do more work, and finally they end their night by laying on the couch by the TV. All this time consuming junk foods and convenience foods because they cannot seem to find the time to have an actual meal. 

            This concept of always snacking while going about daily tasks is called “eating on the go”. This is probably the most convenient way of eating when you have absolutely minimal time to get the nutrition that you need. Eating on the go could be simply picking up a sandwich and eating it on the way to class, or grabbing an apple on the way out of the cafeteria. Certain foods have even become specifically designed for this purpose. One great example is made by Campbell’s, “None leave behind the pot, stove, bowl, spoon, or table more fully than Campbell’s Soup at Hand”(Howitz 42). Soup at hand is an easy, graspable mug, which can be microwaved and can fit in the cup holder of a car. Eating on the go is a completely different concept of eating than what is thought of as a traditional meal. It is hard to decide whether this can even be called a meal. You are getting the energy and calories you need from eating whatever food you choose to grab and eat while walking, which is the evolutionary and survival purpose of eating. However, it is lacking the aspects of sitting in a space, probably at a table with others while conversing and eating. This is culturally what people in American consider being a meal.

The increasingly popular concept of eating for convenience is changing the cultural aspects of food for American’s. While everyone from students to business people to stay at home parents doing errands have embraced this new form of eating it is probably the most common around college campuses. This is because of the ability of the youth generation to pick up and adapt to new trends as well as the very busy schedule of college students. This change to eating quicker meals by ones self may not seem significant however it has the ability to greatly change the culture around eating. This new culture of eating for convenience is causing obesity and malnutrition because of the unhealthy nature of these portable foods. While it is definitely a problem now, as any study on the increase of American obesity can show you, it is only going to get worse. The youth are so easily susceptible and they will follow the example of the older population of America. If all of these junk foods and convenience foods are so easily available they are going to continue eating them more and more frequently. The culture and happiness that comes from eating meals with loved ones and sharing traditional, healthy, home cooked meals is going to be lost. If the American population does not find a way to keep incorporating these family meals into their schedules they are going to be lost in the next generation. Students will forget the importance of these home-style meals as they get older and it will only increase this cycle of unhealthy convenience foods and in turn unhealthy obese Americans.

           

           

Work Cited

Alan, Warde."Convenience food: space and timing", British Food Journal, Vol. 101 Iss: 7 pp. 518 – 527, (1999). Web 25 April 2012. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070709910279018>

Horwitz, Jamie. "Eating at the Edge." Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp.42-47. University of California Press, 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2009.9.3.42?origin=JSTOR-pdf>.

Moray, Jenna, Andi Fu, Kristin Brill, and Mònica Mayoral. "Viewing Television While Eating Impairs
the Ability to Accurately Estimate Total Amount of Food Consumed." Bariatric Nursing and Surgical Patient Care. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 2007. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/bar.2006.9991>.

College Culture & Food (Draft)

College Culture & Food

                        The cultural significance of food changes vastly from one area to another. The meaning of food to people in Europe, Africa, and Asia is much different than it is to people in America. Even within America many different cultures of people place their own individual values in their food. There is what people from other countries think of as the “typical” Americans who eat mainly fast food and are becoming obese. But also, there are the more hippie and green types of people who eat all local, natural, and organic. The food you eat depends mainly on the way you were raised and the culture you are living within. When a young adult moves away to college, there is a new type of food culture that arises. Students are so busy with schoolwork and social aspects of college that they have almost no time to think about where their next meal is coming from, thus arises the culture of convenience.

When thinking of college food, the first thing that comes to mind is a cafeteria. A cafeteria is the fastest most convenient place for students to dine where food is always available. At home students had only a few options of what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was either what there parents were making or the food they had at their house that was probably also bought by their parents. Going to college is the students first time in their life that they can choose exactly what they eat and are not being monitored by anyone but themselves. There are as many unhealthy options as one could possibly imagine. Most students are not used to having a soft-serve ice cream machine sitting in their kitchen as well as fresh made fries always at the ready. Because these foods taste good and are so convenient, students are tempted to get them. They are in a rush and want quick food and energy, which these junk foods provide.

