Open your MIND and close your MOUTH

By Eli Bravo

Hispanics going to the supermarket is a frequent ritual that keeps the food industry salivating: we go three times more than the rest of the inhabitants of the USA and we spend 43% more in food purchases. Our acquisition power, estimated at $1 Billion for 2010, is changing the map of flavors in the country and has obligated the big brands to create strategies to ensure a place in our table and pocket. At the same time, Hispanics are the ethnic group with the largest increases in obesity, especially among women and children –a ‘round’ business, literally and metaphorically speaking.
“Historically, national kitchens have been stable and op- posed to change”, writes Michael Pollan on his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, “which explains why the immigrant’s refrigerator is the last place to look for signs of similarity.” Perhaps grandma’s recipes survive inside the kitchen and hearts of Hispanics, but the process of adaptation into the culture we live in and the products offered by this society have changed our eating habits.

How many times have you heard: since I came to the United States I gained two sizes? The cause for fat- ness is not only Big Macs, but also the disappearance of certain rules when cooking and eating that affect our relationship with food. Accord- ing to Pollan, throughout centuries men have increased their knowl- edge on food: how to differentiate the good from the toxic, the right combination to assist digestion, the quantities to serve per plate and the best way to consume them depend- ing on the time of day. All this is an inherited cultural learning which, combined with the energy we burn during our physical and mental ac- tivities, allows us to keep our body in balance.

But nowadays with microwaves, caned goods, frozen foods, extra large portions, and the lack of the family dining ritual, millions of people are eating more than necessary and not essentially the best kind. Industrial revolution along with globalization have placed never before seen quantities of food over our table, at the same time making us identify the real dilemma, “To eat this or no? That’s the question.”
The Unites States actually consumes 200 calories more than during the 1970’s. On the other hand, the food expense -in comparison to personal income- is one of the least in history: 12% in U.S.A, 20% in Europe. Those extra calories come from industrially processed foods offered at low costs in supermarkets, where we can buy them without remorse because we have the money to do so; more food, at lower costs, with fewer nutrients. The result is just love handles that have nothing to do with health or better nutrition.
Hispanic cuisine symbolizes our identity and provides a great contribution to American culture, but during its adaptation in the U.S.A market it has entered a greasy circle: more acquisition power to purchase more industrially processed food which is infused with hormones or chemicals, easily heat-able in a micro- wave, served in humongous proportions to be consumed in front of the tube (TV). Nothing similar to what grandma used to preach and cook!
How we eat and how we feel while eating is as important as ‘what’ we eat. In this society that constantly debates about diets and obesity, it isn’t enough to read the labels to count carbs and fat; it’s essential to think about the origin of food, and most of all, to analyze: how much we really need to stay alive, how much we need to satisfy ourselves and how much is considered excess.