Food and Drink in Society - Essay Example

The availability, choice, and cheapness of food that the free market has brought about means that we have become accustomed to eating what we want, when we want, how we want- with little to no thought about the consequences of our consumption patterns. This has been encouraged and designed by a political and economic system that is profit- orientated rather than social or environmentally orientated. Traditionally food was farmed, sold, cooked and eaten in a very different way. As global capitalism has shaped our lifestyles it has also affected how we eat.

Since the 1970´s there has been a huge explosion in fast food outlets providing cheap, colorful food leading to problems of obesity in countries that have embraced the fast food culture- “ it seems wherever Americas fast food chains go, waistlines inevitably start expanding” (Eric Schlosser, 242). However in the last few years there has been a public reaction and rejection of the fast food culture. The Slow Movement set up in 1989 is one such example “to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and peoples dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

” (Slow Food Movement, Homepage) There are signs that there is a return to historical food and drink choices, with the popularity of farmers markets, organic food sales increasing “The value of the market increased by an average of 16 per cent a year between 2003 and 2008” (Daily Telegraph) and celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsey extolling the virtues of eating seasonal, British food. Recent trends in food consumption point to a clear return to traditional and historical ways of eating, slower, local and healthier!

In the UK we have seen the merging of many different cultures, British society is made up of a huge variety of cultures each bringing with them their own food revelation. The culture of food is often shaped by the