            For the health conscious student, there is also a salad bar out all the time as well as some sort of steamed vegetable. Still, these are not very high quality and certainly not local or organic. Students who are used to eating better quality lettuces and vegetables have no option but to settle for the mediocre quality of the cafeteria because it is so convenient. It is not realistic for a student to keep the ingredients of a salad bar in the mini fridge in their rooms. Students are forced to eat whatever quality food is put before them in their cafeterias because for one, they are forced to buy and meal plan, which is quite expensive. And secondly, they do not have the time or means of transport to do otherwise. Students are sucked into a lifestyle of convenience in which they can only eat what is readily available.

            During the week sometimes students do not even have the time to eat lunch or dinner in the cafeteria. Because of their busy class schedules they do not have time to walk all the way back to their dorm for a meal. This forces them to grab some kind of premade food from a café or convenience store around campus. The reason they are eating this kind of food is not for pleasure but because it is what is available at location and time in which they are searching for food. This idea is backed up by the article Convenience Food: Space and Timing which claims that “convenience foods” are becoming increasingly popular not because of people wanting and liking them, but because of the organizational problems that come along with the increasingly busy daily lifestyles of people (525).

            In American culture eating is a social event, so the majority of people enjoy eating in groups. Most people grow up having lunch with friends at school and then family dinners when they come home. However as you get older your life becomes more complex and it is harder for this to be routine. College is one of the most social times of your life where you are constantly meeting new people and doing things with them. If students were surveyed the results would mostly likely come back that they would rather eat with friends than alone. (INSERT QUOTE ABOUT LIKING TO EAT IN GROUPS AND WHY). However, this is not always possible giving the time constraints and different schedules of all students. A lot of the time students do not have an open time for lunch at the same spot on campus as one of their other friends. Because of this often students will eat alone doing some kind of homework to keep them occupied. This greatly changes the culture surrounding eating. Instead of it being a fun social event where you get to enjoy food and share stories with friends or family, it is a time of solitude in which the student is eating mediocre food only because they are starving. It is not an enjoyable fun experiences but instead just something that has to be done to keep your body happy.

            Another increasingly common form of eating is what is called “eating on the go”. This is probably the most convenient way of eating when you have absolutely minimal time to get the nutrition that you need. Eating on the go could be simply picking up a sandwich and eating it on the way to class, or grabbing and apple on the way out of the cafeteria. Certain foods have even become specifically designed for this purpose. One great example is made by Campbell’s, “None leave behind the pot, stove, bowl, spoon, or table more fully than Campbell’s Soup at Hand”(Howitz 42). Soup at hand is a easy graspable mug with can be microwaved and fit in the cup holder of a car. Eating on the go is a completely different concept of eating than what is thought of as a traditional meal. It is hard to decide whether this can even be called a meal. You are getting the energy and nutrition you need from eating whatever food you choose to grab and eat while walking, which is the evolutionary and survival purpose of eating. However, it is lacking the aspects of sitting in a space, probably at a table with others while conversing and eating. This is culturally what people in American consider to be a meal.

The increasingly popular concept of eating for convenience is changing the cultural aspects of food for American’s. While everyone from business people to stay at home parents doing errands have embraced this new form of eating it is probably the most common around college campuses. This is because of the ability of the youth generation to pick up and adapt to new trends as well as the very busy schedule of college students. This change to eating quicker meals by ones self may not seem significant however it has the ability to greatly change the culture around eating.

Note: need to find one more source and finish conclusion

           

           

Work Cited

Alan, Warde."Convenience food: space and timing", British Food Journal, Vol. 101 Iss: 7 pp. 518 – 527, (1999). Web 25 April 2012. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070709910279018>

Horwitz, Jamie. "Eating at the Edge." Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp.42-47. University of California Press, 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2009.9.3.42?origin=JSTOR-pdf>.

