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.