Fast Food Culture in Norway

Article Review:

“Lovin’ it? A Study of Youth and the Culture of Fast Food” 

Article by Annechen Bahr Bugge of the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO)

Annechen Bahr Bugge, a Norweigian sociologist, researches in the realm of food and eating habits, and more recently pertaining to teenagers. “Lovin’ it? A Study of Youth and the Culture of Fast Food” is a 2011 paper, based upon research by Bugge, exploring how youth in Norway interpret their foodscapes, in specific relation to fast food. To paraphrase Bugge, her main goal of this research was:

To explore teenagers’ representations and practices with regard to fast food. The intention of this article is to show that youth food culture is not as one-sidedly negative as is often claimed in the food-cultural debate. A look at fast food being used to show how young people interact and relate to the dominant food-cultural codes and values. (Bugge 2011: 71-2)

Theoretically, Bugge uses Miles’ 2000 sociological study of British youths’ lifestyles. Miles was greatly focused on how the youth perceive themselves, by their experiences and values. She uses this theoretical inspiration to focus on how youth interact with and are influenced by fast food culture in relation to their adult counterparts’ relationships with fast food culture. 

Bugge also briefly discusses the current ‘war’ on fast food, particularly through various forms of media, such as books, television and magazines. This ‘war’ has become ever present throughout the western world, and Norway is no exception. Much of the media attention is not only guided towards adults, but to youth as well, in youth magazines especially. Included in her methods section, Bugge made sure to remain aware of the media influence, by collecting various artifacts, such as magazine articles, blog posts, debates, etc. throughout the duration of her research.

Along with artifact collection, Bugge utilized numerous other ethnographic methods in her research. These included forty in depth interviews with teenagers (of both genders) between the ages of 15-16; non-participatory observations of the lunchtime cafeterias and within classrooms; photographic analysis of food and eating situations; and finally, quantitative survey data analysis. By utilizing these methods, Bugge was able to gain two ‘umbrella’ findings, each of which has supportive sub

findings,

1. Young people’s talk about fast food; and
2. Fast food and young people’s identity work

What interested me most about Bugge’s findings is constant theme of gender. In Norway, Bugge asserts, one of the main contributors to the ‘fear’ of becoming overweight is attention, or lack thereof, from the opposite gender (however, intent to attract he same sex is most likely present as well, but Bugge does not discuss this). According to her informants, body shape and looks were frequently cited as main proponents of the desire to stay slim. Many of the comments made by the young people interviewed, solidified Bugge’s idea that slimness is related to becoming the ideal of attraction and desire.

Within this gender dichotomy, Bugge explored the idea of ‘gendered foods,’ how some foods were seen as ‘boy foods,’ and others seen as ‘girl foods.’ Girls tended to over think their foodscapes, in regulating the amount and types of food they consumed, while boys were more relaxed in their eating habits, typically citing that they do more physical activity.

Bugge continues to cite more examples of differing Norwegian youth foodscapes, including food in differing socioeconomic groups and food for rebellious youth. I think this analysis could have been enhanced by focusing on one finding, such as the gender dichotomy, and expanding the analysis; however, I do see the connection in these three sections of gender dichotomies, socioeconomic differences, and social differences, in order to gain a more overarching perspective on how Norwegian youth interact and interpret their relation to fast food.

Although youth in Norway seem to be resistant towards fast food culture, they still participate in this culture, even if one rare occasions. Bugge concludes that Norwegian youth, although partaking in fast food culture, see this participation as an activity of ‘others’ in contrast to themselves. She also calls for more studies on youth and fast food culture relations, which I full heartedly agree with. This study is a great starting point for any anthropologist interested in researching fast food culture, not only in western society, but potentially in non-western society, since globalization is ever present in the modern day. 

-Holly

Bugge, Annechen Bahr. "Lovin' it? A study of youth and the culture of fast food." Food, Culture & Society. Vol. 14, No. 1: 71-89. 2011.

