Hummusgirl's Blog

I try not to be snobby, but I think people think of me that way just because I am semi-involved in the arts, like to eat healthy, read, write, and try to be eco-friendly.  It seems to me that the ultimate snob thing to do these days is eat really healthy foods.  I googled “snobby foods,” and found a whole bunch of articles about people who eat at high end restaurants and only order the best of the best.

But if healthy foods are so in vogue these days, then it seems to me that that should lift up the whole food economy.  It seems that just this century, getting healthy and educating oneself and others about food is a main priority.  I mean if you look at food pantries, some of them seem pretty well off and can give great stuff to people who need it.  Even if we do have poverty and homelessness in some areas of the country, we are not a war torn country yet and definitely not a third world country, in spite of our many problems.

So does that mean that so called American food like burgers and fries, pizza, corn on the cob, potato salad, deviled eggs and food that Americans likes to call its own like barbecue gets labeled as food that causes obesity?  If the country is so caught up in how we need to introduce vegetables to kids in the school cafeteria and how to make people change their diets, does that mean that we ignore the foods that make us American?  Can you use the food culture to demonstrate how divided this country is right now in terms of politics?

I used to love to watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri and one of the things he does that made that show so magical was go to family owned restaurants that specialized in comfort food.  Of course, he didn’t go to the same kind of place over and over, but tried to include all sorts of cuisine that went above and beyond the call of duty.

So the next time I feel like a snob because of what I eat or see someone who eats really healthy, I’ll hopefully think about those who are eating truly American food and doing what they can to bring that piece of culture to the world.  Food shouldn’t be about eating something so rare and exotic to the table that you forget what your original culture is made of.