EE2

E2: An Eater’s Manifesto


1,700 words minimum


Write an eater’s manifesto in which you declare your food values and how those values will inform your relationship to food and your food choices. Your manifesto should have a research foundation and should incorporate at least five sources. You may draw from personal experiences as well as any of the writing that you have completed for this course. The best essays will take a position relative food values, integrate research in consideration of that position, and connect that position to personal food practices and eating choices.

A Zen Eater's Manifesto

            To me, there is something attractive about the principle of mindfulness that Buddhists preach for. Mindfulness teaches people the power of being aware of what is going on in the world around them. I bring the teachings of Buddhist tradition because I feel there are some aspects of my life that have been cast aside like food - things that I feel I have grown unmindful of. I realized this after analyzing my own dietary habits through my food journal. What once was free time during vacations has become a divided schedule - full of lectures, labs and other commitments like homework and studying. With that is the sacrifice of time to do other things like eating and sleeping, an example of opportunity cost at its finest. Getting work done has been my priority at school, and so eating has become an additive to my busy life. Right now, I eat simply because I know my stomach is empty but what I desire is balance.  This manifesto serves as my blueprint - to bring clarity to what I value in food and the actions necessary to proceed with my plan. Slow down and savor.

            Keeping up with the tempo of modern society is grueling at times; obligations take over me, and I find myself snacking quickly before resuming work again. This leads to a full stomach, but does it lead to contentment? Not always. As Pollan said in his novel In Defense of Food:An Eater's Manifesto, he would quietly slip a bowl of green beans in front of his son as he was watching television, and "they would disappear without his realizing what he was eating."(Pollan) This is a great image for how we can lose sight of the things in front of us. A certain preoccupation towards our other problems clouds us from remembering the treasure that common day things like food provide. I want to replace this everyday "mindless eating" to something more meaningful and enjoyable for myself. There are a lot of benefits to mindfulness that will enrich your eating experience.

            If we slow down and analyze the food we eat, we would see that a lot of it has evolved into what Pollan calls "edible food-like substances." These foods with their lists of unpronounceable ingredients are signals that a lot of the food in the markets are highly processed and unhealthy for us. The same argument can be made for fast foods, which I frequently opt for when I am on the go. While the convenience is great, fast foods have a negative and accumulative effect on one's health. Even though I am aware of the health effects, I, too, find myself participating in what Pollan refers to as the "devaluing of food" where the convenience trumps the nutritional rationale (Pollan). By choosing to slow down, I am giving my mind a chance to reconsider my dietary options so that I can eat healthier. I have become a more attentive consumer in the process, recognizing the value of local farmer markets where everything is allowed to grow naturally. Seeing these markets has also inspired me to try and grow my own fruits and vegetables with my family and act proactive in my quest in becoming a zen eater.

            Eating slowly stops people from running on autopilot when they eat. While some might argue that these mental heuristics help our brain from processing complex tasks all the time, it has a detrimental effect in food. How can one enjoy the food that they eat if the eating itself is occurring unconsciously or hastily? In a study published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers measured hormonal reactions of subjects when they ate ice cream in five minutes and then the same amount in 30 minutes. The results showed that "wolfing down the dessert curbed the hormonal activity" which informs the brain that the stomach is full (Kirkey 1). The reaction rate for the brain was slower when the ice cream was eaten in five minutes. I plan to counteract this by stopping right before I feel full since it takes "20 minutes for your digestive system to tell your brain that you've had enough" (Stoppard 1).

             Just like Pollan's son who ate until there was no more, many others idlely eat without realizing the risk of overindulgence. Typically, people see their plates filled with all this food and think that they are obligated to finish their plate until it is clean, but that is not the case. This mindset in America has lead to the phenomenon of "portion distortion" where regardless if we eat healthy, the surplus of nutrients that we eat becomes unnatural for the body. This is a flaw in the system because most of these excess nutrients are flushed out when we go to the bathroom. The "Journal of American Dietetic Association" conducted a study showing that this overindulgence in nutrients does not even positively impact the body. "Eating 4 ounces of protein produced muscle, but eating an additional 8 ounces had no extra effect" disproving that more nutrients in the body leads to a healthier lifestyle (Journal of American Dietetic Association 2009). By eating slowly, I control my portions such that my body has sufficient nutrients without being wasteful.  Moreover, I decrease the risk of high caloric intake which would "manifest itself as fat" in my body with all the excess nutrients that I would have been taking in (Condor).

            Eating slowly and savoring food becomes more efficient because it forces you to chew your food more. Studies have shown that increased mastication of food leads to better nutrition for the body. Note, it is not the quantity of food that is consumed by the individual but the quality at which the food is processed by the body. Chewing more allows you to fully enjoy every bite, but it is also "beneficial to the stomach" because less work is needed to be done on its part.

