Food and Identity in Modern America, Part 2: Interpersonal Relationships

Individuals use food to develop interpersonal relationships that build their own identities. As food is a universally shared human need, individuals can grow together around the food they eat. When people deepen their understanding of and participate in the genesis of their food, families and friends can deepen their relationships as they grow, choose, cook, and eat their food together. One of the most important examples of this process occurs within the context of the family. In her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, acclaimed author Barbara Kingsolver highlights the gathering of families around food and the identities they develop through this interaction. She writes, “The choreography of many people working in one kitchen is, by itself, a certain definition of family, after people have made their separate ways home to be together” (Kingsolver 130). Through engaging food together, Kingsolver says, individuals develop an identity as a family. She emphasizes the vital role food plays in family relationships when she says:

Some of my happiest family memories involve making and eating elaborate meals for special occasions. Food turns events into celebrations. It’s not just about the food, but the experience of creating and then consuming it. People need families and communities for this kind of experience. Kids need parents, or some kind of guide, to lead them toward the food routines our bodies need. Becoming familiar with the process of food production generates both respect and a greater sense of calm about the whole idea of dinner.

(Kingsolver 292-3, italics added)

Here Kingsolver stresses the benefits of understanding and participating in the genesis of food to developing family roles (parent-child, etc) and the identities that come from them. As individuals gather around the production and consumption of food, they strengthen the relationships by which they define themselves.