Shift in Eating Habits

      Horwitz brings up the recent shift from scheduled meals with family and friends to eating by ones self on the go, while working, or in front of the TV. She uses the example of first class airplane meals being catered to fit the schedule of many different individuals. There are the "High carbohydrate meals [which are] ideal if you have an important meeting on arrival and will help you rest on board and be alert on arrival"(Horwitz 46). There also are the high protein meals which are ideal for passengers who want to work on board. These meals are supposed to "keep you alert now and help you rest upon landing". There are also many different times that food is given out to best meet the needs of the passengers. Horwitz also provides many other examples of "eating at the edge" such as the eating habits formed by TV dinners, astronaut life in space, and eating a can of soup on the go.
       I think that Horwitz makes some very valid points. The amount of daily scheduled meals I have with either family or friends has definitely gone down as I've gotten older. This is due to the increasing business of my family and friends as well as myself. Being at college, my schedule is different than many of my friends. We are often able to find areas where we overlap in having time off and are able to get lunch of dinner together, however there are also many times when I grab something quick by myself. Another factor in my eating at school is the hours of the cafeteria. These are often very inconvenient for me. Breakfast and lunch both close too early for my schedule so I am sometimes forced to grab some sort of pre made food else where on campus. As society is evolving many more factors come into play that interfere with consistent daily eating habits. This can be looked at as either a good or bad thing. While there are less family meals, people are catering to their own needs and giving their body exactly what it needs and when it needs it. This is a very thought provoking phenomena that Horwitz has begun to explore and I feel there are many different scenarios and examples of "eating on the edge" that should be explored and theorized about.
   

Illegal Pete's

Illegal Pete’s

            I would say most students at DU have been to Illegal Pete’s at one time or another. This is probably because of its affordable pricing and location within two blocks of campus. Illegal Pete’s is unique in that you get your food very fast and it is good quality. If you order a burrito from Illegal Pete’s you actually probably get it faster than if you were to get one from Taco Bell. This seems strange, but it is because they are constantly making the ingredients and have them all visible through a glass bar from which you can select what you want and watch the workers put it in your burrito or burrito bowl. I personally like this set up a lot because you can see exactly what is going into my food.

            I went to Illegal Pete’s on a Monday around noon after I just got out of my statistics class. One of the good things about Illegal Pete’s is that burritos are huge! However, I wasn’t starving so I ordered a kids burrito, which was the perfect size. While sitting at Illegal Pete’s I noticed the casual environment created by popular reggae music, the four TV’s playing ESPN, posters of local events on the windows, and Coors and Bud Light signs on the walls. There are a combination of tables and booths, which seat from two to four people and are made out of wood. The menu is posted above the kitchen, but if you have been to Illegal Pete’s more than a few times there isn’t any need to use it because you can see all of the food in front of you. While I observed most people eating burritos or burrito bowls you can also order quesadillas, taquitos, and tacos.

There were a variety of ages eating in the restaurant at this time, mainly being DU students, but also there were quite a few older people enjoying the food. Maybe they were professors, or just people living in the surrounding neighborhoods that share a liking for Illegal Pete’s. Most people were with a friend or two, eating their food leisurely while talking. There were about 20 people sitting down, but the place was not particularly busy. Because of its set up Illegal Pete’s is able to handle many customers at a time and it seems as though it does a great business. I would say people go to Illegal Pete’s for dinner more than lunch. People go in larger groups and catch up on the days events with friends while enjoying the best food they’ve had all day.

One of the interesting things about the location of this Illegal Pete’s is that it is just one block away from Chipotle. Both of these restaurants are open kitchen Mexican food bar style restaurants that have almost the exact same menu. When I first came to school and ate at these two places I was very surprised that they both were able to do a good business being in such close proximity and having so many similarities. After analyzing my experience at the two restaurants I have realized that the main difference between the two lies in the atmosphere. While this particular Chipotle is the first one eve–I am very proud to say this fact–it is small and only has 3 tables as well as spots to sit at the counter. It is not a spot that you would want to go with friends to chat and catch up because it is such a small space, usually with a line running through the restaurant. Most people who go to Chipotle just get their food to go. I would assume they are from other places and have been eating at Chipotle for a while and this is why the have not switched over to Illegal Pete’s.

The Illegal Pete’s space is much larger and has booths, which can make the eating environment more intimate. The main difference between the two is the bar along the back of Illegal Pete’s. I was there during the day so there was no one drinking, but at night the bar can get quite busy. People hang around drinking and watching sports on the TV’s and this completely changes the atmosphere of the restaurant. According to the Journal of Food Service, “atmospheric restaurants can be described as places where guests feel comfortable and at ease”(89). This is how I feel when I’m at Illegal Pete’s. I am content to just hang out and eat my food slowly and enjoy it. People want to go to a restaurant where they feel this way. Illegal Pete’s is only in Colorado, specifically Denver and Boulder, so it has a sort of local laid back feel to it. These aspects of Illegal Pete’s are what make it such a successful restaurant even being right next to the better known restaurant, Chipotle.