            On the other hand, whole chunks of food that are "wolfed" down accumulate in a fast food eater's stomach, with only the salivary enzymes working on digesting the starches in the food. Since the digestion process of the body is compartmentalized, these enzymes are insufficient for removing the workload off the stomach. It puts a lot of stress on the esophagus, too, because of the high energy needed for it to pump the food into the GI tract through peristalsis (Condor). By digesting as many of the nutrients in the food that you eat by chewing more, you will have to eat less to compensate for these deficiencies which will cause you to lose weight and be healthier.

            The second resolution of the Zen Eater's Manifesto is acknowledging the treasures that food provides. When I was a child, my father, who was an architect, instilled on me the idea that art can be found everywhere. Food is no different. It is an outlet for creativity written up as a recipe. I never understood what the deeper meaning behind that phrase meant or how it related to food before, so I always scarfed my food down and focused on cleaning my plate. I then began to see that other people could see the art in food that I was oblivious to. Much like wine testers who enjoy their sips from their glasses, people would slowly savor their food at restaurants. At first, I was jealous that people were capable of having these profound reactions to food that I couldn't, and then I became embarassed. How did people become so attuned to food that they no longer saw it as just a means to satiate hunger?

            In fact, savoring food goes hand in hand with slowing down. If you eat too quickly, you will not have enough time to fully experience the food. The brain has no time to register the different textures, tastes and smells (Collins). By eating at a quick pace, the chemical receptors that control the gustatory and olfactory senses get only a faint glimpse of the food we are eating. This was seen in the survey results, where after the ice cream study, the cohorts recorded lower enjoyment ratings after allotting only five minutes to eating their ice cream as opposed to the thirty minutes in the other condition. (Kirkley 1). This is why I brought up the idea of contentment before. If we do not take the time to savor our food, the eating experience becomes more of a mechanical process and less enjoyable to the individual.

             There is an actual food movement dedicated towards providing an alternative to the fast food dependent lifestyle that is called the Slow Food Movement. They summarize best the deeper meaning of changing one's dietary habits on their website: "may suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency" (Slow Food Movement). This "contagion of the multitude" has become endemic, and it is what makes the fast food industries prosper in our society. People do not believe that there is an alternative or have a moment of respite to consider an alternative because of our activity-driven society. In reality, the fast food lifestyle is not efficient nor effective for our society. This is another reason for the zen eater's manifesto. The dependence on fast food is like a band-aid, a quick-fix to a not so temporary problem. It persists because consumers allow it to by supporting the business and buying their food. By writing down what I want to achieve in the manifesto, I have already taken the first step in the right direction to changing my dietary habits.

            Savoring food "would restore the sense of pleasure and community integral to eating" because it allows you to slow down, relax, and gives you power to decide when you are done. (Pollan) You are no longer subjected to the external pressure of the "frenzy" and "the multitude" that the Slow Food Movement mentions before. Furthermore, the quote talks about how the zen eater's perspective provides "guaranteed ... long-lasting enjoyment" and sensual pleasure. The "French paradox" that Pollan discusses in "Unhappy Meals" is an anomaly to Americans because they have achieved contentment from their food despite the obvious unhealthiness of some of the things they eat. The free word association study between American diets and French diets showed that "guilt" was more likely to be associated with cake whereas the French framed desserts in terms of "celebration" (Pollan). The existence of the French paradox proves that it is not just the nutritional value of food the causes us to be unhealthy, but that there is a mind and body component to it. The Zen Eater's Manifesto brings back the fun and happiness in eating by removing the "guilt" in eating and allowing oneself to savor the food.

            I find it liberating how a new perspective towards how we approach food can add a lot of tranquility to life. Through the writing of the manifesto, I hope to remind myself to remain mindful and grateful of the small things. The zen eater's manifesto promotes a change in lifestyle. It contains a powerful message: there is a reason why there is a separate verb "to eat" and another for "to feast." Slow down and savor.

Works Cited

Collins, Karen. "Slow down and savor your meals to avoid overeating" Chicago Sun-         Times. 28 Aug. 1998. Print.

Condor, Bob. "Slow Down and Enjoy The Food." Chicago Tribune. 24 Nov 1994: 3.        Print.

Kirkey, Sharon. "Eat Slowly!" Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 07 Nov   2009. Web.

Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York: Penguin, 2008.       Print.

Pollan, Michael. "Unhappy Meals" 28 January 2007. Print.

"Protein: A Little Goes a Long Way." Journal of the American Dietetic Association.           Sept. 2009. Print.

"Slow Food Philosophy."  Slow Food Foundation. 10 December 1989. Web.

            <www.slowfood.com>

Stoppard, Miriam. "Reasons to Eat Slowly." The Daily Mirror. 01 Dec 2011: 50. Print.