Blog Review: The History Kitchen

Blog Review: The History Kitchen
Blog by Tori Avey

Blog overview:

The History Kitchen is one of the two blogs, avid blogger, Tori Avey maintains (the other one is The Shiksa in the Kitchen). Avey’s short bio on the blog is what brought me to it in the first place:

   "Tori Avey is a culinary anthropologist, food writer, recipe developer, and creator of the popular food blog The Shiksa in the Kitchen. She explores the story behind the food - why we eat what we eat, how the foods of different cultures have evolved, and how yesterday's food can inspire us in the kitchen today.” (The History Kitchen, Home Page)

Reading this, made me want to explore more about her culinary anthropology, since I’m trying to discover mine. From reading around, the goal of this blog is to dive deeper into “all facets of food history,” which could be anything from food in ancient cultures, to food popping up in modern TV shows.

Posts are divided into two major sections, ‘What They Ate’ and ‘Did You Know...’ For the purposes of being concise, I focused on reading through some of the ‘Did You Know...’ posts, since those seemed to be more anthropologically inclined. Most of these posts are histories of certain foods, or food related topics. In these posts, she gives the history, but does include a cultural connection, and a look at how this food fits into today’s culture.

Diving Deeper:

A post that stood out to me is titled, “The History of Pie in America” from July 2011. Avey talks about why the pie is such a quintessential American food, beginning with the Pilgrims baking pies as a easy, efficient meal. Pie spread out around the country, being adapted to each state, placing itself deep into American culture. Pie is a ‘classic’ American food, one that exemplifies the further construction of individual American identities. I think I would agree with Avey, that if there was one food to be the face of America, pie would definitely be a contender. One of the most interesting topics she discusses is how the pie slightly disappeared from American tables for a while due to advertising in the mid-nineteenth century through WWII. Looking at the relationship women have with food, their roles involving food, and how that affects family food culture would be a great research topic, one I may look into in the future. 

If I had to critique Avey, I would say that she calls herself a culinary anthropologist, but her anthropological angles are buried deep within her historical analysis of her posts. I wish she could bring up more anthropological angles within her posts, but she is trying to appeal to a mass audience, many of whom probably don’t have the vocabulary or knowledge of anthropology, or it’s analytical angles. Her other blog, The Shiksa in the Kitchen, discussing Jewish food, traditions, and customs seems to have more anthropological potential, but since it’s more recipe focused, the same lack-of-analysis issue arises.

Of course, this is all coming from my anthropological brain, so when I turn to my foodie brain, I see these blogs in simpler light... I totally enjoy Tori Avey’s stories, histories, and recipes, and plan to keep following her discoveries in the food world.

-Holly

http://thehistorykitchen.com/2011/07/04/the-history-of-pie-in-america/

Experiencing Culinary School

Book Review: The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman. 1997.

Michael Ruhlman is not a chef. 

He has however, experienced rigorous classes at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), worked alongside numerous professional chefs, and has become one of the preeminent food writers of the century.

The Making of a Chef is the documentation of Ruhlman’s experiences floating around the Culinary Institute of America. He isn’t exactly a student, but he’s not on the sidelines either. He is essentially conducting very thorough participant observation, but he’s not an anthropologist, or an ethnographer; he’s a journalist... But if this isn’t the beautiful ‘auto-ethnography’ I’m building it up to be, then I am crazy (but it is, at least I’m claiming it is... so I’m not crazy, I promise!). He documents the experience of going through the CIA with such detail and depth, that you feel as though you are there yourself; experiencing the shame of a burnt parsnip chip and the satisfaction of sending out a pristine stuffed quail on a bed of wild rice.

One of the most interesting aspects to The Making of a Chef, is Ruhlman’s interactions and observations of the instructors. All the instructors are extraordinary chefs and all have unique intensities; Every ‘block’ of each semester was with a different chef, so students et to experience a great variety types of master chefs, and gain much knowledge from each.