Work Cited

Gustafsson, Inga-Britt, Asa Öström, Jesper Johansson, and Lena Mossberg. "The Five Aspects Meal    Model: A Tool for Developing Meal Services in Restaurants." Journal of Foodservice. Wiley Online Library, Apr. 2006. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.17454506.2006.00023.x/full?globalMessage=0>.

Source for Essay

This a source I might use for my essay http://www.lifeintheusa.com/food/mexican.htm

It is about the differences between real authentic food from Mexico and the Americanized version of it we have here. This relates to me eating at Illegal Pete's because it is definitely not authentic mexican, but has a lot of qualities of Americanized Mexican food.

Cate and O'Donnell

       The article "Breaking Bread with a Spread" by Cate is about inmates creating of a very strange and somewhat gross sounding meal called spread. It is made from top ramen and many various toppings. The inmates make spreads because the food they are given is awful and they often get hungry at night. Spread is considered a delicacy in Jail and much can be told about ones status within the Jail by whether or not they are eating spread and how they are eating it. One of the inmates says, "Sharing spread is a community thing". It is usually eaten in groups of people of which every one of them contributes something and it is divided equally. There are many different kinds of spread eaten by different ethnicities and cultures. The latinos spread is red and very spicy, while chinese inmates make spread stir-fries. I think this is interesting because it shows how important specific kinds of food are to different ethnicities. The inmates don't settle for the bland food they are given, they go to the extra effort to create food that is enjoyable and what they are culturally used to.
        "The Cultural Politics of Eating in Shenzhen" by O'Donnell is about the native differences of cuisine in North and South China and how it reflects on the culture, politics, and business ethics of the people from both regions. In the past Southerners ate fish and seafood because it was available in the area where as Northerners ate cattle. Killing and eating cattle was much simpler than catching fish. Because of this O'Donnell says that, "Northerners aren’t as quick-witted or as good at business as Guangdong people. However, this is also why we’re more honest. We never had to be sneaky to eat well.” It is interesting that the process of obtaining food could strongly impact how a society acts culturally. Of course, this is just O'Donnell's theory, however there seems to be some logic behind it.
 

Similar Advertising Techniques

In Paul's Blog I was able to find connections to the advertisements that I analyzed. We both analyzed fast food restaurants, his being Subway and Arby's and mine being Taco Bell. We both found a common theme that the adds consisted of large pictures of the food which look delicious but in fact it is a known fact that the food will not look half as good as it does in the picture.

One thing that Paul found that was different than my observations was that the fast food restaurants had a higher word count in advertisements than the restaurants that were a little bit nicer. This was the opposite for me, I found that the nicer restaurant had more words than the less nice one. However, I analyzed Taco Bell and Chipotle which both could be considered fast food restaurants. I could have just observed a difference in word count that is not correlated to the quality of the restaurant. More advertisements would need to be compared and contrasted in order to come to an accurate conclusion.

Chipotle Vs. Taco Bell Advertising

There is a wide variety of Mexican food ranging in quality levels as well as prices and authenticity. The two Mexican fast food restaurants I have chosen to analyze are Chipotle and Taco Bell. I would not call either of these restaurants authentic Mexican food, however there is a huge difference in the quality of the food and the way that it is presented. The advertisements for these two companies gives many clues as to what their values are, and what kind of an audience they are trying to appeal to. By analyzing these advertisements one can figure out how these restaurants are trying to market their foods based on their target audiences.

            Chipotle is definitely the more expensive of the two and its advertisements reflect this. As we learned in the potato chip article the more expensive companies try to appeal to their higher-class audience by advertising the health of their foods. One of Chipotle’s slogans is “food with integrity”. The definition of integrity is adherence to moral and ethical principals. This suggests that this isn’t just any burrito, and it is not made in an inhumanely way as food from many other fast food places is. Other advertisements go on to say, “Chicken raised with care, not chemicals.” The purpose of this advertisement is to show that unlike most fast food restaurants, Chipotle does not use unhealthy and unnatural growth hormones. They are trying to appeal to a health conscious audience that would rather pay a little extra to have high quality food.