Being an anthropologist, I wish there had been some sort of foreshadowed problem, other than simply documenting the experience of culinary school. The ‘rite of passage’ of it, rituals involved, chef-student relationships, or simply ‘the student experience’ (with more interviews of other students, to break away from the ‘auto’ part of auto-ethnography) are just a few anthropological angles I can think of off the top of my head that would be extremely fascinating. But again, Ruhlman is not an anthropologist, so although he does not focus on on of these angels, he touches on nearly all of them through his narrative.

This book has made me both excited and terrified for my upcoming culinary school experience. Although I will not be attending the CIA, I know I will have many similar experiences detailed in Ruhlman’s narrative. Culinary school is not only where one becomes a chef, but it is where one discovers and builds an identity; an identity that perhaps had always been mulling deep down inside, just waiting for the means to be released. 

-Holly

Citation:

Ruhlman, M. The Making of a Chef. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1997. Print.

Food, Waste, and Anthropology

Current Blog Review: FoodAnthropology The Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition. 2012.

Weight. 

The word ‘weight’ itself carries a lot of, well, weight. Americans seem to be obsessed with weight loss and gain, Reality TV shows about trimming down, the latest fad to finally lose those extra pounds; anything and everything about weight always seems to be on the tip of our tongues.

Which to me is fascinating.

And probably why I was drawn to a blog post from this past November. Diana Mincyte of NYU, a contributer for FoodAnthropology (the blog of the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition [SAFN]), wrote a post titled, “Diet for a Big Storm: Reflections on Food, Waste and Hurricane Sandy” (11/24/2012) based upon a New York Times article discussing the ‘Sandy Five.’ To briefly summarize, the situation presented by the NY Times is that during and after Hurricane Sandy, people were gaining the ‘Sandy 5,” a few extra pounds due to the stress and power outages that the hurricane brought on; People resorted to either eating all their food at once, or throwing it away. Mincyte looks at the ‘darker side’ of the situation, not the fact people were gaining weight, but the revealing of a ‘complicated relationship’ with food and waste management in modern societies.

This post is a great example of why anthropology matters because in order to fully assess situations, such as the poor management of food and waste during and after Hurricane Sandy, people qualified to understand the greater implications of the situation are needed; And I think anthropologists are those people. Anthropologists are equipped with the skills and tools necessary to conduct ethnographic research on impromptu situations, many that could reveal how to better prepare or change for the future. If there had been research done previously (by anthropologists) on disaster food and waste management, much of the panic Sandy brought, could have been avoided.

Waste management can be directly related to food consumption. Because of the great amounts of food consumed everyday in the US, and around the world, tons of waste is created. New and effective ways to manage this waste need to be formulated, and anthropologists can definitely play a part in that process. 

I plan on discussing waste management and it's relationship to food consumption in the future, as well as a greater focus on the rise of obesity in America. So stay tuned!

-Holly

NY Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/fashion/sandy-five-weight-gain-due-to-storm.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0

FoodAnthropology Blog: http://foodanthro.com/2012/11/24/diet-for-a-big-storm-reflections-on-food-waste-and-hurricane-sandy/ 

Children as 'Co-Researchers'

Article Review: "Nordic Children's Foodscapes: Images and Reflections." 2009.

Summary:

This is an account of ethnographic research carried out in four Nordic schools, one from each of the Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The purpose is clearly stated in the abstract, “A study of the different food messages that children encounter and their own reflections of these messages” (Johansson et al, 26). This study was not only to examine what children eat, but the knowledge about the food and the contexts in which certain food s were consumed. Children were given disposable cameras to document their own ‘foodscapes’ and participated in small group discussions- these actions allowed the children to act as co-researchers, rather than ‘subjects.’ A conclusion this study came to was that foodscapes are present in nearly all aspects of life. Food finds its way into social situations, family life, and festive occasions, to name a few. Food is everywhere, and the earlier in life the contexts are taught, the more conscious one will be in their own foodscape.

My Thoughts:

The incorporation of children as ‘co-researchers’ is a fascinating idea to me. Photo documentation and elicitation is one of my favorite tools in the ‘ethnographic toolbox,’ so to have allowed the children to take photos of their foodscapes and help analyze them is a great (and successful) idea. 