          On the contrary, Taco Bell’s advertisements say absolutely nothing about the health of its food or details about the ingredients used to make it. In fact, they probably go to some effort to conceal this. Instead its advertisements focus on the price in huge fonts to draw attention to it because that is the main selling point. One advertisement has 89 cents taking up half the add, along with a picture of the burrito and writing saying, “New! Cheesy double beef burrito.” The food shown in the picture doesn’t look half bad, and Taco Bell uses this to draw people in. But, from eating one time at Taco Bell you will realize that what you receive looks almost nothing like the pictures shown in advertisements. When buying Taco Bell, I would assume the majority of people know that they are eating something with almost no nutritional value; however, they simply don’t care. Taco Bell is definitely directed at a lower class audience, so they probably have no choice but to eat at places such as Taco Bell. Because of their need for cheap prices they will take whatever they can get. Aside from people with this dilemma, I cannot understand why people who have enough money to eat elsewhere would eat at Taco Bell.

            Chipotle’s advertisements also have far more writing than those of Taco Bell which is consistent with the fact that advertisements directed at more expensive audiences have more writing than those directed at less expensive audiences. The bags that Chipotle’s food is given out in are all covered in writing talking about how its food is prepared and where it comes from. The following is what is written on one of the bags, “Okay, okay, okay. So maybe I’m a little bit of a perfectionist. But I don’t think is qualifies as obsessive. It’s not like I’m spending all day counting beans & washing many hands with steel wool. Maybe I use some serious knife skills to ensure that each onion is diced into perfect squares. It’s pretty clear that is makes salsa better. And maybe I’m a little particular about the way I prepare my carnitas – the right way takes 6 hours at a minimum!!!! I am NOT a fan of shortcuts….” This add is going a little over the top and coming from the perspective of an obsessive compulsive perfectionist but the point of it is to show that Chipotle takes great care in putting together the food that it serves.

             On the other hand, since Taco Bell does not advertise about the quality of its food and how it is prepared they need something else to be used as an advertisement to draw people in. To do this, they use the cute little Chihuahua that says, “Yo Quiero Taco Bell! This old Taco Bell Commercial shows a boy Chihuahua running towards a girl Chihuahua, but then runs past her up to a man holding a taco and says “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8sZ1DWsAHE). This commercial doesn’t really have any information about Taco Bell’s food. The point of it seems to be just to convey the message that everyone likes Taco Bell, even dogs. The fact that the dog says “I want Taco Bell” in Spanish is probably to show this food is authentic Mexican food, even though that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

            Taco Bell and Chipotle perfectly demonstrate the different values associated with more expensive and less expensive Mexican food. They both have clear and distinguished audiences and they market their foods accordingly. The differences between these two restaurants are actually present and clearly distinguishable. This is different than the potato chip study because all of the potato chips shown were actually almost the same. But still, the same principals of advertising apply. Taco Bell and Chipotle use these different advertising tactics to best bring in their target audiences. 

Relationship Between Class and Food

       The article "Authenticity in America Class Distinctions in Potato Chip Advertising" by Freedman and Jurafsky is about comparing the differences in advertising between inexpensive and expensive potato chips and trying to see how those differences relate to their target audiences. These audiences are either upper or lower class. Common ways to appeal to the upper class are by using more complex language on the bags and by making more claims about the health of the chips. In contrast, the chips directed at lower class audiences have less complex language to correlate to the lesser amount of education and are less likely to talk about how their chips lack preservatives and are natural, when actually their ingredients are very similar to the more expensive chips. This reflects the values of higher health and quality that the upper class places in what they eat, while the lower class does not seem to care as much.
       It is interesting that these more expensive potato chip companies try to distinguish themselves in anyway possible from the less expensive chips, when actually they are virtually the same. Another interesting follow up study would be to see if the amount of income actually correlated with whether the individual bought more expensive or less expensive chips. If the correlation comes out as predicted then although the chip companies are using stereotypical ways of advertising, it is working.
        You could also apply this method of analyzing food advertising to chocolate bars. Almost everyone enjoys chocolate as a treat, but there are many different levels of quality of chocolate. I would guess that more expensive chocolates such as Godiva would use more complex language than Hersheys. I would also guess that the overall presentation and wrappers of Godiva would look more expensive than those of Hersheys. This same analysis can be done on almost any kinds of food that there are many brands of. It is interesting that food has become such a distinct factor in distinguishing between class levels.