The authors define ‘foodscape’ as ‘a concept dealing with the effects of food and how food is affected’ (30), in other words, a foodscape is not only looking at and analyzing the food, but at the context in which the food is consumed.

Two contexts that were most deeply analyzed were home and school. Food in the home was similar between all four Nordic countries, but schools greatly differed. In Finland and Sweden, children eat in a cafeteria; while in Denmark and Norway, children eat at their desks in their classrooms. This difference in settings, also leads to a difference in the food consumed. The children eating at their desks brought food from home, and the children eating in the cafeteria eat ‘hot lunch’ or food from school. These settings also influenced social interactions, in a cafeteria setting, more opportunity for social bonds to form was apparent, and in the classroom, lunch breaks are not as distinct since there is no change in setting from learning to eating.

Eating at home was preferred by children form all countries. They saw food at home was tastier and as a time to bond with family. Being in a “cozy environment’ was important in distinguishing the difference in eating at school and at home. More ‘junk’ food was eaten in the home setting, however, mostly on the weekends. During family time, watching movies, or play dates with friends, ‘junk’ food was consumed- chips, candy, soda, etc. All of which was determined by the children to be ‘unhealthy’ but fine to eat under special circumstances.

This research is really exciting for numerous reasons. First, I love the use of photography to document and analyze data. Second, having the children involved act as ‘co-researchers’ was a really great tactic in really trying to find out foodscapes from the child’s perspective. Finally, showing the dichotomies between the different contexts in which food is consumed in becoming increasingly important, all throughout the world. Food is not the only factor in people’s foodscapes, but the place, time, and situations all need to be addresses when researching.

To conclude, I'd like to leave you with this quote discussing 'taste:'

"Taste is a complax matter, not only dependent on the individual's taste-buds, but constructed within social and cultural settings, forming"taste communities." (35)

-Holly

Citation:

Johansson, Barbo, et al. "Nordic Children's Foodscapes: Images and Reflections." Food, Culture & Society. Vol. 12, No.1. 2009: 25-51. 

Hello!

Since this is the first post of my blog, A Taste of Anthropology, I thought it would be nice to give a little background on myself and my interest in Culinary Anthropology!

I'm Holly, a senior at Humboldt State University, graduating this May!! I'm majoring in Anthropology (specializing in Cultural Anthropology) and I have minors in both Studio Art (Photography!) and French (although, unfortunately, I really don't speak well). I have had such an incredible journey throughout my four years here at HSU, but the last two have been the most influential.

I entered college as a history major, but soon realized that was NOT the major for me. Anthropology was always in the back of my mind and I finally took the Intro to Cultural Anth and fell in love! I started taking more Anthropology classes, and over the course of my junior year, I became much more confident in myself, specifically as an Anthropologist. 

My life, as an Anthropologist, changed the most dramatically when I was in Ethnography (cultural research methods training) my eyes were opened even more to the practical world of Anthropology. After being convinced to present at the American Anthropological Association 2012 National Meeting in San Francisco, with some of my Ethnography comrades, I began to really see my future in Anthropology. Right before the AAA meeting, I had a revelation the field of Anthropology I would soon fall for- one I hadn't though of before- Culinary Anthropology.

I've always had a passion for food, one in which I'm fulfilling this coming fall, when I attend Culinary School in London to become a trained pastry chef. But now that I was in love with Anthropology, I was conflicted between my two passions.

That's when a friend mentioned pursuing both.

What an idea? Making food, and then researching the culture that surrounds it? A match made in heaven! This is when I decided to begin reading around, to see if this kind of Anthropology was even in existence. So at the AAA's I went to many food lectures, and became even more inspired!

Now the story comes to more recent times, my final semester at HSU. To further my own understanding of what Culinary Anthropology is, I'm going to read through the literature: books, peer-reviewed articles, and other blogs; All focusing on FOOD!

So join me in my journey, one in which I hope to really gain insight on the delicious field of...

 Culinary Anthropology

-Holly