My Love of Santa Barbara's Foods

            My family loves food, however we are not very religious or from a strong cultural background. The food that we eat is simply all of the things that we love. We have turned these things into our own sort of traditions. I am an only child so home cooked meals were not very important in my upbringing. Of course, I do love my parents cooking and we have amazing home cooked meals. But still, we would get take out or eat at a restaurant almost half the time. Fortunately, I am lucky to live in Santa Barbara, which in my opinion has some of the best restaurants in the US.

            When I think of the food my parents cook, spicy food immediately comes to mind. Both of my parents love spicy food, they will put hot pepper flakes and jalapeños on almost anything. At first, I hated spicy food and could barely handle mild salsa. But after awhile it grew on me and Tapatio and Cholula soon became my favorite condiments. I now have bottles of both in my dorm room and add them to almost everything I eat. One of my favorite meals my dad makes are bratwursts which were a common meal in Wisconsin where he grew up, and pabalano peppers BBQed and stuffed with cheese. The peppers have just the right amount of heat and are delicious. My dad actually copied the recipe from Isador, our old family friend that works at a very authentic Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara called La Super Rica.

            I have been going to La Super Rica since I was less than a year old. When I was a little kid my dad would set me on the counter and I would talk to Isador and Martin while he ordered. As a kid I stuck to queso and beans, which I would make mini burritos out of with the fresh pressed tortillas that you can watch the women in the back make as you are waiting in line. Now, I love the spicy habaneros in the pico de gallo salsa and cover all of my food with it. Whenever family comes into town their first stop is always Superica. It is a fun way to gather and catch up while enjoying amazing food. Superica is one of many great Mexican food restaurants in Santa Barbara. Mexican food is definitely one of the things I miss the most while being at school. There is nothing in Colorado even close to the authentic Mexican food I’m used to in California.

            The next restaurant on my list would definitely have to be Arigato. It is the best sushi restaurant I have been to to this day. It is also the first place where I actually tried fish sushi rather than the cucumber avocado rolls I used to always eat. We go to Arigato for every member of my family’s birthdays. My favorite dish from there is definitely the Ahi Carpaccio. It is made up of thinly slice pieces of ahi covered in orange roe and many other seasonings. The best part of this dish is the sauce that it is in; it is like nothing else I have ever tasted. Once I am done I keep the plate and dip the rest of my sushi–usually a spicy tuna roll–into the delicious sauce. I love this restaurant so much because of the one of a kind sushi I just described, but also because of the great memories I have of eating with my family there over the years. Arigato has become increasingly important to me because my grandma has recently gotten sick, and one of the only foods she feels up for eating is the Hamachi sushi from Arigato. It has become a place that I go almost once a week with my mom and grandma. I have not gotten to know my grandma very well over my life and eating at Arigato helps us connect and spend time together. 

            My one guilty pleasure at home would have to be In-n-out burger. I don’t know what it is about In-n-out that is so much better than all other fast food burger places. I swear that there is some addictive ingredient in it that keeps you wanting it again and again. My favorite thing is the animal fries. There is something about the fresh cut fries covered in cheese, special sauce, and onions that I just can’t get enough of. Sometimes when my mom and I are wanting something simple in easy we will go to In-n-out and get food from the drive through. She thinks the animal fries I get are disgusting and gets mad at me every time. I know they are awful for me however I still cannot resist. My mom and I always have a good time when we go and bond over the amazing greasy foods.

            While these foods are not significant to me in cultural or religious ways, they are still a way that I bond with my family. We usually tend to have the same taste in food–probably because they raised me. My family has expanded my taste horizons in almost every area and made them what they are today. Eating out and enjoying the great restaurants of Santa Barbara is a way we connect. There still are the great home cooked meals during holidays that I enjoy as well. I will never be able to get enough of my Dad’s girlfriend Leslie’s Scalloped potatoes and fried chicken that we always have on Christmas. My eating schedule at home is perfect for me. I get to enjoy all of the foods in Santa Barbara that I love and I would not want it any other way.